Undercover/non-descript police cars - not cool

[Jeeebus]

Not the crown vic with blacked out windows and tell-tale side mirror. I'm talking about the increasing number of 'regular' cars I see pulling people over on the highway - Toyota Camry, a Buick, Honda Accord, etc.

That's like using an aimbot. Cops are hacking and it ain't fair. They already have fancy radar systems, the ability to hide around corners, radar planes, etc. Giving them the ability to catch speeders with a Camry makes the game unfair. Stupid hackers.

 

[NoCreativity]

The city I lived in growing up had a couple of mustangs pulling people over for years.

 

[highland145]

The appropriate American solution....sue.

 

[pauldun170]

Damn cops
Enforcin laws and stuff
How am I supposed to be the fastest person on the road (because traffic congestion. By me travelling faster then the other losers on the road I magically pull them along with me. Like NASCAR. Drafting and shit. That and slow people driving at legal limit so something something something left lane and something something something my car has a 160mph speedometer and speed limits should recognize my skills.Will Smith said that in Men in Black.
Therefore I'm right. Are you with me girls? Great. Lets sing
Uh...
Here come the Men in Black
It's the M.I.B.'s, uhh, here come the M.I.B.'s
Here come the Men in Black
They won't let you remember
Nah nah nah
The good guys dress in black remember that
Just in case we ever face to face and make contact
The title held by me - M.I.B.
Means what you think you saw, you did not see
So don't blink be what was there
Is now gone, black suit with the black Ray Ban's on
Walk in shadow, move in silence
Guard against extra-terrestrial violence
But yo we ain't on no government list
We straight don't exist, no names and no figerprints
Saw somethin strange, watch your back
Cause you never quite know where the M.I.B.'s is at
Uh and...
Here come the Men in Black (Men in Blaaaaack)
Galaxy defenders (oahhaooohh ohhhhh)
Here come
)

 

[Jeeebus]

I'm not saying you should take your meds, but you should take your meds.

 

[cbrunny]

dont speed.

/thread

 

[TwiceOver]

Our PD recently got some Chevy SUVs that have all of the lights on the inside so nothing is exposed on the outside. They still have obvious city "CTY" license plates.

 

[Jeeebus]

dont speed.

/thread

well that's certainly not a reasonable solution to this dire issue

 

[GagHalfrunt]

This is a new thing to you? Christ, my state police department has been using unmarked Mustangs, SUVs and mid-sized family sedans like Taurus, Malibu and Accord for at least 20 years and pretty much every local department larger than Mayberry RFD does the same thing.

 

[mikeymikec]

Not the crown vic with blacked out windows and tell-tale side mirror. I'm talking about the increasing number of 'regular' cars I see pulling people over on the highway - Toyota Camry, a Buick, Honda Accord, etc.

That's like using an aimbot. Cops are hacking and it ain't fair. They already have fancy radar systems, the ability to hide around corners, radar planes, etc. Giving them the ability to catch speeders with a Camry makes the game unfair. Stupid hackers.

I'm reminded of that Blackadder Goes Forth episode where Baldrick suggests that they should go around asking whether anyone is a German spy.

 

[DrunkenSano]

I don't think unmarked police cars can be non-American makes. I've definitely seen SUVs and sedans unmarked but so far all American cars.

 

[Darwin333]

I don't think unmarked police cars can be non-American makes. I've definitely seen SUVs and sedans unmarked but so far all American cars.

Wouldn't that depend on local laws? I know of no federal laws that mandate what make of car police can and can not use.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Wouldn't that depend on local laws? I know of no federal laws that mandate what make of car police can and can not use.

Yeah, there is nothing Federal. There might or might not be local laws that stipulate that government agencies have to buy American. Even if there is no law requiring them to do it most police forces will choose to go with American brands because the optics are better. You don't want the locals to be up in arms about buying foreign product when its time for a police union wage hike to get voted on.

That being said, some places will use foreign brands. I've seen Honda locally and Subaru in other states.

