“Looks like the police are here,” my friend in Germany nonchalantly chirped at a weekend car show in Nuremberg a few years ago. I turned around to see a small neon green and blue hatchback slowly entering the car show. My heart rate did not increase a single beat per minute; I barely gave the police a second look; and pretty much nobody bothered to pay attention except the folks to whom the officer was talking (their cars may have been blocking traffic or something). This was in stark contrast to pretty much any experience in the U.S. where a police car was involved, and some of that has to do with the fact that carmakers specifically make their police cars look “sinister.” This should change.
The difference between police in the U.S. and Germany (and other countries) is enormous, and spans far beyond simply the types of cars they drive. There’s a lot of history there that I’m not going to get into, nor am I going to get into any sort of police-bashing. I have tremendous respect for many members of America’s law enforcement, and I thank them for putting their lives on the line to protect everyday citizens. At the same time, there are problems with how our police has historically handled… many things.
I consider myself privileged in plenty of ways, and I’m absolutely a straightedge, law-abiding guy, but even I have had to deal with cops more than I’d like to. Back when I lived in Michigan and drove junky, sub $1000 cars, I got harassed by local police regularly. I once got pulled over for — and I kid you not — “looking suspicious” behind the wheel of my crusty, mud-covered 1992 Jeep Cherokee. I also got pulled over, had flashlights beamed into my face from multiple officers, and was handed an enormous ticket that would have cost me three points on my license had I not got gone to court — for passing a cop while going the speed limit in about an inch of snow. I also once got pulled over for passing an officer who was going 70.0 mph on a freeway where nobody goes under 80 (I-70, for you Michiganders); per my old Jeep’s speedometer I was going 71 mph, which was enough for the cop to enjoy a power trip but not enough for him to be able to ticket me. All of this is to say: I’m used to seeing Dodge Chargers and Ford Explorers in my rearview mirror, and the feeling I get when I see those reds and blues is not what it should be.
[Note: Welcome to Sunday Takes, where I (or occasionally Matt) spit out a hot take about cars for your enjoyment/discussion. This Sunday Takes may be going up on Monday; oops! -DT]
[Second Note: There are obviously much, much bigger problems with the U.S.’s law enforcement than the design of police cars, but this is a car website and this is Sunday Takes, so it’s a quick thought about car design. -DT]
Automakers Design Police Cars To Look ‘Sinister,’ And That Needs To Change
I should not be afraid of the police, and while — again, I’ll reiterate that it’s not just car design that causes this fear — it’s not exactly helping that vehicles like the Dodge Charger Pursuit and Ford Police Interceptor shown below are referred to by their manufacturers as “sinister.” Yes, that’s right; cars meant to serve and protect Americans are being designed to look sinister — a term that translates to evil or threatening. From Dodge’s press release:
Behind its sinister face, the Dodge Charger Pursuit offers an all-new standard E-85 capable 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine with variable-valve timing (VVT) and available legendary 5.7-liter HEMI™ V-8 engine with fuel-saving Multi-displacement System (MDS).
Then there’s this from Ford’s press release for the 2010 Ford Stealth Police Interceptor Concept that the company showed at SEMA; look at all the times Ford uses the term “sinister”:
- Revamped grille, lighting, exhaust and interior provide a sleek, yet slightly sinister look designed to blend muscle with mystery
- Sleek, streamlined and slightly sinister, a specialized stealth concept version of Ford’s Police Interceptor will debut at the SEMA
Check out this quote from that same press release:
“The rim section is stacked to give it the illusion of greater width,” [Ford designer Melvin Betancourt] said. “The center of the wheel is glossy black, and the rim is chrome. So we have that racy, hot rod look, but at the same time we’re building a sinister, stealthy, ‘Don’t mess with me’ feeling.”
Why are automakers making police cars look sinister? Why do we want them to convey the message “don’t mess with me”? Shouldn’t we want them to convey “I’m here for you when you need me. I’m protecting you and other motorists, and that may require me to, on occasion, chase after folks”?
