Ours in normal black and whites that were recently equipped with tag readers. The guys found and made an arrest on two stolen vehicles in the first month! This after years of the admin not believing they would work.
These "ghost" units as they're known around here, with shades-lighter markings, are effective. One local dept. has one with ALPRs on the trunk (which kind of gives up the stealth factor, but there are plenty of oblivious fish...)
On my prior department (IIRC around 1999-2001), we were utilizing marked yellow Taxi Cabs (CVPI's) for Aggressive Driving Enforcement. It took a few days and numerous 911 calls later for the motoring public to realize that they were actually Police vehicles.......I remember during the first week of deployment, a few motorist refused to yield / pull over...:wow:... It was interesting to see a uniformed officer conducting a traffic stop in a yellow taxi cab with a full light package on the side of the road. Needless to say it was extremely effective. I'm not sure if they're still being utilized.
There was a department in Ontario, Canada (it was either Halton Regional or Hamilton) that was utilizing a maroon CVPI, tinted windows with a white TAXI hat on the roof. The hat had the departments phone number printed on it :rofl: I'll see if I have a pic at home...
On my prior department (IIRC around 1999-2001), we were utilizing marked yellow Taxi Cabs (CVPI's) for Aggressive Driving Enforcement. It took a few days and numerous 911 calls later for the motoring public to realize that they were actually Police vehicles.......I remember during the first week of deployment, a few motorist refused to yield / pull over...:wow:... It was interesting to see a uniformed officer conducting a traffic stop in a yellow taxi cab with a full light package on the side of the road. Needless to say it was extremely effective. I'm not sure if they're still being utilized.
I'd love to see how effective these units are. Not effective at enforcement but at actually getting citizens to stop. A regular car, no markings, regular passenger car plates, lights up like a christmas tree? Uniformed officer or not, I doubt I would stop before a marked car showed up or their dispatch confirmed they had a car (my car) failing to yield. Seems to me like this would probably happen pretty often, tying up other marked cars from handling calls.
I'd love to see how effective these units are. Not effective at enforcement but at actually getting citizens to stop. A regular car, no markings, regular passenger car plates, lights up like a christmas tree? Uniformed officer or not, I doubt I would stop before a marked car showed up or their dispatch confirmed they had a car (my car) failing to yield. Seems to me like this would probably happen pretty often, tying up other marked cars from handling calls.
Much depends on the PR campaign that must go along with the use of these vehicles. PSAs that inform, educate, and remind the public that unmarked traffic enforcement vehicles are operating in a given jurisdiction, to let the motoring public know that these vehicles are legitimate law enforcement, that they are currently operating, and that zero tolerance is in effect for dangerous driving.
It removes the 'whacker element' for compliance, it lets the public know that the police may be watching from unexpected quarters, and gives ample warning to the public that bad and dangerous driving will be dealt with.
Done correctly, it can work on several levels. If a Sergeant just throws a unmarked unit at an officer on a whim and says 'bag everything you see', then a variety of problems could occur.
I'd love to see how effective these units are. Not effective at enforcement but at actually getting citizens to stop. A regular car, no markings, regular passenger car plates, lights up like a christmas tree? Uniformed officer or not, I doubt I would stop before a marked car showed up or their dispatch confirmed they had a car (my car) failing to yield. Seems to me like this would probably happen pretty often, tying up other marked cars from handling calls.
The vast majority of people wouldn't think twice about stopping. It's not really any different than when the B4C Camaros and SSP Mustangs were out there. Similar even to unmarked Dodge Chargers and Impalas today. I'm sure they're plenty effective.
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