Police would save money on painting cars right?
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Some places actually have laws against this.
They feel that it’s unfair to the public for police to be patrolling “hidden in plain sight”. Like, a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
And then some police agencies try to get around those laws, [by doing this](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/presto/2020/01/28/PSTC/d6a0eb80-6b5a-40b8-8933-76a01d792c63-SR_Car_1.jpg).
“By defnition” it’s not unmarked. But from a distance, or in the wrong light, it’s very difficult to make out the markings.
Police have a power that we do not want normal people to have. They are able to detain people who they think have committed crimes. It is not legal for a normal person to put another person in handcuffs against their will.
Part of how we tell if someone has that power is we require police to wear uniforms. If you see a person with a police uniform on handcuffing a person who is making a ruckus, you’re probably curious, but you’d probably be less concerned than if the person were being tied up by a rando in shorts with a T-shirt. This is so important we have made “impersonating a police officer” a crime. You can wear outfits like a police officer, but trying to do the things police are authorized to do with it will get you in big trouble.
The same is true with police cars. It is illegal for a civilian to have a car with police lights or other kinds of police markings because we expect police to have some rights we don’t think citizens should have. This means if you are approached by a police car on a dark road in the middle of the night you should believe this is official business, but if it’s some strange car with lights and sirens it might be someone trying to trick you.
This is why many people find unmarked cars controversial. They think if we have cars that are not clearly marked as police cars, the presence of those cars makes it easier for bad people to impersonate police officers and do bad things.
Having uniforms and clearly marked cars also helps people find police when they are needed, and in bad situations makes it easier for police to understand where other police officers are in a crowd or in a car chase.
And in the end, they wouldn’t save an awful lot of money. The paint job is usually part of just plain ordering the car and is probably something on the order of $400-$1000 out of a $100,000 purchase. My local police department has had to pay out $20m in brutality lawsuits this year alone, and they haven’t bought any new cars yet this year. They’d save a lot more money if they’d stop fighting against the civilian oversight board and fire officers with a history of violence than they would over 50 years of not paying for paint on their cars.
Smart thinking. But should police buy certain cars en masse. Criminals would eventually realise what cars are likely to be undercover. Or they could just
Use a police scanner
The vast majority of police markings are just decals, not painted on, so it’s not nearly as expensive as you would think.
Op do you think secret police in nazi Germany was a good idea? Because that’s how you get secret police.
Smart thinking. But should police buy certain cars en masse. Criminals would eventually realise what cars are likely to be undercover. Or they could just
Use a police scanner
The vast majority of police markings are just decals, not painted on, so it’s not nearly as expensive as you would think.
Op do you think secret police in nazi Germany was a good idea? Because that’s how you get secret police.
I mean, you’d save on uniforms if they all wore plain clothes, too, but the point of a police force is to be recognized as people who are entrusted with the legitimate use of violence on behalf of the state. If everybody is a potential undercover officer then you not only unleash widespread paranoia, but you effectively annihilate any hope of civilians placing any trust in the police’s authority.
Police have a power that we do not want normal people to have. They are able to detain people who they think have committed crimes. It is not legal for a normal person to put another person in handcuffs against their will.
Part of how we tell if someone has that power is we require police to wear uniforms. If you see a person with a police uniform on handcuffing a person who is making a ruckus, you’re probably curious, but you’d probably be less concerned than if the person were being tied up by a rando in shorts with a T-shirt. This is so important we have made “impersonating a police officer” a crime. You can wear outfits like a police officer, but trying to do the things police are authorized to do with it will get you in big trouble.
The same is true with police cars. It is illegal for a civilian to have a car with police lights or other kinds of police markings because we expect police to have some rights we don’t think citizens should have. This means if you are approached by a police car on a dark road in the middle of the night you should believe this is official business, but if it’s some strange car with lights and sirens it might be someone trying to trick you.
This is why many people find unmarked cars controversial. They think if we have cars that are not clearly marked as police cars, the presence of those cars makes it easier for bad people to impersonate police officers and do bad things.
Having uniforms and clearly marked cars also helps people find police when they are needed, and in bad situations makes it easier for police to understand where other police officers are in a crowd or in a car chase.
And in the end, they wouldn’t save an awful lot of money. The paint job is usually part of just plain ordering the car and is probably something on the order of $400-$1000 out of a $100,000 purchase. My local police department has had to pay out $20m in brutality lawsuits this year alone, and they haven’t bought any new cars yet this year. They’d save a lot more money if they’d stop fighting against the civilian oversight board and fire officers with a history of violence than they would over 50 years of not paying for paint on their cars.
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