I can spot an unmarked police car from a mile away. Alot of people can. They're invariably clean, not a scratch on them. Solid colors, black or white or cream, usually an oldsmobile or something. Point is that they're obvious. Why don't police officers use a better disguise? Like have them drive a beat up Camaro? Or perhaps a rusted out Ford Pickup truck? I'd not look twice at one of those. Neither would most anyone else. If it's an issue of functionality, just have a good v8 engine under the hood, new tires etc. and hey, if you have to ram someone, it doesn't really matter. Seems like a common sense sort of thing to me. Why don't the police get it?
2007-05-04 06:38:21 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
I'm in Northeast Indiana. There are no Taxis around here. The most common colored car is "rust" around here.
2007-05-04 06:46:09 · update #1
This is funny! You see there is a difference between an "unmarked patrol" and "undercover" vehicle!
The purpose of an unmarked police vehicle is to bring less attention to the officer. It could be a shift supervisor, detective, administration official, or one that is working speed control.
The purpose of an undercover vehicle is to conceal any relationship to law enforcement. Obviously, the police do not use what appear to be "unmarked" vehicles.
Lets not forget there are those former police cars on the road that are available for purchase by the citizens looking for a well maintained used car. Several in my own jurisdiction appear to be unmarked cars but have no police affiliation!
As for the one response concerning the term "entrapment"...unmarked cars are NOT entrapment and the blogger obviously needs to research the definition of the term!
In my line of work I've used everything from domestic to foreign made vehicles. You'll never have a clue....which seems to be apparent by the nature of your question!
Best wishes!
2007-05-04 06:48:26 · answer #1 · answered by KC V ™ 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
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2016-06-10 07:57:23 · answer #2 · answered by Zenia 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe you should take advice from the guy with 30 years on the job. The unmarked, or "undercover" vehicles as you refer to them as, aren't supposed to be completely hidden, it would kind of give them away when they flip their dash or grille lights on. Slick tops are just designed to be a little more discreet than your standard patrol vehicle so they don't stand out quite as much. True undercover vehicles can range wildly. Guess what can happen to some of the department seized vehicles? They are also not used in traffic enforcement, if break the law in front of one and unless you are endangering lives, they'll just notify dispatch so that a marked unit can stop you.
2007-05-04 07:24:49 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Those are just the cars that they want you to know about. Back in the day of my drug using days, my friend's house was busted by the DEA. They had undercover cars watching about 5 of us on a daily basis. Since I was on meth I figured it out because i just stared at everything all day everyday. They had brand new chevy avalanches, early 90's luminas, dark green cameros, and used blazers. The cars you are describing are unmarked cars. You normally don't know and undercover cop til its WAY too late.
2007-05-04 08:24:19 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm in Southeast Indiana, and I can spot an unmarked police car rollling down the road while I still have time to slow down. You're right, always white, Crown Vic. I think it's because Ford has such a good fleet program for emergency vehicles.
2007-05-04 07:31:09 · answer #5 · answered by racehorsegirl83 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I've often wondered that myself. When I taught in the inner city, there was a guy with a gun in the area of the school. I believe there were shots fired. We had to keep the kids in for a bit and then, when we dismissed them, we had to make them go in one direction, which many of them didn't do. I was on my way to my car and spotted the "unmarked care." It was a huge car that only old guys would drive and there were two young-ish white guys in the front. I'm usually pretty naive about this sort of thing and I spotted it without a problem.
2007-05-04 07:04:11 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Where I live, there's an undercover Altima, Grand Prix and a 1989 Dodge Dynasty - now that's stealth.
2007-05-04 07:03:32 · answer #7 · answered by Gemma 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A lot of them do. Most true undercover officers drive everything from brand new pickups all the way to 20 year old beat up Mercury. You never know there is a cop driving.
As for the cars you are spotting. They are probably a traffic unit car, detective car, take home supervisor car, ect. They just need to be less visible then fully marked cars. But they aren't meant to be hidden.
2007-05-04 06:45:49 · answer #8 · answered by Kenneth C 6 · 4⤊ 1⤋
All of the ones around here in TN and GA use cars they impound from other crimes. DUI, DRUGS and the such.
Now there are 100's of unmarked cars that are not undercover, they are used by detectives, by supervisors and others not on patrol duty, They are always like what you are talking about.
2007-05-04 07:23:20 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Depends on where you are. In NYC I've seen undercover cabs who all of a sudden have lights and sirens going. You'd never know until them.
2007-05-04 06:44:14 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