Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor of the United States Federal Protective Service. Most North American police forces use the Crown Victoria and/or Chevrolet Impala. A police car is a vehicle used by police forces around the world to patrol, temporarily detain and transport individual criminal suspects. Such vehicles are known variously around the world as police cruiser, squad car, prowler, radio car, panda car, area car or patrol car. In some places a police car may also be nicknamed a cop car, a cherry top or a jam sandwich. Use of the police car has largely replaced the tradition of officers or constables "walking a beat" in most jurisdictions. Advocates of community policing have asked police departments to encourage constables to spend less time in their vehicles and more time walking the streets and interacting with the community. Contents 1 Characteristics 2 Markings and paint schemes 3 Deterrence 4 Gallery 4.1 Americas 4.2 Asia/Oceania 4.3 Europe 5 See also 5.1 General 5.2 Other types of emergency vehicles 5.3 Manufacturers 6 External links Characteristics Police cars are usually normal cars which are upgraded with a police package provided by the manufacturer. The police package often modifies the car for higher durability, speed and capability for high mileage driving and to accommodate the use of the electronic equipment used by police officers on patrol (laptop database, strobe lights/siren, radio etc.). This is usually accomplished by heavy duty suspensions, brakes, tires, alternator, transmission and cooling systems, and also sometimes includes slight modifications to the car's stock engine. Additional special equipment may include modified electrical wiring, inoperable rear door locks and rear windows, and other heavier-duty components. Additionally, new Crown Victoria Police Interceptors are optionally equipped with a fire suppression system to combat instances of vehicle fires subsquent to high speed rear impacts. These components not only increase performance but also increase the car's longevity, although this widely varies depending on daily hours of usage, miles driven, and quality of maintenance. It is for this reason that many taxis and fire chiefs' vehicles are based very closely on police cars. With the advent of highways and motorways, special patrols have been established to monitor traffic offenses as well as engage suspects in flight. The latter often results in police chases, which have been criticized (and even outlawed in some places) for putting uninvolved motorists and pedestrians at risk, and have also been dramatized in television programs and movies. Police cars may be either marked or unmarked, to catch suspects unawares. Marked cars have reflective decals and identifying words such as "Police" or "Sheriff" on them to clearly mark them as police cars. Before the 1970s, cars would have built-in lights affixed to the roof, but these have given way to more flexible light bars on top with red and/or blue light beacons and sirens. Unmarked cars are devoid of any visible markings or equipment which can identify it as a police vehicle, making it appear identical to a regular car of the same model. The siren is hidden and the police lights are placed behind either the windshield or grille and back window. Lights are sometimes placed on the front of rear or side-view mirrors, as well. On film and television, police cars are usually portrayed as containing a team of two police officers so that they may converse and interact on screen. In reality, most districts have only one police officer per vehicle, although at night this may increase to two. Many cars are equipped with a barrier between front and rear passengers, some with metal bars across the rear side windows, a laptop computer, radio, and a shotgun or assault rifle mount. In the United States, historically police department used the standard size sedans such as the Ford Model A or Chevrolet Bel Air. They switched to intermediates when they were introduced in the 1960s, such as the Plymouth Satellite, Ford Torino and AMC Matador, as seen on TV shows such as Adam-12. When the Ford LTD and Chevrolet Caprice were downsized in the late 1970s, they were re-adopted as standard. With the departure of the Chevrolet Caprice most police departments currently use the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor as the standard patrol car. Some departments have adopted SUVs and front-wheel drive sedans for non-pursuit applications, but the rear wheel drive V8 configuration is favored for being consistent with pursuit driver training. General Motors and DaimlerChrysler provide police vehicles as well, and a few jurisdictions use these vehicles, notably in Canada. There are many jurisdictions that use the Chevrolet Impala. The Dodge Charger (LX) is the most likely challenger to the Crown Victoria as a RWD car, though the Washington State Patrol is using it initially as an unmarked patrol car. The former 44th Precinct in the Bronx, NY, now home to a special police task force has one of the new Hemi Dodge Chargers for testing. So far the Charger has shown great performance competence, being faster, better looking, more modern and more fuel efficient than the commonly used Ford Crown Victoria. Some complaints about the Charger though are its limited rear visibility and smaller trunk than the Crown Victoria. Some state highway patrols such as California adopted pony cars such as the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro or even AMC Javelin as pursuit vehicles where a rear seat for taking suspects into custody is not a