

This is a standard production car, visibly marked, but without audible and visual warning devices. Volvo S60 T5 Community Liaison car for the New South Wales Police Force Some police departments use pickup trucks with cages for animal control units. Sports utility vehicles and pickups are used for a variety of reasons off-road needs, applications where a lot of equipment must be carried. Sport utility vehicles (SUV) and pickup trucks These cars are usually a compromise between the different functions with elements added or removed. Some police forces do not distinguish between patrol, response and traffic cars, and may use one vehicle to fulfill some or all roles even though in some cases this may not be appropriate (such as a police city vehicle in a motorway high speed pursuit chase).

Depending on the configuration of the emergency lights and livery, a police car may be considered a marked or unmarked unit.Ĭhevrolet Blazer Highway patrol in Brazil Multi-purpose car In some places, a police car may also be informally known as a cop car, a black and white, a cherry top, a gumball machine, a jam sandwich or panda car. Terms for police cars include area car and patrol car. Some police cars may have reinforced bumpers and alley lights, for illuminating darkened alleys. Police cars typically have rooftop flashing lights, a siren, and emblems or markings indicating that the vehicle is a police car.

Some police cars are specially adapted for certain locations (e.g., traffic duty on busy roads) or for certain operations (e.g., to transport police dogs or bomb squads). Typical uses of a police car include transporting officers so they can reach the scene of an incident quickly, transporting and temporarily detaining suspects in the back seats, as a location to use their police radio or laptop, or to patrol an area, all while providing a visible deterrent to crime. A police car (also called a police cruiser, police interceptor, patrol car, cop car, prowl car, squad car, radio car, or radio motor patrol (RMP)) is a ground vehicle used by police for transportation during patrols and to enable them to respond to incidents and chases.
