Police vehicles in the United States are made by several manufacturers and are available in three broad vehicle types:
Police Package Vehicles (PPV) are the most common police cars and are equipped to handle the vast majority of tasks;
Special Service Vehicles (SSV) and Special Service Package (SSP) are specialized vehicles such as SUVs and sports cars and are generally used for specific tasks such as rescue or pursuit.
History
Since the 1920s, the New York City Police Department has employed a fleet of Radio Motor Patrol vehicles to aid in its fight against crime in the city.
In the United States and Canada, police departments historically have used standard-size, low-price line sedans such as the Ford Model A or Chevrolet Bel Air. Police switched to intermediates, such as the Plymouth Satellite, Ford Torino and AMC Matador, in the 1960s. The Ford LTD and Chevrolet Caprice were re-adopted as standard when the models were downsized in the late 1970s. Since the termination of the Chevrolet Caprice product, most police departments currently use the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor as the standard patrol car. New North American Crown Victoria Police Interceptors are optionally equipped with a fire suppression system to combat instances of vehicle fires subsequent to high speed rear impacts.
Some departments have adopted SUVs and front-wheel drive sedans for non-pursuit applications, but the rear wheel driveV8 configuration is favored for being consistent with pursuit driver training. General Motors and DaimlerChrysler provide other types (front-wheel drive, smaller engine) police vehicles as well, and a few jurisdictions (primarily in Canada) use these vehicles.
There are many jurisdictions that use the Chevrolet Impala, which in its current configuration is a front wheel drive V6. The Dodge Charger (LX) is the most likely challenger to the Crown Victoria as a RWD V8 patrol car, though the Washington State Patrol and the North Carolina Highway Patrol are using the vehicle initially as an unmarked patrol car. The former 44th Precinct in the Bronx, NY, now home to a special police task force, has Hemi Dodge Chargers for testing. The Charger has shown great promise as a police car, being faster, more modern, and more fuel efficient than the commonly used Ford Crown Victoria.[original research?] Some complaints about the Charger though are its limited rear visibility and smaller trunk than the Crown Victoria. At the end of 2006, multiple Dodge Chargers have been put into the NYPD fleet for citywide testing. In the summer of 2006, the Georgia State Patrol announced that it would begin using the Dodge Charger for high speed chases on Interstate highways due to its additional power and speed. As of 2007, the Alameda County (California) Sheriff's Office has plans as well to upgrade to the Dodge Charger. Many police agencies in the metropolitian Detroit area have also adopted a fleet that includes a number of Dodge Chargers.
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. The fleet vehicles that were used typically came painted in a single color, most commonly white or black, from the factory and were used as such. The contrasting black or white color was added to make the vehicle stand out from civilian vehicles. In 2007, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) began converting its fleet back to a black-and-white scheme after decades of using other colours.
Beginning in the 1970s, police vehicle markings have become increasingly stylistic, with widespread use of computer-graphics and vinyl striping. While black and white designs are still in use in many jurisdictions, cars may range from being all white to completely black. Blues and greens of various hues are also frequently used. Brown, beiges and tans are favored by rural police and sheriff's offices.
Official markings also vary by jurisdiction. The side doors and sometimes the hood of a marked police car usually bear the agency's badge or the city seal, often in reflective finish. Markings such as emergency telephone numbers, generic anti-drug or anti-crime messages, or even website URLs are also common. Some agencies also have identification numbers printed on the roofs of patrol cars for tracking from aircraft, or to distinguish specialized units, such K-9 units or supervisors.
Currently, in the United States, the paint scheme for each fleet is determined either by the individual agency or by uniform state legislation as in Minnesota [1]. Usually, state laws exist that establish standards for police vehicle markings, and proscribe civilian vehicles from using certain markings or paint schemes as is the case in California [2].
Models by manufacturer
Ford
Ford Crown Victoria (a large majority of the police forces in North America use the Ford Crown Victoria as the standard squad car)
The Edison, New Jersey, Police Department has a marked 1995 BMW M3 that was seized from a drug dealer. This vehicle is used for D.A.R.E and other awareness and education programs.
The resort towns of Vail, Colorado, and Aspen, Colorado, used Saab sedans and hatchbacks as their standard patrol car for over 25 years. Vail started replacing them with Ford Explorers in late 2003, and Aspen began replacing them in late 2005 with Volvo XC90s. [11][12]
The Colorado State Patrol uses the current Dodge Charger in its fleet, alongside the Magnum and Subaru Impreza WRX.
The South CarolinaHighway Patrol used three BMW M5s during the early to mid 1990s. These cars were given to South Carolina after BMW chose the state to host their first assembly plant in the U.S.
The Georgia State Patrol used BMW 3 series for patrol use during the 1996 Olympics.
The Honolulu Police Department and the Hawai'i County Police Department supplements its fleet of marked patrol cars by allowing the use of the personally owned vehicles of police officers which are partially subsidized by department funds. These include not only American cars but Japanese cars such as the Toyota 4Runner and Camry, Honda Pilot, Nissan Altima, XTerra and Murano. These cars are made distinguishable as on duty police vehicles with the addition of a removable blue light bar.[13]
A number of Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) programs in local police departments have some notable vehicles marked as police cars to promote the program.
The DARE cars appear at schools and in parades. Typically these cars are high-end or performance cars that have been seized in a drug raid. They are used to send the message that drug dealers forfeit all their glamorous trappings when they get caught. Cars include the Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Mustang, and Humvee.
The Dodge County,Wisconsin Sheriffs Department uses a Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson for DARE. They also have a Lincoln Navigator as their CSI vehicle.
The Monrovia, California, Police Department has a 2000 Mazda MPV minivan used not just for DARE functions but for the Police Activities League.
Missoula County Transit (Missoula, Montana) had an Orion II transit bus on its active fleet, painted all in black with DARE logos on the hood and sides. It was used in support of the Missoula Police and Sheriff's Departments until its retirement a few years ago.
Beverly Hills, California, has a Mercedes ML350 which is used by the School Resource Officers in their assignments at the Beverly Hills schools. It is the second Mercedes to have been loaned to the Department by Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills.
DARE cars can also be regular police vehicles that are nearing the end of their service life that are pressed into service for the promotion.
