[Stealth22]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Still seems weird to me. Are the British police cars pictured up-thread really that much more expensive? These are emergency vehicles, after all. Even if we could save money painting fire trucks and ambulances grey, it probably wouldn't be a good idea.

Well seeing as how those British police vehicles are BMW's and Volvo's (not to mention the Lotus!), I would say yes, yes they are. And before you say those are "special" vehicles, yes, the Lotus is. But Volvo's and BMW's are commonplace in Europe as far as police vehicles go.

How would we save money painting fire trucks and ambulances a different color? Fire trucks are specialized vehicles that cost six figures to buy, and are painted red in the majority of cases, like with the CFD. There is no real reason to do a vinyl door wrap on a fire truck.

Ordering the actual vehicles from Ford makes little difference whether they are ordered in black or white. Those are the top two colors ordered by police agencies...one could argue that black is more popular, and hence would be in more stock. But for argument's sake, let's say black and white are both equal.

Where the CPS saves money is in the actual setup of the vehicle when it's delivered from Ford. All Ford gives you is a stock vehicle, with maybe some rough-in done for adding equipment.

The liveries, lightbars, sirens, spotlights, push bumpers, light/siren controllers, radios, weapon mounts, laptop mounts, etc etc are all installed after CPS takes delivery of the vehicle. It's a very labour and time intensive process, and time is money.

It simply costs less in materials, labour, and time to wrap the door of a black vehicle in white vinyl than it does to apply blue and red stripe decals to a white vehicle. Keep in mind, the old design had numerous decals, and each one had to be in a specific spot on the vehicle. The new design also has the Canadian flag, the Service slogan, etc. But the stripes were the hardest part, because they span across the entire car.

Then there's the aspect of making the cars stand out on the road...black and white are universally known as traditional colors for police vehicles. If you see a white sedan approaching, unless you can recognize it as a Crown Vic (or the new Ford Interceptor), or see the small blue/red stripes, you would have no idea it was a police vehicle. Those LED lightbars, when turned off, are completely invisible at a distance. If you see a black car with white doors, you know exactly what's coming.

Do they look 'aggressive'? I personally don't think so, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But when it comes down to it, if you need help, and you see a black and white with blue and red lights, are you going to be afraid to wave the officer down or ask for help? Unless you've broken the law, I wouldn't think so. In fact, if someone is in a state of panic and needs help, that black and white is going to be instantly identified in their mind as a police car...far quicker than the time it takes to look at a white vehicle, and see the blue and red stripes.

Lastly, as everyone knows, the police have a dangerous job, but they face the greatest risks at night. If they need to approach a house to catch a suspect (could be anything, a burglar, home invasion, drug bust, wanted suspect, etc), they obviously are not going to want to alert the bad guys to their presence. But if you're the suspect, and you look out the window, which car is easier to see? The black one, or the white one?

Anyway, I didn't mean for this post to get so long, but the point I was trying to make is, the cost savings is not in the color of the paint, it's in the actual preparation and decaling (sp?) of the vehicle. Not just on delivery, but when the car is decommissioned as well. The visibility and safety aspect is just a bonus. Is a black car harder to spot on the street if I'm speeding? Absolutely, and I'm sure that was a reason. But if you were in charge of the police service, wouldn't you do the same thing?

At the end of the day, they're the police, and they're going to be the ones you call when you need help. So what difference does it make what color cars they drive?

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Great comparison to fire trucks.

Law enforcement basically see zero resistance to budgetary requests. If the priority was pink cars with dildos on them, that's what they'd get.

At some point the the department made this a priority, any kind of 'budget' justification is just that, justification.

I don't understand what your point is. And I'm not trying to be sarcastic or condescending, I'm genuinely confused at this post.

Law enforcement don't see a lot of resistance when it comes to spending, sure. But what does this have to do with black and white cruisers? The black and whites are cheaper than the blue/white Crown Vics, not the other way around.