Police car facts for kids

A Ford Crown Victoria police car of the New York City Police Department in April 2008.

Police BMW X5, with active visual warnings showing, escorts riders on the Tour of Britain

A police car is a motor vehicle used by police. It is used to assist with their duties in patrolling and responding to incidents. Typical uses of a police car include transportation for officers to reach the scene of an incident quickly. Police cars are also used to transport suspects, or to an area. Some police cars are adapted for certain functions such as traffic control, to transport police dogs or bomb disposal.

Police cars usually marked to identify them. There are two reasons for this: firstly, so that other drivers know to get out of the way of a police car that is rushing to a crime scene, and secondly so that the car can be a to crime. Police cars also have sirens and flashing lights which are also used when they rush to a crime scene. However, some police cars are unmarked, so that police can carry out work without being noticed.

History

In the United Kingdom in the early 1900s, police vehicles were first used to chase speeding motorists. This had very poor results until police schools were opened to teach officers how to use their vehicles properly. In 1910 the first police car in the US was used in Akron, Ohio. By 1920 police cars were in wide use in the US. It was noticed that patrol cars allowed police to respond faster. It also allowed an officer to cover a wider area. By the 1960s most major cities had shifted away from foot patrols altogether in favor of police cars. But studies proved a mix of foot officers and police vehicles worked best.

Chases

Police cars are used for chases ("pursuits") against suspects. The crime the suspect is believed to have committed may have been anything from a to a major felony. Suspects often attempt to lose law enforcement by driving away, sometimes at high speed. From 1990 to 2005, 136 people were killed in the US in high speed pursuits by police. Despite controversy as to whether high speed chases are necessary police continue to work on the problem using technology and new techniques. One technique is the 'take out'. A take out is a technique used to cause the fleeing vehicle to lose control and be turned sideways by the police vehicle.

When rushing to a crime scene, police officers can drive their cars through red lights and break the speed limit and other traffic laws. They must still be careful when doing this, however.

Other names

Terms for police cars include (police) cruiser, squad car, area car and patrol car. They 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'. Depending on the configuration of the emergency lights and livery, a police car may be considered a marked or unmarked unit.

Images for kids

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  Police Car, Akron, Ohio, 1899

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  Former Yugoslav Police Car - "Zastava" 750

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  Alfa Romeo 159 Patrol car in Italy

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  Mercedes-Benz W212 Patrol car in Hamburg, Germany

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  Luxgen Patrol car in Taiwan

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  BMW 530d Highway Patrol car in Sydney, Australia

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  Chevrolet Blazer Highway patrol in Brazil

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  Police pickup truck in Olympia, Washington

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  German unmarked Mercedes-Benz E-Class

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  The police car on the left is fitted with a lightbar, making it instantly recognizable as a police vehicle. The one on the right, commonly known as a 'slicktop' in the US does not have a lightbar, making it less obvious, particularly when seen from the front (e.g. in a driver's rear-view mirror)

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  A Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau car at Tiananmen Square.

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  Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor with emergency lights system (ELS) activated.

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  A Turkish TOMA water cannon of the General Directorate of Security in Turkey.

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  Yugoslav built BOV-M riot control armored vehicle

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  A WaWe 10.000 water cannon of the State Police of Hamburg in Germany

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  Supercars—including a Bugatti Veyron, Ferrari FF, Bentley Continental GT, and McLaren 12C—used for traffic enforcement by the Dubai Police Force. They are only used in tourist areas; regular units use standard patrol cars.

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  An unmarked Chevrolet Impala used by the Memphis Police Department. Flashing emergency lights are visible in the rear window.

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  A Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor used as a ghost car by the Toronto Police Service. A light is being shined on the front fender of the vehicle, revealing its hidden markings.

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  A Ford F-Series utility vehicle towing a horse trailer for the mounted unit of the Toronto Police Service

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  A Holden Ute (VE) used as a police dog vehicle by the Australian Federal Police

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  A Lenco BearCat and two mobile command centers used by the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia

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  A bomb disposal vehicle used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation

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  A water cannon truck and a police armored vehicle used by the Saxon Police Force

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  A Ford Police Interceptor Utility used by the St. Thomas Police Service, with a Battenburg marking design along the side of the vehicle for better visibility

See also

In Spanish: Vehículo policial para niños