Police Car - Functional Types

Functional Types

There are several types of police car, including:

Patrol car

The car used to replace walking for the 'beat' police officer. Their primary function is to convey normal police officers between their duties (such as taking statements or visiting witnesses). Patrol cars are also able to respond to emergencies, and as such would most likely be fitted with visual and audible warnings. In Hong Kong the car is actually a van.

Response car (Pursuit car)

A response car is similar to a patrol car, but is likely to be of a higher specification, capable of faster speeds, and will certainly be fitted with audible and visual warnings. These cars are usually only used to respond to emergency incidents, so are designed to travel fast, and may carry specialist equipment, such as large firearms. In the UK, each station usually only has one, which is called an area car.

Traffic car

Also known as Road Policing Units, these cars are designed for the job of enforcing traffic laws, and as such usually have the highest performance of any of the police vehicles, as they must be capable of catching most other vehicles on the road. They may be fitted with special bumpers designed to force vehicles off the road, and may have visual and audible warnings, with special audible warnings which can be heard from a greater distance. In some police forces, the term traffic car may refer to cars specifically equipped for traffic control in addition to enforcing traffic laws. As such, these cars may differ only slightly from a patrol car, including having radar and laser speed detection equipment, traffic cones and flares, and traffic control signs.

Multi-purpose car

Some police forces do not distinguish between patrol, response and traffic cars, and may use one vehicle to fulfill some or all roles even though in some cases this may not be appropriate (such as a police city vehicle in a motorway high speed pursuit chase). These cars are usually a compromise between the different functions with elements added or removed.

Sport Utility Vehicles (SUV), and Pickup Trucks

SUVs and Pickups are used for a variety of reasons; off-road needs, applications where a lot of equipment must be carried, K-9 units, etc.

Community liaison car

This is a standard production car, visibly marked, but without audible and visual warning devices. It is used by community police officers to show a presence, and to transport them between jobs. These cars do not respond to emergencies.

Unmarked car

Many forces also operate unmarked cars, in any of the roles shown above, but most frequently in traffic and as response cars for detectives. They have the advantage of not being immediately recognisable, and are a valuable tool in catching criminals while the crime is still taking place. In some areas, unmarked cars may be known as slick top cars (which normally have marking but no light bar), ghost cars, stealth units, plain clothes cars, or, in CB slang, a "plain brown wrapper". In the United States, unmarked cars are also used by federal law enforcement agencies such as the FBI and the Secret Service, but can be recognized by their U.S. government plates. However, not all unmarked police cars have government license plates. Many U.S. jurisdictions use regular civilian issued license plates on unmarked cars, especially gang suppression and vice prevention units.

Dog unit Car (K9)

This type of car is used to transport police dogs. In some jurisdictions, this will be a station wagon or car based van, due to the installation of cages to carry the dogs. Also, K-9 cars are typically marked in order to caution people that there is a police dog on board.

Surveillance car

Forces may operate surveillance cars. These cars can be marked or unmarked, and are there to gather evidence of any criminal offence. Overt marked cars may have CCTV cameras mounted on the roof to discourage wrongdoing, whereas unmarked cars would have them hidden inside. This type of vehicle is particularly common in the United Kingdom.

High visibility decoy car

Some police forces use vehicles (or sometimes fake "cut outs" of vehicles) to deter crime. They may be old vehicles retired from use, stock models restyled as police cars, or a metal sign made to look like a police car. They are placed in areas thought to be susceptible to crime in order to provide a high visibility presence without committing an officer. Examples of these can be seen on many main roads, freeways and motorways. In 2005, Virginia's (United States) legislature considered a bill which stated, in part: "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."; Such cars may also be used in conjunction with manned units hidden further down the road to trick speeders into speeding back up again, and being clocked by the manned car. In Chicago, Illinois a small fleet of highly visible vans are parked alongside major state and federal routes with automated speed detection and camera equipment, monitoring both for speeders and other offenders by license plate. Tickets are then mailed to the offenders or, in case of other crimes related to the licensed owner, may be served by a manned vehicle further down the road.

Bait car

Police forces may operate cars used to trap criminals who are stealing cars (by carjacking, breaking in or other means). The car is taken to a place where it is known to be at risk of theft, and allowed to be stolen. The police then track the vehicle, and can disable the engine and lock the doors by remote control. The same technique can be used to place portable items of value such as GPS units with an inbuilt tracker.

Rescue unit

In some jurisdictions, the police may operate a rescue service, and special units will be required for this.

Explosive ordnance disposal

In jurisdictions where the police are responsible for, or participate in, explosive ordnance disposal squads (bomb squads), dedicated vehicles transport the squads' crews and equipment.

Demonstration cars

Cars which are not for active duty, but simply for display. These are often high performance or modified cars, sometimes seized from criminals, used to try to get across specific messages (such as with the D.A.R.E. program), or to help break down barriers with certain groups (such as using a car with modified 'jumping' suspension as a talking point with young people).

Anti-Riot vehicles

These vehicles could be divided into three sub-categories. Modified trucks equipped with water cannons, modified stock cars and modified APCs (Armored Personnel Carriers). Their function as the name suggests is to help control riots. Modified stock cars will have caged windows for protection against objects thrown at them and could include mini-buses, 4x4s or prisoner transport vans. APCs usually will not require any added protection but their modifications might include some sort of tear gas ejecting method or shields that unfold to create barriers. The water cannon vehicles are used either to break up riots or extinguish fires set by the rioters. Although plain water is usually used some variations might include tear gas or special dye(to mark the people that are present for later apprehension). In the older days fire trucks were used as anti-riot vehicles of this type.