The deputies in the Richland County Sheriff's Department's Community Action Team (a.k.a. CAT) will now be driving new muscle cars. Sheriff Leon Lott pulled the cover off of 17 new Ford Mustang GTs with agency markings July 1. The department said it hopes the flashy vehicles will help start conversations and build relationships with the community at large.

"We’re not picking a car just because it’s a cool car to drive, but cool cars attract people to come and build a relationship with us," Lott told The State . "These are hot cars. Kids and adults see them and like them, and then come up to the car and start talking to the deputy."

While the cars have law enforcement markings, they don’t feature the standard light bar of a patrol car, Road and Track reports.

The department has a total of 15 officers working in the CAT unit, each with their own respective neighborhood in Richland County — which encompasses Columbia, S.C. and much of its surrounding areas.