LEO randomly running plates

[T.Lex]

So how many cases have been dismissed or ruled in favor of the defense because the police car had decals but no light bar on the roof?

I do not know. That information is not tracked in our legal system. I would defer to KF as a practicing defense attorney as to whether there is any anecdotal examples of that.

 

[Frank_N_Stein]

In Indy or in general? I see a lot more of them.

No lights on top, markings that are not reflective, colors that are more subdued, more unmarked cars, more vehicles that are not standard vehicles (ie pickup truck).

Depends on the use of the vehicle and the department. For road patrol the cars are almost exclusively fully marked. Some departments use unmarked, semi-marked, or non-typical (pickups) cars for traffic enforcement. IMPD has only a few semi-marked cars, and those are usually driven by Lieutenants, depending on their assignment.

 

[T.Lex]

It seems to me that the trend around here, in the smaller agencies, is to have marked cars with every flashing LED light known to man....so as to be seen from the moon with the naked eye. Other than the State Police's "sneaky vehicles" the only agency cars I see around here doing traffic are pretty much all fully marked.

I see both sides of this. (Probably no surprise to anyone.)

It does seem like, among some officers, the more LEDs, the better.

But, I'd also say that, even those thin LED lightbars are examples of stealthiness. I remember when those big incandescent light bars could be seen a mile away. Now, they are barely noticeable.

ETA: picking up on FnS's lieutenant example, it seems like the necessary pay grade for a semi-marked or unmarked is dropping in some jurisdictions. I'm pretty sure one (northside) suburb has sergeants' vehicles with no lightbar.

 

[hornadylnl]

Almost every LEO vehicle I saw in DC had 2 small blue lights on their light bar on at all times. They're so noticeable that I saw one about 1/4 mile behind me on the freeway at night. If not for the 2 lights, I'd have had no idea that it was a cop car.

 

[Frank_N_Stein]

Almost every LEO vehicle I saw in DC had 2 small blue lights on their light bar on at all times. They're so noticeable that I saw one about 1/4 mile behind me on the freeway at night. If not for the 2 lights, I'd have had no idea that it was a cop car.

Visible deterrent?

 

[KLB]

Visible deterrent?

It seemed that used to be part of all patrol vehicles.

 

[hornadylnl]

Visible deterrent?

My guess. You couldn't hardly go 10' without seeing a LEO or LEO vehicle. On the night bus tour, the guide said there were over 300 LEO agencies in DC. I find that hard to believe but they were everywhere.

Saw lots of homeless but very few ever tried panhandling anyone. We were staying 1 mile north of the Washington monument and 5 blocks from the white house. Walked back to the hotel many times after dark and never felt threatened.

 

[VUPDblue]

I see both sides of this. (Probably no surprise to anyone.)

It does seem like, among some officers, the more LEDs, the better.

But, I'd also say that, even those thin LED lightbars are examples of stealthiness. I remember when those big incandescent light bars could be seen a mile away. Now, they are barely noticeable.

ETA: picking up on FnS's lieutenant example, it seems like the necessary pay grade for a semi-marked or unmarked is dropping in some jurisdictions. I'm pretty sure one (northside) suburb has sergeants' vehicles with no lightbar.

I do not believe that the newer LED bars are meant to be stealthy. They draw much less power and are orders of magnitude brighter and more visible than the old "bubble lights". They cause less wind resistance, generate less wind noise, are less fragile, easier to maintain, the list goes on and on. I don't believe that "stealthy" was the goal in building such bars.

 

[printcraft]

I heard a rumor somebody was going to be running plates at the meet-n-greet....... I'm not sure I can make it now.......

 

[phylodog]

My guess. You couldn't hardly go 10' without seeing a LEO or LEO vehicle. On the night bus tour, the guide said there were over 300 LEO agencies in DC. I find that hard to believe but they were everywhere.

Saw lots of homeless but very few ever tried panhandling anyone. We were staying 1 mile north of the Washington monument and 5 blocks from the white house. Walked back to the hotel many times after dark and never felt threatened.

DC has the highest number of officers per capita in the nation at 61 officers for every 10K residents. Here in Indy we have 19 officers for every 10K residents.

 

[drillsgt]

DC has the highest number of officers per capita in the nation at 61 officers for every 10K residents. Here in Indy we have 19 officers for every 10K residents.

You guys do a good job with what you have to work with too. I'd much rather walk around downtown Indy than DC (of course I couldn't be armed in DC either). I'm glad I don't have to go there regularly for work anymore.

 

[hornadylnl]

DC has the highest number of officers per capita in the nation at 61 officers for every 10K residents. Here in Indy we have 19 officers for every 10K residents.

Is that including all the various agencies such as capital police, secret service, and those working in the museums? 61 seems way too low but I'm sure the population density per square mile is much higher in DC than in Indy.

They had Pennsylvania Avenue closed off in front of the White House but you could still get to the White House side of the fence. I started to set up my tripod to get some night time pics and a cop told me I couldn't use a tripod on that side of the street. Seemed pretty silly. I must say that with all the recent events, I never saw the first cop wound up like a spring in the week we were there.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

horn, did you know that one must have a special permit for a camera tripod in DC (Park Police tripod)? Such stories of confused photographers used to be recycled in Gun & Ammo and American Rifleman in the 70s and 80s. They were told DC was concerned that machine guns might be mounted on the tripods.

 

[hornadylnl]

horn, did you know that one must have a special permit for a camera tripod in DC? Such stories of confused photographers used to be recycled in Gun & Ammo and American Rifleman in the 70s and 80s. They were told DC was concerned that machine guns might be mounted on the tripods.

I was only told I couldn't have it on the north side of Penn Avenue in front of the White House. She told me I could take it to the south side and be ok. With all the foot traffic around the Ellipse with the Christmas tree crap, there's no way I was going to get it set up so I didn't bother.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

My hunch is one side is U.S Park property and the other is not.

 

[phylodog]

Is that including all the various agencies such as capital police, secret service, and those working in the museums? 61 seems way too low but I'm sure the population density per square mile is much higher in DC than in Indy.

I'll post the link so you can check it out. Police Employment, Officers Per Capita Rates for U.S. Cities

 

[hornadylnl]

Ok, thanks for the link.

 

[JettaKnight]

I do not believe that the newer LED bars are meant to be stealthy. They draw much less power and are orders of magnitude brighter and more visible than the old "bubble lights". They cause less wind resistance, generate less wind noise, are less fragile, easier to maintain, the list goes on and on. I don't believe that "stealthy" was the goal in building such bars.

Indeed, LEDs are superior in many ways as VUPDblue stated.

However, steathly can be done with any light source, xenon bulbs were used before LEDs. However, strobing lights (xenon or LED) are hard to locate in fog. They tend to make the whole area light up and you can't tell where the actual source is. Rotating beacons are much easier for the eye to locate for various psychological reasons. I believe this is one reason the MSP still uses the gumball style lights (although they are now LED powered).

A side note, the MSP claim the gumball light has less drag than a light bar.