Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

I often see marked police cars without any audible warning system, or light bars. What is the purpose of these vehicles?

In my area, they are used by detectives, who do not wear uniform. The previous Chief Con thought it was a good idea to be visible. They are being phased out where I work.

We use our high mileage patrol cars for parking enforcement. Light bars are removed since theyre being driven by non sworn Police Assistants.

I often see marked police cars without any audible warning system, or light bars. What is the purpose of these vehicles?

I have seen some of these in WA also. I do not know the exact answer but I think they have the lights in the car around the windows instead of using a light bar on the top of the car. I am not sure though this is just my guess:D

There are some agencies using "Slick Tops" for service. They have the same paint and colors as the marked cruiser but instead of lightbars on top they have elaborate LED and strobe systems placed inside the windshield, grills, light assemblies, and side mirror assemblies. The slick top is harder to pick out in traffic without the large lightbar giving it away, however it is still safe to use with the markings and lights. I've even seen a black cruiser with "stealth" graphics. You couldn't see them straight on but in headlights they would reflect and glow providing more visibility.

Thanks, that makes sense.

There's an unmarked car I've seen around North Dallas that looks unmarked, but the light bar is attached on the underside of the roof and almost totally hidden by window tinting.

Like Valor says, when they hit the switch it lights up like a Christmas tree, and every light receptacle on the car seems to have strobe lights behind it.

Slick top cruisers get better fuel mileage because there is less wind drag.

We have several because we went replaced some Dodge Intrepids and Crown Vics with Impalas and the lightbars were too big to fit on them.

My department has only a few slicktops. Most of the cars are marked w/ lightbars or unmarked cars. There's only like two CVs, because the majority are Impalas. <--- :mad:

Our small fleet varies, but at the present we only have 2 units with a full light bar on top of the roof. All vehicals are fully marked with decals, striping, LED's, strobes, flashers, you name it otherwise, just no roof bar. And 1 vehical has no outside markings what so ever (but that's the chiefs car)but has full lights and strobes.
They are just as visable for the most part when taking down a stop or trying to get people out of the way, but if your running radar, and facing head on, takes longer to realize what/who it is. But maybe thats just me

There are a lot of slick-tops in service with the municipals and troopers here.

FYI, You can't "see" an audible system. :) The peakers and lightpackages in these vehicles, like most fed vehicles, are secreted away underneath the hood and in factory light housings.

The higher up's that don't do patrol work anymore, in my department, have unmarked cars, with civilian plates, and no visible interior lights. The chief has like a Honda SUV, which I do think is a department-bought vehicle, but doesn't resemble a police car at all.

But like many have said, for a stealthier approach, there are " unmarked slicktop cars".

In my department (and most of the surrounding cities):

They do have government plates.
But they have no markings and have interior lights.

My advisor is a uniformed officer that rides in an unmarked car. The detectives, in plain-clothes, use unmarked slicktops also.

Some sergeants and a few "higher ups" have marked slicktops. They have no lightbar but have the same decals as the other cars while still having interior lights and sirens.

There are a lot of slick-tops in service with the municipals and troopers here.

FYI, You can't "see" an audible system. :) The peakers and lightpackages in these vehicles, like most fed vehicles, are secreted away underneath the hood and in factory light housings.

Peakers? I arrested a peaker once... lol

Here in NYC, the NYPD calls these police vehicles "slicktops". They are used by the Highway Patrol unit, and are mostly used for catching speeders.

I have a few pictures of a marked New York State Trooper cruiser with no light bar.

http://i34.tinypic.com/9plwyc.jpg

http://i38.tinypic.com/2qd0v7m.jpg

http://i35.tinypic.com/2h2i2dk.jpg

http://i35.tinypic.com/33nfd78.jpg

Looks like most of those have interrior light bars underneath the roof, and mini light bars on the dash (I bet they also have strobes in the parking lights, hidden siren speaker, etc).

That's just so speeders won't see them in time to slow down, but they can still light them up to make safe traffic stops.

Looks like most of those have interrior light bars underneath the roof, and mini light bars on the dash (I bet they also have strobes in the parking lights, hidden siren speaker, etc).

That's just so speeders won't see them in time to slow down, but they can still light them up to make safe traffic stops.

Oops, I read the post wrong. I thought he meant lights on the exterior of the vehicle.

Yeah, most of the time if you see an officer sitting with or without lights, you're already dead in the water. :P

Yeah, and from what I've seen, a radar detector doesn't help that much... When it goes off and we're in line of sight, that means we've already grabbed their speed, unless they happen to be shielded by other vehicles. :D

One thing's for sure, if we see a radar detector (or in one case we saw a guy ripping it off his windshield to hide it), that means a sure ticket if we stop them for speeding - No warnings on those :D

Yeah, and from what I've seen, a radar detector doesn't help that much... When it goes off and we're in line of sight, that means we've already grabbed their speed, unless they happen to be shielded by other vehicles. :D

One thing's for sure, if we see a radar detector (or in one case we saw a guy ripping it off his windshield to hide it), that means a sure ticket if we stop them for speeding - No warnings on those :D

Illegal means Illegal and I can't agree with you more. I wouldn't have sympathy for that either.

all of ours has audible.
Also, with the local city cars, most of the SGT's are marked and have NO light bars up top, but have the leds in windows, lights, and grille.

In Philadelphia, our Narcotics Strike Force and Highway Patrol use semi-marked slicktop RPC's or Patrol cars. The purpose is self explanatory. The car is difficult but not impossible to pick out by the general public. The car offers police an option to avoid instant detection when conducting traffic enforcement or Narcotics operations but still offers the comfort of visable police presence in the community.