requirement. Markings and paint schemes A German patrol car from the Hamburg police department with a silver and blue colour scheme used in 2002. The markings and paint schemes on police cars vary by country. North American police cars were once noted for being painted black and white, with the car doors and roof painted white, while the trunk, hood, front fenders and rear quarter panels were painted black. However, in the United States, the paint scheme for each fleet is determined by each agency, and, outside of California (where most police cars are still black and white), police vehicle markings have become increasingly stylistic, with widespread use of computer-graphics and vinyl striping. Cars may range from being all white to completely black. Blues and greens are also frequently used. In Japan and China, a variation of black and white scheme is used, except that the top half of the car is painted white, and the bottom half is black. Similar color schemes are also used by departments in Taiwan. Germany and Sweden use a similar paint scheme configuration, although Germany uses bright green instead of black, and Sweden have changed from black paint to light blue stickers, and from 2005 they use blue and fluorescent yellow stickers. In Ireland, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Greece and a few other countries in Europe, the cars are designed for very high visibility, and are often painted predominantly white, with a fluorescent checkered strip running along the sides of the car, usually silver, blue, orange or yellow, or combinations of these colors. Official markings also vary by jurisdiction. The side doors and sometimes the hood of a marked police car usually bear the police force's badge or the city seal, often in reflective finish. Markings such as emergency telephone numbers or generic anti-drug messages are also common. Some agencies such as the California Highway Patrol also have identification numbers printed on the roofs of patrol cars for identification from aircraft. Deterrence Just the presence of a police car, without active enforcement, can be a visual reminder of traffic laws. At high speeds, motorists may not even notice whether or not an officer is inside. In 2005, Virginia's legislature considered a bill which provided, in part[1]: Whenever any law-enforcement vehicle is permanently taken out of service . . . such vehicle shall be placed at a conspicuous location within a highway median in order to deter violations of motor vehicle laws at that location. Such vehicles shall . . . be rotated from one location to another as needed to maintain their deterrent effect. . . Gallery Americas New York Police Department Crown Victoria Halton Regional Police Crown Victoria Lincolnton, GA Police Department Crown Victoria A typical Chevrolet Tahoe PPV used in the United States. 1964 Stratford, Connecticut police cruiser, used also as an Ambulance Chevrolet Tahoe police SUV of Coppell, Texas. Sharon Police Department, PA Chevy Impala Chevy Impala of the Prince George's County, Maryland police. A Catoosa County, Georgia, Sheriff's Department Impala A Jeep of the West Vancouver police. Note the DARE anti drug message Asia/Oceania A Hong Kong Police vehicle. Japanese Police car. Japanese Police van. Thai Police car. Kerala Police Jeep. A Hong Kong police van. Mitsubishi GTO patrol car, Japan. Ford Falcon used by Victoria Police for traffic duties. Holden Commodore used by Victoria Police for traffic duties. Korean City Patrol Car (Hyundai Sonata) A Singapore Hilux Police Van Europe A London Metropolitan Police Vauxhall Vectra. Patrol car (old colour: white with green, in use on cars up to model year 2004) of the Saarland Police (Germany). Road accident investigation vehicle of the Schleswig-Holstein Police (Germany). Finnish police van (here with the text in Swedish). A Ford Focus police car of the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, England. Anti-riot armoured vehicle of the police of the Canton of Vaud in Lausanne, Switzerland. An Italian Police Lamborghini Gallardo. A Swedish V70, using the older paintjob. The police in Sweden are using the same cars and colours everywhere: this is the SPD, Stockholm PD. The same model, standing next, using the new, more reflecting markings. Italian Fiat Stilo Police car Metropolitan Police Vauxhall Vectra V6 CDI. Red Metropolitan Police Diplomatic Protection Group (DPG) car. Police bus Autosan A1010T Catalan Police car Dutch police van See also General Current models of police cars used in the US Emergency vehicle Armoured personnel carrier Mounted police Paddywagon Other types of emergency vehicles Police bike Police blimp Police helicopter Panda car SWAT van Jam sandwich (slang) Police plane Police ambulance Fire chief's vehicle Police Emergency Wagon Military police vehicle Police motorcycle D.A.R.E. Car Police boat Police truck Manufacturers Ford Crown Victoria Chevy Impala Carbon Motors BMW AG External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Police car Police Car Web Site Police Car Pics The American Police Car Collection of police vehicles CopCar.com Car makers police car showrooms: Carbon Motors Ford (site will load only under HTTPS, but no sensitive information is required to view) General Motors Volvo Police vehicles from Canada Police vehicles from Australia PoliceWorldwide Has 2500+ images of police cars from all across the world. New York Times Article on the new police edition Dodge Charger Search Term: "Police_car" Categories: Emergency vehicles | Law enforcement equipment

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