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New Ford Explorer police SUVs were among the cars deployed in Newark (Photo: Dept. of Public Safety)

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NEWARK -- In a move to upgrade Newark's public safety fleet, officials this week announced the city purchased new police cars and a foam-dispensing fire truck.

The city purchased a new foam-dispensing fire truck (Photo: Dept. of Public Safety)

The 51 patrol cars will be assigned to neighborhood precincts and the outside employment unit, which private vendors hire to staff safety posts at work sites, according to the city. The cruisers include in-car computers with access to various databases and a tracking device to pinpoint the location of a police vehicle.

"I am pleased that the technology inside the new cars gives officers automatic access to crime information that expedites communications and facilitates crime reduction," Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose added in a statement.

The computers allow officers to conduct records checks without having to radio a dispatcher to run the searches on suspects or vehicles.

Newark purchased 19 Ford Explorers, five "stealth" Ford Explorers, 22 Ford Focuses and five "stealth" Ford Fusions, according to officials. Known as stealth cars, the vehicles are marked but don't have overhead light bars. The vehicles will replace some aging police cruisers worn down from constant driving in the city.

Fees collected from private companies that hired the city to provide officers for construction and road repair sites covered 22 of the new vehicles, officials said. The Explorer SUVs cost approximately $21,500 while the Focuses and Fusions cost about $14,500 and $17,500, respectively.

Purchased through a federal port security grant, the new fire truck will be based at Engine 14 on Vesey Street in the city's East Ward. The location, officials said, will provide a quick response to the Port of Newark, major highways, rail yards and homes in the area.

"This much-needed purchase has no impact on the city's budget and the foam truck's extended capacity and speed will help cut fire resolution times," Ambrose added.

The truck can carry 780 gallons of water, 250 gallons of foam and can pump 1,250 gallons of water per minute.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said the city would soon announce more technology to "make people safer and increase community involvement."

"In working to make Newark residents safer, I have emphasized deploying the latest and most effective public safety technologies as well as building trust between the police and community and increasing the size of our police force," the mayor added.

Baraka and Ambrose are scheduled to swear in 23 officers at a ceremony Monday afternoon. Officials said the police force is slated to boost its ranks by about 200 officers by the end of the year.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.