 

[SMOGZINN]

Damn cops
Enforcin laws and stuff
How am I supposed to be the fastest person on the road (because traffic congestion. By me travelling faster then the other losers on the road I magically pull them along with me. Like NASCAR. Drafting and shit. That and slow people driving at legal limit so something something something left lane and something something something my car has a 160mph speedometer and speed limits should recognize my skills.Will Smith said that in Men in Black.
)

You forgot the part where it is ILLIGAL (ILLIGAL!) to go slower than me because traffic and it being dangerous to be going slower than me because I might just slam into any car going to slow because I can't be bothered to change lanes and I don't use my breaks on the freeway, and that cops will pull over slower drivers and give them the like $5 ticket for going slower than traffic instead of pulling over the people going 35mph over the speed limit (which I am totally allowed to do because speed limits are really just suggestions and if the weather is nice and you are in a convertible with the tops down you can drive as fast as you want, because Sammy Hagar fought for our rights by not driving 55, also if it is raining it is safer to drive faster than the speed limit so you don't drive in the rain so long because driving in the rain is dangerous, and so it is only logical you should do what you can to limit how long you are diving in the rain) and giving them the $1350 ticket for going more that 30mph over the speed limit, because everyone knows that cops are really out there to ensure that traffic flows as fast as possible and not to earn money for their department so they can get more overtime next month.

Praise Bob!

 

[Smoblikat]

Theres 3 completely unmarked camrys rolling around southern NH. The guys driving them dont look like regular cops though, look more like feds.

 

[BoomerD]

Here in Warshington State, the State Patrol is likely to be running radar from any kind of vehicle. Several years ago, one of their most productive units was a 1958 or 59 Dodge pick-up...LOOKED like an old junker...but was anything but...
I see them driving the typical cop-car, but I also see them in a variety of "soccer mom" cars, beat-up looking Civics, jacked-up pickups...Jeebus is right...the fuckers are cheating.

 

[Raduque]

On those cheater cars, don't they still need the "exempt" plates?

 

[spacejamz]

Do these cheater vehicles have official police markings on them???

Even if they do, this doesn't help the case of identifying police impersonators when they pull you over....

 

[Ruptga]

The solution is simple, never be the fastest one on the road unless everyone else is going under the limit, then you go right at the limit. There's always at least one raging schmuck that will happily volunteer to be your blocker, all you have to do is have a little patience and pay attention.

The police impersonator thing is a real issue though. There's more than a few stories out there of assholes doing that to rob or rape people.

 

[Bardock]

I agree with op

 

[jayzds]

They are usually repo cars from a drug bust or something of that nature. The cops generally can use them for a couple days and have to return them though. They usually wont bust people for speeding unless your driving criminally. I think they use them because they can and why not.
I will have to ask my brother or cousin who are both Phoenix PD.

 

[spacejamz]

 

[FeuerFrei]

Not familiar with those random makes of cop vehicles.
Largely black & white Tahoes around here. A few new Tauruses and old Crown Vics sprinkled in.

 

[zinfamous]

sucks when it's a charger or corvette or some BS like that.

IIRC, these are primarily Asset forfeiture cars. The old story was that these were taken from "Drug dealers and kingpins" after they were busted and didn't sell at auction, but we all pretty much know that the bulk of these cars were taken from regular people that happened to have some stack of cash on them or a doobie in the glove box or just happened to be on the wrong road in the wrong city at the wrong time.

 

[Puffnstuff]

They already have fancy radar systems, the ability to hide around corners, radar planes, etc.

I used to park underneath a giant highway sign that was high enough off the ground for the my dash to clear the bottom so my Kustom Signal radar could broadcast clearly. I did keep my parking lights on which was required by law so if you could see them glowing underneath a sign you should be able to know to check your speed. I used to set them up on battery packs from a fixed location like the base main gate which nobody expected either but I never wrote any tickets off them. Most of the time speeders would pick it up and turn around and run since they couldn't see a patrol car. These days cops going to lunch are some of the worse examples of speeding I see out on the road.