Why unmarked Police Cars?

[Jer]

I agree that uniformed patrolmen need to be in clearly marked squad cars. It not only helps to create a police 'presence' which can help prevent crime before it even starts and the second and probably more important reason is what happens when someone needs a police officer when lives are on the line and an unmarked car drives right by and they're looking for the badge and lights? To me police cars should be clearly marked as these things are more important than a few traffic tickets they may or may not get otherwise.

[hollohas]

It is nearly as easy to make a fake marked police car if that is your intention.

See?

Pretty sure they just use those to race kids at Bandimere Speedway during the "Take it to the Track" events. Not sure they actually use them on the street...I think the second pic is a marketing picture...could be wrong though. Awesome anyway.

My Dad used to drive a Mustang 5.0 for AZ HP. Was always marked...

[rockhound]

show me da money, it is all about getting you unaware

personally, they stick out almost as bad as a marked cruiser

[Ronin13]

I remember years ago (around 01/02) Jeffco had the unmarked Chevy Silverado Pick Ups that drove around and unless you looked really hard for the lights in the grill (which were very well concealed) or in the front or back window, it'd look just like any other truck on the road. Then they got all this money and did away with the unmarked pick ups, moved to unmarked Expeditions and Crown Vics, oh yeah and then repainted the entire fleet of marked vehicles with the traditional black and white scheme. Did I forget to mention that some of the Expedition's up in the mountain areas have FLIR? I don't think Jeffco needs unmarked for revenue generation- they seem to be pretty well off enough to mount FLIR systems on some of their vehicles and give every deputy a brand new M4 if he needs it.

[OneGuy67]

Most of the agencies I've worked for in the past have used unmarked vehicles for their traffic units. If you want to call it revenue, okay whatever, but the street cop isn't tallying up dollar figures when he is writing citations. They generally use them for being sneaky and catching the dumb ass who is driving poorly and wouldn't normally be caught if using a marked vehicle.

We also used unmarked vehicles for 'special' enforcement or patrol when an area is/has been hit with a specific type of crime, like say a bunch of burglaries in a specific neighborhood. A marked vehicle would stand out far more than an unmarked, even if it was a similar vehicle style. You would want to cruise in the unmarked as you want to catch the bad guy, not scare him into moving his burglary ways to another neighborhood. Other types of enforcement might be prostitution, street racing, etc.

I currently have an unmarked vehicle assigned to me with mini light bars in the front and back windows, headlights and taillights flash, big siren and air horn, etc. I wouldn't use it for a u/c vehicle (kind of hard to explain those bars in the windows), but it works to get me to where I need to be and if SHTF, then I have the ability to clear traffic with the equipment.

Not justifying their existance, just explaining why some agencies use them.

[Jer]

...They generally use them for being sneaky and catching the dumb ass who is driving poorly and wouldn't normally be caught if using a marked vehicle.

Thanks for proving my point. When there are more marked cars those who would normally drive dangerously straighten up and fly right making the road a safer place for everyone. Wouldn't this be a big part of 'To serve and protect' ?? Seems to me that preventing dangerous acts is a better outcome than ticketing those who commit the dangerous acts after their committed. One generates revenue and one doesn't and, possibly even more importantly, one is easy to track and spread sheet and the other is pure speculation. One you can go to whoever your superior is and say 'we cited this many people this month' versus saying 'we think we prevented this number of crimes this month' so I get it, I just think things have gone too far to try to 'catch' people.

We also used unmarked vehicles for 'special' enforcement or patrol when an area is/has been hit with a specific type of crime, like say a bunch of burglaries in a specific neighborhood. A marked vehicle would stand out far more than an unmarked, even if it was a similar vehicle style. You would want to cruise in the unmarked as you want to catch the bad guy, not scare him into moving his burglary ways to another neighborhood. Other types of enforcement might be prostitution, street racing, etc.

