ALEX KOKICH/INTERN
alex.kokich@tidewaternews.com

COURTLAND—If you are out on Route 58, you might have noticed that the Southampton County Sheriff’s Office has increased its presence.

That’s because the department bought nine new patrol cars in November and recently sent them out on the road.

“The main goal of the cars is to patrol on 58,” said Maj. Gene Drewery, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office.

The cars, 2014 Dodge Chargers, cost $21,000 each. In addition to the base price, $3,000 was spent to equip the cars with radars and new cameras.

The Division of Motor Vehicles provided a grant for the new cameras. Funding was provided by the Southampton County Board of Supervisors to pay for the cars.

The cars are printed with more noticeable black-and-white police markings. “www.shso.org,” the website for the Southampton Sheriff’s Office, is lettered on the rear of the cars.

The markings cost $400 and were done at Advanced Signs and Engraving in Courtland.

The new patrol cars have replaced older cars in the fleet, which have been repurposed and redistributed.

“The new cars have been assigned to deputies,” said Drewery. “They’re already on the roads.”