Why It Matters What America’s Police Cars Look Like
To explain why the aesthetics of a police car matters, I’m going to reference a well-known military vehicle designer named Nir Kahn. Back when he worked for Plasan, an Israeli company that designs armored military vehicles, he wrote lots of insightful articles on LinkedIn about the particularities of military vehicle styling. One of my favorite articles, published in 2017, is called “The Aesthetics of Armoured Vehicles.” Here are a few paragraphs from that piece, which discusses how up-armoring military vehicles makes them look aggressive, sometimes sowing distrust among those who see the vehicles, and ultimately make certain peaceful missions more challenging:
But the addition of flat and square-edged panels [of armor] ruins the softer appearance of the Jeep-like vehicles and in many ways, although protecting the occupants, this can make their job harder, especially when working in civilian environments where human interaction can be a positive force, and an aggressive appearance can simply lead to increased violence.
The experiences of modern armies operating amongst civilian populations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and of peacekeeping forces and militaries around the world, has led to increased awareness of how the appearance of their vehicles can affect their ability to conduct their missions. Doctrines like “Hearts & Minds” can favour a less aggressive aesthetic, while other users may prefer to create a “Shock & Awe” impression.
[…]
At Plasan we often adjust the styling of our vehicles to the desires of the end user. Sometimes a fine balance needs to be created between projecting a less aggressive image while maintaining a requisite degree of authority. Some customers absolutely want their vehicles to look aggressive; it all depends where they will be operating. The decision about the vehicle’s aesthetic and image is based on a combination of strategic, cultural and political considerations, but most of all it depends on the mission. The needs of a police or paramilitary team are different from the needs of an army, and the needs of an army conducting peace-keeping missions or homeland defence are different from the needs of an army engaged in combat beyond its borders. The Plasan SandCat family has built in design flexibility allowing versions of it to be configured for any of these tasks, whether that means integrating observation or weapons systems, or adopting styling to fit in with the image that the user wants to project.
Making a vehicle look aggressive may make sense for a military trying to intimidate an enemy, but a police force should be considered a peace-keeper, and thus an organization that projects positivity, trust, and community. Police vehicles should not look like hard-core military vehicles.
The Whole Aesthetic Of America’s Police Cars Should Change
I’m not the only one saying this, by the way. It seems, based on a cursory online search, quite a few people agree that American police cars should look a lot friendlier:
Elsewhere around the world, cars do look friendlier. I mean, just check out the police cars in Germany:
And here’s Hong Kong:
I could go on and on, but you can see that visibility is key here. These officers are meant to protect and serve you, so knowing where they are is important. In the U.S., the mentality is sometimes different, as Government-Fleet — a website about fleet vehicles — makes clear when it talks about police vehicle design choices in Colorado (bold mine):
This color scheme was changed to the current color palette for several reasons, said Sgt. John Hahn, Colorado State Police public information officer. At the time, research indicated black, light blue, and gray would give police vehicles a distinctive look, while allowing them to blend with the surrounding environment.
Lighter blue and gray shades also reflect colors used by early Colorado State Police vehicles, Hahn said.
“Our decision was based on the desire to respect the history and background of our agency while still adhering to some smart, tactical strategies,” Hahn said. “We wanted a new, fresh look that adhered to the progressive nature of our agency while staying mindful of the past.”
State police vehicles that can blend into their surrounding environment offer advantages, Hahn said. The Colorado State Police deploys nearly 700 vehicles in its fleet; the majority includes Ford Crown Victoria with some Dodge Charger and Ford Expedition models.
“If we have vehicles partially hidden, it allows us to address motorists who might not be driving legally,” Hahn said.
The mentality of trying to ensure that vehicles are hard to see seems to imply a relationship between police and everyday citizens that is akin to predator and prey, though to be fair, this is not at all the case with many other police departments. The white part of a black-and-white police car is specifically there to help give the cars visibility, and beyond that, in California it is illegal to paint a CHP car all black; contrasting door panels are required to maintain visibility. There are plenty of states that have colorful police cars and not all-black ones; still, those big Explorers and those Chargers are still far from friendly.
The feeling of predator-and-pray is furthered by this USA Today article about LA’s now-defunct, fuel efficient fleet of small BMW i3 police cars:
LOS ANGELES — The sight of a puny, electric-powered BMW police car with flashing red lights isn’t exactly going to instill fear in the hearts of this city’s criminals.
