Why do some police or sheriff vehicles have lights on top,and inside or only on top or only inside?

Answer 1

It depends on what the vehicle will be used for and what the department's budget is. In our area, cars with lights inside only, referred to as "slick tops" are generally not used for traffic duty as they can prove to be a bit more dangerous than traditional cars with lights on the top. In addition to that, the few slick tops that are in the fleet are used only by supervisors, veteran drivers that realize people cannot see the lights as easily sometimes.

Answer 2

Budgets, personality of the buyer, persuasiveness of the guy from Federal Signal, etc. all are factors in what kind of lights are used.
The interior lights give a low profile, some people think that they are better for traffic enforcement. They are much better for high speed work. The new LED low profile lights are aerodynamic and are less stressful on the cars electrical system. When I started we had one big noisy bubble on top that you could not see in bright sun and would not work 1/4 of the time. If the purchasing department had anything to say we would still have those since we did not have to spend money on new.
Then there are the opinions on how much lighting is needed and if the officer is actually safer after the stop without much flashing going on.

Answer 3

Different departments. Supervisors, deputies, sheriffs.

Answer 4

only inside are more stealth like and are used more for unmarked and undercover cars, just depends on the use the vehicle is intended for...

Answer 5

Because different people think different configurations are cooler, and if you are in charge of buying them, you are going to pick the configuration you think is coolest (or scariest to the people you are pulling over).