So if there is enough police presence in ALL neighborhoods wouldn't it deter a burglar entirely eventually? Same thing can be said with street racing and as for prostitution... I have my own beliefs on that one (I think our resources could be better directed) so we'll leave it alone. Just seems that more prevelant police force can create a feeling of a strong police state which would help to deter crime before it ever happens. Seems it makes more sense from a $ standpoint to have a lot more unmarked, plain clothes officers nearby to try to catch the perp of the crime after it's been committed and someone has already been victimized.

I currently have an unmarked vehicle assigned to me with mini light bars in the front and back windows, headlights and taillights flash, big siren and air horn, etc. I wouldn't use it for a u/c vehicle (kind of hard to explain those bars in the windows), but it works to get me to where I need to be and if SHTF, then I have the ability to clear traffic with the equipment.

Are you a detective or under cover or do you drive this unmarked vehicle in full uniform? Don't get me wrong, I agree that unmarked vehicles have their use in law enforcement but I just think they're being overused and are counterproductive when used most of the ways they get used these days. I personally had a good Samaritan situation years ago that could have gone MUCH better had a single LEO been in a marked car which was readily distinguishable from every other car as we were giving chase. Instead he was in an unmarked vehicle hiding trying to catch someone doing 5mph over the speed limit. I'm sure others have had examples where a marked vehicle could have helped and I don't feel any safer because they're out there. Who knows how many situations could have been avoided entirely if a cruiser was marked and helped to deter crime instead of being sneaky to write paper on someone after the fact.

Not justifying their existance, just explaining why some agencies use them.

I appreciate your devil's advocate take and I'm not trying to come off rude but I have an opinion on this topic and have had one for a while so that's why I ask the questions I ask and say the things I say. Eventually you or others reading this could get into positions to try to fix the things that are broken rather than just obey orders from those who are tied to the broken system and trying to make #'s out of it.

[Ronin13]

Seems to me that preventing dangerous acts is a better outcome than ticketing those who commit the dangerous acts after their committed.

The impression I get- and this is not intended to bash cops or anything- but the system is set up so that crime prevention is "on the list" but isn't really a high priority. Look at city/state/county revenue and do they make anything from crime prevention? No. I see more instances of LE orgs erring on the side of punishing crime instead of proactively preventing it. However, on the flip side of that coin, most cops I know would rather have their presence known and prevent a crime than have to make an arrest/write a ticket/give a warning.

[hollohas]

I see more instances of LE orgs erring on the side of punishing crime instead of proactively preventing it. However, on the flip side of that coin, most cops I know would rather have their presence known and prevent a crime than have to make an arrest/write a ticket/give a warning.

^Bingo.

Marked units help deter and prevent crime from happening. Unmarked units only help catch them in the act.

Here's my case... I grew up in Woodland Park. We would go to Colorado Springs regularly. Do you know what stopped us from speeding down the pass? It was the fact that we saw a marked car damn near every time. Now if I hadn't noticed any police cars in a while (conceivably because they were unmarked) then I got the impression that there weren't any police regularly clocking traffic so you bet we would travel a little faster down the pass.

Marked cars created a presence and stopped us from speeding because I knew they were going to be there. Unmarked cars' presence is unknown so it only served to catch you in the act, not deter you.

What's better? Preventing it from happening with a visual presence or catching them while it's happening with a hidden presence? I vote the former...

[Ranger]

However, on the flip side of that coin, most cops I know would rather have their presence known and prevent a crime than have to make an arrest/write a ticket/give a warning.

And I like this better. A bigger police presence, even if it just perceived and not real, is quite a deterrent. I think revenue plays a big part nowadays, just take a look at how Littleton is ripping up every intersection to put in the traffic cameras and photo radar - something I'm anxious to challenge in court if they ever get me on one of them (seeing how many precedents have already been set on the unconstitutionality of not being able to face your accuser).

[hollohas]

And I like this better. A bigger police presence, even if it just perceived and not real, is quite a deterrent. I

And an example of that is Alma, Colorado. For years they had a marked unit that they would move around their small town. No officer in it...just parked on the side looking like it was running traffic. It didn't stop the locals from speeding because they knew it was empty but it sure slowed down all the out-of-town ski traffic heading to Breckenridge.