But on Friday, the Los Angeles Police Department showed off the newest member of its fleet, a black-and-white BMW i3, a diminutive electric car meant for tooling around downtowns, not necessarily for a televised high-speed freeway chase.
BMW is loaning the not-so-intimidating police cruiser to the force for a year as part of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s desire to get more electric or plug-in cars into the city’s fleet.
Why is the article seemingly critical of the new police vehicles because they won’t “instill fear” or “intimate” the public? This concept of “Police cars should be scary” is clearly thoroughly engrained into our national psyche, and I understand why; even the names of these police are not great. Most police cars are called the technical term “Police Pursuit Vehicles,” which I’m not a fan of. Just because pursuing criminals is a thing these cars can do, that shouldn’t be these cars’ entire identity. The vast majority of the time police cars aren’t actually in pursuit. What’s more, the Ford “Interceptor” name technically means “a fast aircraft that attacks enemy aircraft” or “Anyone or anything that catches or blocks an object or person in transit, such as a player blocking a pass.” Again, the car’s name is focused on the stopping of people and less so the helping of people.
At least Dodge Chargers are just called Pursuit vehicles and not “Enforcers,” as they’re in Canada. And at the very least, the Ford F-150 has the excellent name “Ford F-150 Police Responder.” There you go, a nice, friendly name that reminds you that police are here for you and not to get you.
Friendly Police Cars Just Make Sense
America’s police is such a loaded topic that I fear a couple thousand words on a Sunday Take could stoke some flames and lead to some heated comments, so I’ll just say that I want to keep the discussion as much about car design as possible.
And on that front, I believe we need more friendly American police cruisers. The BMW i3 above is a great example, and so is the Toyota Prius police vehicle in Hong Kong. There is a very macho, paramilitary-vibe to many American police departments, and I think having officers drive a friendly hatchback instead of a huge, black truck or SUV that frankly looks like a military war machine will knock everyone down a peg and keep them humble and reminded of what their relationship with citizens should be.
The following might make it seem like I’ve lived in LA too long, but I’ll just say it: vibes matter. And you cannot look at the NYPD officer above in that Smart Car and tell me those vibes aren’t way, way better than seeing an officer in a huge, blacked-out Ford Explorer. It conjures a whole different feeling, and what a police car’s design communicates to people matters.
Back in 2016, Mercedes Benz of Portland wrote a great article on the New York City Smart Car rollout. It makes a lot of the points I’ve made in this article, including the fact that, while many will make fun of friendly cars because they’re used to cop cars looking scary, the reality is that a happy police car can help police in accomplishing their peace-keeping mission. From that story (bold mine):
In New York City’s tabloid newspapers and on blogs, they have been derided as “clown cars.” The previous police commissioner, William J. Bratton, described the subcompacts as “midget cars,” even as he announced their rollout last year.
But the city cannot seem to get enough of the tiny, bean-shaped vehicles, which look like curiously shrunken cousins of the iconic New York Police Department patrol car and which never fail to draw the attention, and sometimes the affection, of curious passers-by.
[…]
Among the department’s fleet of thousands of vehicles, including Ford Explorers racing to 911 calls and tow trucks clearing traffic lanes during the evening rush, the Smart car is quite possibly the only one that has its picture routinely shared on social media, described as “adorable” or, in the case of one parked in the West Village, “Cuuuuuute.”
“It’s just so approachable,” said Robert S. Martinez, the deputy commissioner for support services, who oversees the department’s vehicles. “People want to take pictures with it. People want to hug it, they want to kiss it. It’s just amazing.”
[…]
“It’s nice to have something to break the ice,” Michael Arad, the architect who designed the Sept. 11 memorial at the World Trade Center, said. One of the Smart cars parked in Lower Manhattan had recently caught his eye, and led him to joke to officers standing near it, wearing armor and carrying long guns, that they probably could not fit inside.
“I don’t think I would have joked with them if the car wasn’t there,” Mr. Arad said. “They thought the car was funny, too. It draws people out in a period of time when there’s so much tension around.”
Vehicles have often played a part in the politics of policing. In recent years, amid roiling racial tensions between minority communities and law enforcement, activists have pointed to the hulking armored vehicles mobilized in protests across the country as symptomatic of the militarization of the police.
To be sure, this whole article you’re reading isn’t meant to offer a solution that’s going to necessarily lead to radical change of police-civilian relations, but it could help a tiny bit, and above all, the story is pointing out the obvious: Because police are here to help us and not hunt us, their cars should be highly visible and they should definitely not be sinister.
I never really thought of this issue, but now that I read about it, I agree. It probably doesn’t serve a purpose to have police cars look scary.
That being said, I personally like the aesthetics of police cars. A lot of the design features (less chrome, less unnecessary trim/ornamentation) look cool. I generally think police versions of vehicles look better than their civilian counterparts.
This also made me think about atypical police vehicles I have seen. My personal favorite is a Smart Fortwo owned by a sheriff’s office in Georgia. I used to see it patrolling a very nice bike trail (the Silver Comet trail). It was the friendliest looking police car I have ever seen. The deputies driving also seemed like they were enjoying their jobs – I presume patrolling a scenic trail is one of the better law enforcement jobs if you can get it.
Here is a link to a picture of that car (assuming this link works?)
https://www.paulding.gov/ImageRepository/Document?documentId=11897
Are the police cars actually less ornamental? Sure, they have less chrome, but it’s just been replaced by “stealth” lights and black shit. To me, that’s just as ornamental (and thus the same amount of stuff), it’s just tacticool now. If anything, out of all the pictures in the article, the American cop cars have the most stuff on them (Smart Car withstanding, but that’s obviously not representative of most American offerings). The only thing they are missing compared to the other cars, is Hong Kong’s windshield and headlight
barricadesguards.I’m referring to how the cars look aside from the lights/police gear. Retired police cars (i.e. those with the decals and lights removed) look cool. I have also seen some vehicles that were built as law enforcement vehicles but never put into service (so lights and decals weren’t added); I also like those.
These vehicles basically look like stripped down/low spec versions of civilian cars. They only look remarkable because, in 2026, it can be hard to find a low spec/base model for sale on a dealer’s lot.
This is a great article and is exactly the points I make when having similar discussions with people. Having lived in the uk for the better part of a decade, the only interaction I had with a cop was being pulled over because I had a brake like go out. And that was “go fix that please” and that was it.
In the states, particularly in Texas where I live and see it regularly (But I bet it’s in a lot of places) almost all police cars have been swapped for the tactical revenue building cars. The monochrome black/brown/grey that are hidden in driveways, on ramps, etc specifically to find people, write tickets, and generate revenue. Some small towns that have 1-2 cars literally only have these and some of those are replaced with non-typical vehicles (local town near me has a single police car and it’s a black jeep gladiator). San Antonio used to have a law, I’m not sure if they still do, that said all the city cops had to have reflective marked cars, so they would have the markings made in reflective vinyl in exactly the same shade as the paint so they were hard to see.
Really, those tactics do a discredit to police that are there and need to be there to actually do their job and erode the already shaky trust that is there.
I’d actually love to see the police in my community pull people over for more minor traffic violations to tamp down on out of control and inattentive driving, but only if the results of those stops are less scary and expensive (like your UK interaction). That’s another reason to make the vehicles more friendly–we should be doing everything we can to ensure every traffic stop is a non-event. If every stop carries a risk of a bad outcome for either cop or citizen, then the threshold for pulling people over gets higher.
That’s a really great point. Enforcing actual concerns in a friendlier manner as opposed to just trying to generate revenue and building that trust that there is a reason the interaction exists, not just preparing to defend against the outcome of the interaction.
I’d love to see more driving in the left lane or overt safety issues addressed.
Sadly, traffic stops in the US are inherently engineered as hostile engagements. They’re a large source of arrests for a department, as they often coincidentally pull over a driver with a warrant and add an arrest to their metrics, and officers are actively on the lookout for that. Naturally, someone who knows there’s a warrant out for their arrest might be less than cooperative, and there’s no way to know until they’ve gone over the driver’s license, so officers who’ve been trained with that scenario in mind treat everybody they pull over like Hans Gruber just in case.
The other issue is that officers are encouraged to coax confessions and self-incriminating statements out of people they pull over because they might fight the ticket in court, so they’ll deliver a judgmental lecture to prompt an apology or justification, both of which can count as confessions if recorded on the body cam.
