A local police department is setting the standard for "going green" with new patrol vehicles.

The Penn State University Park Police Department is the first university police department in the country -- and the first department of any kind in the state -- to use the Vectrix electric police motorcycle.

The motorcycles don't require any gas and operate on a rechargeable battery that gets plugged into the wall.

Four officers on staff who already have their motorcycle licenses have been assigned to use the two vehicles. The vendor also has a three-day training program for tactical police use, which the officers are taking next moths.

At a cost of less than $9,000 each, PSU Police Chief Steve Shelow said the department didn't go over budget and didn't have to cut from the budget to buy the two new motorcycles.

Shelow said the department should be able to occasionally park two police cars while the motorcycles are on patrol, further saving money and cutting back on pollution.

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