Unmarked Police Drivers

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I dont often see many unmarked Police drivers around, as i dont really know how to spot one, apart from the usual Skodsa vrs's ect.

I want to know, how can i tell by their driving style? Or how else can i tell?

Cheers

Kroegen.
 
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behind the grill are blue lights, not much else really. normally no slogans on the numberplates but i think even now they have dealer ones on.

unfortunately i got caught by an unmarked suburu impreza WRX and in the mirror i couldnt tell... 2 blokes in white shirts is as much of a giveaway as you will see tbh.
 
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Officers operating unmarked vehicles have to wear their uniforms, so that's a decent give-away.

Some cars also have LEDs on the sides, either on the front bumper, or on the panels below the side indicators. They're clear though, so they're not immediately obvious.
 
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here in ni:

-they sit at exactly the speed limit on a given stretch of road
-no stickers in the back windows i.e. dealer logos
-no writing on the number plate
-no personalised plates or fancy scripting
-additional aerial
-mostly in mondeos, audis or volvos + the odd vauxhall
 
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They usually keep their distance and appear from no where. They bias themselves to the right side of the lane, more often than not they drive around with their sidelights on.

Some of them have more than one ariel, they wear black flak jackets over white shirts. Two males onboard usually.

All in all, they're not that easy to spot.
 
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Killa_ken said:
Under Cover 5-0 here have LED displays in the rear window that flash up POLICE when in an emergency, so they are pretty easy to spot.
I saw an unmarked Accord with "POLICE" scrolling across an LED board on the parcel shelf a few days ago. I was wondering whether it was someone having a laugh as they didn't seem to be in an emergency.
 
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DannyDan said:
I saw an unmarked Accord with "POLICE" scrolling across an LED board on the parcel shelf a few days ago. I was wondering whether it was someone having a laugh as they didn't seem to be in an emergency.

I don't think the real ones scroll, you can buy those ones...
 
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If you are close enough to see the blue lights between the grill or the Police LED sign on the parcel shelf then it's too late anyway! :p

Usually, they will be driving a high end four door saloon. Volvo T5 is common but the Skodas are starting to replace them. Dull colours are generally choosen as well. The car used varies from force to force and sometimes can be the unexpected (usually they got a deal to good to pass or a car maker has given them a model for PR, like Cosworths in the 90s and Scoobys / Evos in the 00s).

The arial and the 2nd rear view mirror use to be a give away but they are less common now. Some of the convert radio fits now are very impressive, arials around the rear window fitting for example.

They won't have dealer stickers on the plates as they make their own plates (with the exception of bikes) but again if you are close enough to read the small print on the plate you are too late, or you could just look up to see if the guy is wearing Police uniform and is waving at you. :D

In summary, there isn't any real way to be sure. Just keep your eyes peeled, check what the person is wearing as you get close enough, beware of fast closing 4 door saloons and cars doing 5-10 mph below the limit in lane 1.
 
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They have a crazy silver focus ST next to mine..... but i thinks its used to training exercises.. all i know is ive had to move out of its way twice as it went past at some silly speeds with the blues flashing etc..
 
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DannyDan said:
I saw an unmarked Accord with "POLICE" scrolling across an LED board on the parcel shelf a few days ago. I was wondering whether it was someone having a laugh as they didn't seem to be in an emergency.

The ones i see Flash they dont scroll. They usually havge stars all around like this

*********
**POLICE**
*********
 
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TheVoice said:
Officers operating unmarked vehicles have to wear their uniforms, so that's a decent give-away.

I didn't think they did. In Traffic Cops on BBC1 there is a guy who drives arround in plain clothes and an unmarked car and by himself. But i think that might be a proactive car crime car rather than a traffic car
 
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Single-occupancy is common these days. As ^Gord^^ says, most only have a single aerial these days. Until they all got alloys another trick was that undercover cars never use wheel covers. And spotting them from behind is useless - you need to tell when the one behind you is the feds. The main thing is: they tend to come up fast until they are close enough to see your reg to do a PNC, then drop back much further than most people. If the car behind you seems a long way back, but is pacing you, that's a clue. Ths works at night as well. Provided that you put two and two together an don't then drive another seven miles at 80 in a 60.... :(


M
 
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TheVoice said:
Officers operating unmarked vehicles have to wear their uniforms, so that's a decent give-away.

Nope. a lot of specialist teams don't wear uniforms. Nearly all forces have policies which state all on duty "frontline" officers have to wear body armour and PPE, so you can sometimes tell.

CID officers are in plain clothes and drive unmarked cars, and don't even wear body armour most the time :)
 
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