This is in my mind a big factor in why American policing is so ‘competitive’: most countries tend to have one police force for a region/province/city which all police officers are salaried employees of and equipment is purchased collectively, while in the US the fragmentation of the police forces means each department has to raise its own revenue and buy their own vehicles and gear, leading to a profit/competition-driven attitude.
Police cars aren’t need to drive revenue. Basic traffic enforcement like speeding, stop lights, and red lights should be done by cameras so Police can do their real job.
Long past time to get police out into their community doing police work instead of writing tickets.
I agree as long as they aren’t using ai cameras to do it. Speed cameras and red light cameras have been a thing for decades. No reason to not use them really.
ehhhh.
Red light running, sure, but speeding on highways isn’t dangerous. I’ve almost been in tons of accidents, every single one was some idiot not paying attention, failing to use a signal, and changing lanes abruptly. Not one single time can I think of someone speeding AND PAYING ATTENTION, causing a problem on the highway.
Distracted driving is a MUCH bigger problem, and there is basically no enforcement.
I was in the suburbs outside of Austin a couple years ago and had to stop to laugh at a police cruiser that was a Charger painted shiny black with “Sheriff” and the logo written on it in matte black. They’d gone full Spinal Tap with it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds7FRivVMgA
That nonsense is all over the Colorado front range. It had gotten so bad before I moved away last year that it became noteworthy when a police car was actually easily identifiable instead of sort of looking like one until you could get at an angle to see if there was matte lettering hidden within the gloss of the paint. It also seemed to make it a lot easier for folks who owned old cop cars or Chargers to cosplay as cops, since no immediately recognizable markings didn’t mean anything anymore where whip antennas and push bars did.
I was in Georgia a couple years ago and saw some state patrol cars with a similar all black car with matte black graphics scheme. Kind of ridiculous on multiple levels.
its on purpose. its called ghost marking.
Oh I’m sure it’s on purpose, didn’t know they called it that though.
I see a lot of depts here in RI that use that same scheme. It pisses me off.
They’re road pirates out to generate revenue.
If stopping speeding was actually the goal, they’d park a car where it was easily spotted and EVEYONE would slow own, not just the one car pulled over.
I get what you are saying. But as much as I’ve been stopped, even bight pink 1st-gen Neons would be scary at this point if that’s all the police drove.
It is of a piece with police offers trying to look as scary and intimidating as possible. The mirror shades, tactical vests, shaved heads and combat boots are the esthetic of bully not a helper. Their cars carry it over, plus the trend of black cars with barely visible markings is to aid in revenue generation.
Bright high visibility colors removes the concealment and may turn off the bullies and make them seek other employment. Also a hi-vis vest will reduce traffic deaths since more police die from cars than bullets
When you’re selling expensive vehicles to police departments you have to stroke their…egos. It’s the same mindset that has a lot of police uniforms looking like World War Two paratroopers.
I’ve seen enough photos of police cars in the US with Punisher stickers and even some with the Transformers “to punish and enslave” on them to know that it’s not just the car, BUT, it’s a lot harder to pass yourself as intimidating if you hop out of a brightly coloured Corolla.
Never seen any personal stickers on a cop car before but a brightly colored Crown Victoria fleet would be very cool in 2026.
I’d settle for a uniform and purposeful Police livery (if not national then at least across the entire state).
Agree that all government vehicles should look friendly because the government works for us. They should also be cheap to buy and operate because we pay for them. They shold alsonot only look friendly but also goofy, because in general people should feel goofy driving around in a car paid for by someone else. Problem is i wonder if driving a goofy car will make some officers over compensate more than they may already do.
One caveat though – they should also be fast because sometimes you have to catch a criminal. For fast, goofy, and reliable I think maybe the slingbug fits the bill. The Insane Bond Bug Could Actually Inspire A Less Insane Polaris Slingshot – The Autopian
I have a hard time believing the govt. works for anyone other than the wealthy elites and corporations.
Because US cops are bullies with fragile egos
The new trend for police vehicles seems to be Ford F-150 pick-ups. Several city suburbs around Chicago have been moving to pick-ups as they update their fleets. I’ve seen some SUVs with the pick-ups but cars are definitely on the outs. I’m not sure there is any way to make them not look menacing.