We have those, they are low profile vehicles. We only have one patrol car that's low profile and the rest are detectives vehicles. They are meant to be low profile, not invisible :)

My department has probably 8-10 "slick tops" that are on marked cars. These are for the traffic units (specializing in DUI and VC's) as well as the Senior SGT's and LT's. They have the LED light-bar right under the roofline in the front and have a light bar across the lower back window. Somehow the traffic units got lucky and got a performance upgrade because they were doing in excess of 135 mph (pretty fast for a CVPI). The GSU and Narc cars are blacked out and have that same light-bar setup. It is true that they do have a little better fuel economy, but when you drive with a lead foot (like a majority officers tend to do), gas mileage is not a high priority.

I personally like the slick tops as they give you a better chance at writing tickets to unsuspecting motorists that break the law.

My department has probably 8-10 "slick tops" that are on marked cars.

"Your" department?

"Your" department?

well, the department i'm apart of. :o
thanks for the correction.

The county I am from uses the slick tops for DUI enforcement. According to the DUI unit the first thing people look for on a road is the light bars so with them removed drunk or impaired drivers are less likely to realize they are being followed.
They are also in the process of phasing out the old light bars and bringing in new ones so some random deputies have the slick tops until their new light bars come in.

[QUOTE=VPD E-21;987359] , but when you drive with a lead foot (like a majority officers tend to do), QUOTE]

Maybe in your area the police may drive fast, but not in may area. So please be careful how you word that. The majority of civilians already think the police can do whatever they want and drive however fast they want, which is not true. The police here follow the posted speed unless they need to quickly get to a call or the only other time they go about 5 over the posted speed is when they take a prisoner to the detention center in another town and need to get back to protect the town they work.

As far as the cars without the lightbar on top, I like them. They can hide easier and catch the speeders. We had an unmarked unit for a while that was brown and the lights were in the grill and window, The officer that drove the car, NOT to be raciest, was a black guy and you wouldn't even realize he was in the car tell you got right up to the car. He caught lots of speeders especially in the school zones. Then they retired his car and gave him a moving billboard, a SUV, white and all marked up. He misses his car. The police chief, LT, and K-9 here all have unmarked units, colored SUV's and they say it can be interesting what goes on around them because no one even knows there is a cop right there. The Sheriff's office has some pickups, those are what catch you way of gaurd if your doing something wrong, and even when your not.

That's just so speeders won't see them in time to slow down, but they can still light them up to make safe traffic stops.

Not quite sure about that. It's easy to spot out a crown vic with markings, even without the lightbar. At least for me it is.

raciest[/B], was a black guy and you wouldn't even realize he was in the car tell you got right up to the car.


First things first. The word is RACIST, not RACIEST.

Second of all, if you didn't mean to be racist, why even bring up the officers ethnicity. It added absolutely NOTHING to the story.

"Not to be racist, but the officer who drove our car was a BLACK GUY." To which BIG responds, who gives a phuck?! White, black or plaid!!

Oh snap! Where you trying to say he blended in with the tint? You did say "you wouldn't even realize he was in the car tell you got right up to the car". You may not have wanted to sound like a racist, but you do sound like quite the ahole. A little tidbit, when its really a dark tine, you actually have trouble seeing anyone in the car. Skin color or lack thereof is of no consequence.

Not quite sure about that. It's easy to spot out a crown vic with markings, even without the lightbar. At least for me it is.

Yet you have a problem spotting a long dead thread. Interesting. :rolleyes:

In Virginia, unmarked cars have small white & blue lights on the inside of the car in the backseat so they are visible through the back window. Often the headlights or sometimes rear lights also flash colors. Most of them also have lights in the front grill that alternatedly flash white and blue.

These unmarked cars aren't as easy to pick out for most people, which is good, but I can usually spot them easily just because I know which models the area uses.

However, I did see a BMW convertible the other day that was an unmarked car--a really good idea, if you ask me! Who ever heard of them being unmarked cars...so they do surprise people! :grin:

Where I a from, the Sheriffs Office has marked slick top vehicles for advisors. Most of them are used CID vehicles that only have about 15000 miles on them, but trust me when they light up its impossible to see. And we have two Highway Interdiction vehicles, the only two Chargers in the fleet, it has the stealth graphics mentioned in an earlier reply. They do have light bars but it is still extremly difficult to see at night unless you are close and have your headlights on him.

Here's the lastest addition to my collegues at the Moorabbin Highway Patrol, a Ford XR6 turbo (4.0 litre I6 Turbo, with turbocharger and air induction system, giving it 270kW)

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c371/Kazz100/FordXR6_zpscfb126d5.jpg

Here's the lastest addition to my collegues at the Moorabbin Highway Patrol, a Ford XR6 turbo (4.0 litre I6 Turbo, with turbocharger and air induction system, giving it 270kW)

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c371/Kazz100/FordXR6_zpscfb126d5.jpg

What the heck is a KW :biggrinjester:, I want to know how many pony's (horsepower) that thing has.

What the heck is a KW :biggrinjester:, I want to know how many pony's (horsepower) that thing has.

Google tells me - 270 kilowatts = 362.075964 horsepower.

:cheers:

Google tells me - 270 kilowatts = 362.075964 horsepower.

:cheers:

Is that measurement in miniature horses?

Is that measurement in miniature horses?

. . . only the .07 part :lol: