In various British TV shows, Inspector Morse for example, the cops use their own, private cars for police business. Is this usual, or artistic licence?
I know it definitely does happen with CID, I don’t know how common it is though. I guess plain clothes/plain car kinda goes together for when they don’t want to attract attention
That iconic Jag of Morse’s though, it was a huge headache for the TV crew, apparently very unreliable
I guess, that Cops using their own vehicle would simply get a mileage allowance for it?
I remember reading that some undercover cops had cars that were perfectly safe, but had unmatching wheels styles, different coloured panels, loud exhausts etc so they looked like old dogs, but weren’t.
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The reason I’m certain CID do use their own vehicles is because a lad I worked with was arrested at work, the cops had to move their child-seat to get him in the back of the vehicle
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Thanks Frangers and Zac. Cops here always use government owned cars. Most cop cars, both marked and unmarked, are average looking family type sedans, such as Camrys and Hyundai.
All police cars are built to a police spec, heavy duty alternator, suspension and sometimes added bracing. They are retired at 40,000km/24 months, whichever comes first.
Detectives usually drive unmarked cars, as above. Traffic can use a variety of unmarked cars, including high performance. They are regularly cycled through different policing areas within the state, so as not to become recognisable.
There are some plain pool cars that police use