The first police cars in New York City were required to be opened-topped, because the fear was that an officer in a closed car couldn’t see or hear what was going on around them, and people outside couldn’t easily identify the distinctive police hat.
I sometimes wonder if this still wouldn’t be a good idea.
i mean it doesn’t help that police cars are mostly “macho” muscle cars (the ford Taurus not withstanding) So you black out an exploder or a chaga or a tahoe and that’s what you get. My biggest complaint is the livery’s that police cars are mostly going with. Smoke grey writing on black cars basically making them “unmarked cars” unless under direct sunlight. Need more gold/ silver / contrast colors. Big stars giant “POLICE” markings ect. Also i really wish you could post pics on this chat because ive made a few renderings showing improvements my local police can make because i currently hate their new smoke grey over black writing especially because their old cars were very distinctive gold/brown/black you knew they were cop cars from miles away.
“I also once got pulled over for passing an officer who was going 70.0 mph on a freeway where nobody goes under 80 (I-70, for you Michiganders); per my old Jeep’s speedometer I was going 71 mph, which was enough for the cop to enjoy a power trip but not enough for him to be able to ticket me”
Sure it is. Posted speed limits aren’t debatable.
Some states require a speed of >1mph over for a ticket. Maybe Michigan is one.
Just about every state is that way, car speedometers aren’t precise enough for drivers to know if they’re over the limit by that little.
The other day I was driving in LA at night and there were some black and white police cars that were parked hidden from view behind a truck. There were several officers dressed in head to toe black uniforms standing in the unlit street and they were almost invisible and I had to brake suddenly. Everywhere else in the world police wear high visibility gear, I wonder how many policemen and women get hit by cars trying to look tough.
American cars in general are just getting more aggressive looking. I can’t think of a single vehicle from one of the Big 3 that doesn’t look like a toddler whose stubbed its toe earlier.
Chevy Bolt and Express, GMC Savanna.
Current Chevy Bolt still has squinty DRLs and separate headlights, trying to project a more serious image than the pre-facelift. The vans are a weird thing cause they were designed so long ago. You’re not wrong for my original criteria, but they’re the vams that time forgot.
The vans that time forgot, I’m definitely remembering that for later.
I got pulled over in the snow, too. I was going just under the 35 mph speed limit in my ’83 Subaru (and I know I was for sure under because cops loved hanging out there) and the cop came up huffing and puffing claiming he was fishtailing all over to try to catch me. I told him to tell the department to get him new tires, but I’m in a Subaru and it isn’t even noticing this (didn’t tell him it was a FWD, but it was true and those cars didn’t need the 4WD at all). “License and registration.” I pull it out and “accidentally” hand him my company ID, the company that paid them 6 hours of OT per day to direct traffic in and out of their parking lot (where there were traffic lights!). “Sorry, wrong one!”—and gave my license. His attitude mellowed and I didn’t even get a written warning. Hm, that was a pretty boring anecdote now that I read it.
Anyway, I don’t really have much to add here as you’ve covered it. The cops here are more adversarial in attitude. It doesn’t help that they hire so many former military. On paper, there are a lot of similarities that seem good on the surface, but there’s a fundamental difference in mission that actually makes them worse in the role. The similarities reinforce existing attitudes and habits rather than encouraging adaptation to a new mission. The cars looking how they do are only reinforcing that even more. I would also add that the attitude is easily transferred to non-military police—they may look up to those guys and want to emulate them or see them as authority, the type of person who is attracted to being a cop already has those tendencies, and the job itself with some of the kinds of people they encounter makes it easier to develop an us vs them attitude. I could get further into the weeds on this, but I don’t think it’s necessary and I have some kind of weird cramp in my palm I just developed.
Putting them in a friendlier car probably isn’t changing the behavior of any current cops, but I could see it making the recruitment pipeline less attractive to the Punisher skull, thin blue line types.
I really started noticing the “militarization” of my local police department back in the early 2000s. Wrap around push bars, deeply tinted windows, uniforms that were intended to look tactical, mirrored sunglasses etc. And then there were the agencies that took things further and accepted surplus MRAPs. I’ve since moved to a city that tries to give more than just lip service to “community policing.” And it’s nice to actually witness the LEOs practicing de-escalation instead of instantly taking people down to the pavement.
