Stealth Patrol Car

[KCadet]

This blew my mind. It's in Canada (go fig.) Anyone ever seen anything like this?

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[ 09-17-2002, 11:01 AM: Message edited by: KCadet ]

[Mrs. Fish]

HAhahahHAHAHa....oh my....

[PeteBroccolo]

This is the first I have actually seen of the car, but a buddy of mine on TPS just sent me an eMail today about a chase he had been in with one of these bad-boys and how the "client" backed-up into him to smash it up.

There certainly is a place for slick-roofed, unmarked and stealth transport, but I still prefer a fully-marked, full size vehicle.

I looked at some of those cars that Soho Bandit sent on the other thread and I just could not see myself in some of them EXCEPT the Rover - now THAT was neat!

[kirch]

Yes. Here in the U.S. we call it an

"u-n-m-a-r-k-e-d
s-q-u-a-d"

Surprised you haven't heard of it.

[Cancop]

quote:

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Originally posted by kirch:
Yes. Here in the U.S. we call it an

"u-n-m-a-r-k-e-d
s-q-u-a-d"

Surprised you haven't heard of it.

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True, however there are some departments that forbid involvement of unmarked cruisers in pursuits. I'm not sure if this would allow you to side step this issue (or even if TPS has that policy), however I saw a TPS Crown Vic with this set up last year and they are very visible at night at the side of the road, and nearly invisible during the day in indirect light.

[CopInNY]

I remember seeing a Vic in Minnesota with reflective "ghost" markings on it. Pretty cool idea if you ask me. I don't think it's any more effective then a plain jane unmarked unit, but it does offer a bit more safety for the officer and his/her client. We've all heard stories of people not stopping for unmarked units ebcause they didnt think they were real PO's and they felt like they may be in danger if they stopped. Well, this would probably resolvea lot of these problems, while still retaining a semi unmarked look. One question though, why have the red lights on the push bar? Hell, why have the pushbar at ALL? The best unmarked units are the ones that don't look like cop cars. Duh.

We have a 2001 white Volvo wagon in our highway unit. Completely unmarked. It has a set of the visor LED red lights, the kind that strap to the sun visor inside the car, and we have a new LED lightbar that is actually inside the vehicle. It hangs down from the roof over the officers heads, and when they need to light it up, they just push it up through the roof to a certain point where an electronic motor takes over, and raises the lightbar so that it's outside the car. Very cool stuff.

[Sig220Man]

quote:

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Originally posted by PeteBroccolo:
I looked at some of those cars that Soho Bandit sent on the other thread and I just could not see myself in some of them EXCEPT the Rover - now THAT was neat!

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Just be glad you were born in Canada, because if you were a Brit you'd be driving a Vauxhall Astra rather than a Ford Crown Victoria!

From what I could tell in my travels, the Astra is the UK's preferred patrol car, with the Ford Focus being a distant second.

The bigger cars like the Rover 800, Vauxhall Omega (we know this car as the Cadillac Catera) and the Volvo 60/70 series seem to be reserved for the traffic units.

Which UK police force do I think has the coolest patrol cars? The one that patrols Glasgow (I think it's called Strathclyde Police). Their traffic officers drive Mercedes C-class sedans and M-Class SUV's

[Mark A. Smith]

Any good slick-top is as good as it's front and rear end... If you've got a pushbumper or lights that are visible from outside the car (or antennas for that matter) you can be sneaky with people in front or behind you if their vision isn’t that great or they are far enough away. If you've got stripes on the sides, they're going to see you when they go to PASS YOU. In my time behind the wheel of a slicktop without markings on the front and back I had several occasions with drunk drivers and speeders that attempted to pass me. Some even succeeded. Of course they went to jail for DWI, Misdemeanor Speeding, Reckless Driving, you name it. It's all a game of cat and mouse.

If you ask me (and I know you didn't )the guys in the unmarked Comaros and Impallas have it made! For true traffic enforcement you're going to write more tickets and make more arrests when you are not visible. Now if the objective is compliance with traffic laws and high visibility, the fully marked unit wins hands down, every day. But that's not as much fun as sneaking around!

Mark

[ 09-17-2002, 02:53 PM: Message edited by: Mark A. Smith ]

[Piper]

I don't care what any of yall say, I want one of those!!!!!

[MK219]

The best police car is Inspector Gadget's! It is not only a car but a plane and a submarine!
Try to out run that boy!

[phuzz01]

Arizona DPS unmarked:

http://www.dps.state.az.us/highwaypatrol/stealth/stealthcar.htm

And Mass. State Police use some sweeeeeet green unmarked Mustangs for aggressive driving enforcement.

[ 09-17-2002, 11:35 PM: Message edited by: phuzz01 ]

[MK219]

quote:

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Originally posted by phuzz01:
And Mass. State Police use some sweeeeeet green unmarked Mustangs for aggressive driving enforcement.

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Oh really now, I guess I gotta keep an eye open for them. I've seen a few Ford Experditions with the lights 'hidden' behind the tinted windows,(yeah o.k. mister driving the huge SUV, you're not a cop that's why every morning you're stopped at D.D. getting your coffee )

[Mark A. Smith]

OK, after Phuzz1's comment about Massachusetts and their Mustangs, whilst driving through Connecticut over the years I have seen Troopers in unmarked Mazda MX6-GT’s (Turbocharged All Wheel Drive - Great for snow and rain), Buick Regal GNX’s in all sorts of different colors, Comaros, a 928 Porsche and NONE of their regular patrol cars have stripes or markings on them. They have detachable Whelen light bars and they encourage their Troopers to drive them around when off-duty. Sure, the majority of them are all Crown Vic's or Interceptors but in all different colors, no stripes or markings and some with lightbars and some without...? It keeps you looking when you're speedo needle is a little faster than the posted...

Mark

[CopInNY]

I would venture to guess and say that most of those irregular police cars such as the Porsche, Buick GNX, etc are seizures. Probably from DWI stops. Thats what we do here, but we seldom take the cars into our fleet, we just sell them at auction

[phuzz01]

quote:

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Originally posted by Mark A. Smith:
...whilst driving through Connecticut over the years I have seen Troopers in...

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I go to school in Middletown, CT, which is where the CSP headquarters is. You see troopers' take-homes everywhere around here! They're at the gym, the grocery store, etc. etc. It REALLY makes you dot all your i's and cross all your t's.

alex