My town just got a new suv and it's just like that. Of course us locals can spot it a mile away now but the flat landers get nailed quite often.

Revenue Generation is big business and pays for many cool toys.

We have one here in lil' 'ol Bridgeton, NC

There was some uproar about unmarked cars doing traffic enforcement. One was a red truck!
As you read the rules police out her can use unmarked cars for limited reasons.to get around this the explanation given was that they were going to get the markings put on but there was a delay. Funny, the red truck hasn't been seen since.

There's is a term for these:
"Slicktop".

......Ghost Car.....

I've been in slick-top unmarked units for 11 or 12 years. Durangos, Tahoes and now a Ford F-150.

I guess I miss the part about it somehow being "unfair"...I have a big push bar, two antennas and government plates, but DON'T DRIVE LIKE A DICKHEAD and we won't be visiting...

On the way home from the jail today I wrote two speeding tickets (15 and 16 over), two warnings for speed (14 over) and another speed warning but a cite for "Open Container Marijuana".

Hopefully the red and blue lights on a pickup put the other Friday-night-to-the-mountains-for-the-weekend drivers in a slower frame of mind.

I guess I missed the whole part about revenue generation in the academy.

Years ago I lived and worked in the San Juan PR area.

Police cars, painted and clearly marked as such, seemed to always drive around with their blue lights flashing.

One day, we saw one of the Policia cars go by without its lights going. I commented about it.

"Oh, that's an unmarked car" was the sardonic response from one of my Puerto Rican friends.

That car is TOO cool. My PD has a mix of cars ranging from 2001 to 2013.... Fords, Dodges, and Chevys. Different decals. Different light bars.

They all have one thing in common: Check Engine Lights are on and obnoxious squeaking. Haha.

quote:

Originally posted by Jager:
The State Troopers just north of Wickenberg aren't doing a bad job in their Explorers, either, on the straight stretch.

Run through there every two weeks.

The Wickenburg DPS squad's sergeant is my neighbor, two blocks over from our house. His house is right on the highway, you can probably see his squad on the south side as you go by, if he's at home. Great guy, btw, as is his whole team. We live just north of Wickenburg, on US 93 (past the Congress turnoff).
 

So strange to read unmarked cars can't pull you over? Here it happens all the time. They have Chevy Cavaliers, SUV's, Pick-up, Whatever the crappy current Chevy mid-size vehicle is.

I manage to avoid the police by not doing stupid shit while driving. Never usually go more than 10 over. If highway driving I go 14 or 19 over, here 20 over is reckless driving and is almost as bad as a DUI.

A long while back they took a drug dealers Corvette and painted it all up in D.A.R.E and county markings with "This vehicle was seized from a drug dealer" on the rocker panels and rear bumper.

FHP policy

Unmarked and plain clothed - Pulling people over is discouraged, but if they must they are required to wait for a uniformed Trooper to arrive before approaching the vehicle. Of there are exceptions if they are stopping something like an assault.

If they are in uniform they are allowed to pull over cars in unmarked cars.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
I manage to avoid the police by not doing stupid shit while driving. Never usually go more than 10 over. If highway driving I go 14 or 19 over, here 20 over is reckless driving and is almost as bad as a DUI.

That is Virginia for you. The rest of the southern states need to kick it out of the South.

Also 80mph is reckless, never mind the fact that some sections of the interstate have a speed limit for 70mph, so going 10 over on them is reckless driving. Of course the fact that this has never been fixed has nothing to do with the revenue they can extort out of people with a reckless driving charge hanging over their head.

quote:

Originally posted by PPGMD:
FHP policy

Unmarked and plain clothed - Pulling people over is discouraged, but if they must they are required to wait for a uniformed Trooper to arrive before approaching the vehicle. Of there are exceptions if they are stopping something like an assault.

If they are in uniform they are allowed to pull over cars in unmarked cars.

I believe this is the case here in PA as well. Unmarked cars have multiple hyper lights and only do traffic stops with uniformed officers. You won't get an unmarked cop in an unmarked car. Plus they always tell folks if there is a question verify with 911 call from safe place.

quote:

They got away from exterior light bars on police cruisers a decade ago

We had a few probably twenty years ago. far from a new concept. The light bars, even the new led low profile get caked with snow and ice quickly in the colder climates.

quote:

Originally posted by henryaz:
The Wickenburg DPS squad's sergeant is my neighbor, two blocks over from our house. His house is right on the highway, you can probably see his squad on the south side as you go by, if he's at home. Great guy, btw, as is his whole team. We live just north of Wickenburg, on US 93 (past the Congress turnoff).

By that damned roundabout? I hate that thing!

I dislike them. If you're after revenue, they're great. If you want to be a deterrent, they're lousy. I also do not like that the decals really are only visible in ideal lighting conditions. If you're the Police, why not advertise that you're the police, unless you're an undercover unit?

These folks were very lucky they were only robbed. Personally I don't think unmarked or stealth police cars should be able to pull over anyone for a simple traffic stop. Only blatantly obvious police cars with light bars on top - no SUV's, pick up trucks, etc - should attempt traffic stops, run radar, etc.

I know this would make the "real policemans" job more difficult, but, stories like seem to happen more and more often and most have much worse results for the victim(s).

Link below and sorry but our local paper must somehow block "copy and paste" so all I could do was take a pic of the article for those who don't want to follow the link.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/l...25-83757266551a.html

Franklinton, NC, small town near me, has a black Mustang with nearly identical markings, good looking car and barely noticeable. Wake County NC (think Raleigh) has an unmarked Corvette, and not just a regular one. It's some special edition, seized from a drug dealer of course. They use it for speed traps among other things.

I'm waiting to see this concept applied to Camaros / Mustangs as interceptors...