I’ve seen enough PIT maneuvers in pursuit videos that I see the practical aspect to having those on municipally owned vehicles that occasionally have to perform those maneuvers.
I have always enjoyed going to Europe and seeing what cars and livery the local constabularies use for various duties.
There was a small town in Southern California that accepted an 2007 International Navistar MaxxPro MRAP. 2 Officers picked it up in and started driving down the 10 at 75 MPH in a 37,000 pound vehicle designed to go no faster than 65. None of the officers had commercial driver’s licenses which are required to drive a vehicle over 26,000 pounds. One of the tires blew out in Buckeye, AZ and totaled a brand new F-150 4×4 with only 301 miles on it. The police department did not ask the City Council beforehand if they could accept the MRAP. https://patch.com/california/banning-beaumont/draft_fe681730
Amen brother
Makes a lot of sense and needs to be talked about more. I know of some departments that wanted the more aggressive looking cars like the the chargers. But were reigned in by county executives and told no it’s too aggressive. They all seem to be loosing the battle with the ghosted paint on black cars.
Next it will be matte black paint with covers over the lights so you can’t see them in the dark. Then they will blind everyone with the super bright LEDs for “officer safety”. I think having a car that looks calm with neon all over it is a much bigger win for “officer safety”. The younger guys hate the orange vests so much but I that’s also a big win for “officer safety”. To be seen is safe obviously that’s the reason for the lights.
The problem in most of the country seems to be attracting the wrong people for a long time and those people getting power to their head. The only thing that keeps them honest if you have someone over them. In an area with lots of federal law enforcement the local and state cops tend to behave better because they aren’t top dog. The federal law enforcement doesn’t really mess with normal citizens because they have actual problems to deal with.
I believe making the cars more friendly looking but also very easily spotted will help the current problems to behave themselves. They tend to believe they are invisible and untouchable. Many are scared to death about their job. That leads to someone who probably isnt well suited for the job already to make even poorer decisions. It’s gotten bad enough I’ve been told by older cops that they wouldn’t trust most of the young guys not to shoot them in the back. I’ve been hearing that for probably 15 years.
In my neighborhood we have LA County Sheriffs in jeans and t-shirts with tactical vests and sidearms, showing off their steroid-enhanced arms. The vehicles reflect the culture.
We need to change the culture.
Yeah the car’s appearance is a symptom not an independent malady.
I was in Belgium in the early 2000’s and ran out of smokes, not having a car I started walking around. I found myself in a nice suburban neighborhood and realized I was getting nowhere. About the time I gave up on the quest, a police van passed by, I did the classic “one Mississippi, two Mississippi..” and boop they turned around. I said I was “American” and offered my passport and what I was doing. They just laughed at me and drove off. Meanwhile arriving home though JFK I was pleasantly surprised to have whizzed through customs. Until I saw the two DEA agents with the dog who instantly called me over. Neither interaction resulted in anything obviously, but the reversing the two situations, which I’ve experienced are the inverse as well.
As an American reentering the county I get the third degree, and walking in a nice neighborhood the same reaction. In Europe customs is a polite breeze, and the worst you can expect is getting laughed at for thinking shops are open past 5PM.
There seems to be a big shift to tattoo-bros as police officers
American Police seem to have a very ‘us vs. them’ mentality. They seem to not view themselves as a part of the community they are ultimately tasked with policing. Where I grew up, the local county sheriff just switched from black cars with a prominent gold stripe and gold lettering, to black cars with matte black lettering. They also now tint the windows far beyond what the state deems legal.
The whole Punisher skull aesthetic seems completely counter productive of the American Police’s stated goals, and, I’d argue, shows their true self-image.
Unfortunately institutional momentum and culture is incredibly hard to overcome, some I’m not holding my breath for American cop cars to get Battenburg markings anytime soon.
According to some articles I read back during the BLM protests, many of them aren’t part of the communities they’re policing. Apparently there used to be requirements that officers live in the areas they patrol, but those got dropped so now you have cops from wealthy suburbs patrolling the inner city. The result is entirely predictable, but good luck changing it.
Thats true around where I live in Nashville, mainly because the cost of living and horrible schools. Most Metro police officers live 20-50 miles outside the area they patrol.
Id also argue that police work attracts the more poor, rural, white men in general, just like the military is mostly that demographic.
Excellent piece! It would make a lot of sense if standard police vehicles had high-visibility paint jobs, like ambulances and fire trucks. And it’s a strange sight when the big feature at your hometown police-sponsored community event is their new tactical response vehicle (often still wearing its military surplus paint). Do American cops even want to look friendly though? Even though my own police encounters have been fine, when I started reading this article I immediately thought about police closing cases, not solving them. So if unfriendly is what they want, I guess their efforts have been successful, even on a person with little interaction with the cops. And the result is that I get a little nervous when there’s an Explorer with no roof rack that’s suddenly trying very hard to keep up with me.
(Seriously, don’t talk to the cops without a lawyer. It doesn’t make a person “look guily,” it just means they’re covering their rear end.)
The older cops wanted to look friendly to the general population and go into action when they were needed. We have a culture of scared little boys who think they are hot shit going into police work.
There is also something else going on. Most of the the Vietnam era veterans didn’t care they didn’t see everyone as their enemies. Some have told me they enjoyed it and the things they did. But they were excellent cops. The guys coming out the wars in the middle east tend to see everyone as their enemies. They were scared to death there the whole time came back scared to death. It’s be unpleasant shoot first to survive. Something broke there and we need to figure that out. As there is a always a large pipeline from military or civilian policing.
I wonder how much of this is modern military training. I’ve read that soliders these days are far more effective than they were 50 years ago, and a lot of that is down to better understanding of the psychology involved. You have to wonder what that psychological manipulation does to these guys after they’re out of the service though.
I’m sure that’s part of it. Plus they are an all volunteer force most scared to death. The first guys in both countries did ok then the war time recruits not so great and wouldn’t listen to anything they were told from the guys leaving. Vietnam was a learning experience on many fronts but they missed something. I’m not sure anything we learned in the middle east wars has really been used.
An interesting thing about why PTSD seemed like less of an issue after WWII. Guys were transported on a boat with other guys who had experienced the same things. All they could do is talk about their experiences with others that understood and went through similar things. In Vietnam you boarded a commerical airline got dropped off into an American airport even without the people calling names or worse. It’s culture shock and didn’t any of the trauma processed.
I think it definitely took a turn when the Charger started replacing the Crown Vic. I don’t think I saw many all black Crown Vic police cars, if all one color it’d be white or gold generally.
Then when the charger came out with less than ideal rear passenger area for a cruiser but a hemi and mean looks the Departments around the country ate it up. In the next county over the Sheriffs had ‘ghost cars’ done up with hidden reflective paint, but they had the regular county plates on them and easy to see lights in the grill and window, like everyone can see it’s a cop car, what’s the point? Basically to be cool.
I will say here in the Charlotte area the Charlotte pd and county sheriff are mostly white with green/blue so not as mean looking, so it’s not everywhere. And with the old Charger being phased out maybe will get better, mostly Explorers, and with the right colors they’re not as mean looking.
I think that was definitely the turning point. Alot of police department were even told no by county executives because they viewed the charger as too aggressive. But it did well because others were ok with that. Then everyone followed.
Most departments have a rule unmarked vehicles cant be the lead car in a pursuit. Along with many other things they can’t do. All the ghost markings shouldn’t be considered marked. There needs to be a standard for marking where you can see who is doing it. Along with throwing away anything they say is “officer safety” that’s just code for I want try to remain anonymous when I do bad behavior.
The police in the US aren’t friendly. There is no reason (other than just more copaganda) that the vehicles they drive should look friendly.
Americans want angry cars – look at what we’ve done to CIVILIAN car design (and the Wrangler aftermarket).
But also, US police are uh…..yeah when they say “protect and serve since 18xx”, just go ahead and see what organization(s) existed in that region at that time, and what they were for.
When I first moved to NYC, the police wore light blue shirts. Now they are all black “tactical” shirts.
I don’t see how making police seem less “us” and more “them” is a good idea.