Discussions

Does anyone else out there have a problem with the black and white used police cars out on the road? I sure do and here is why.  
We teach our children that they are safe with the police and to seek out a policeman if they are in serious trouble. I am not passing judgement on anyone but lets just say the people driving these used cars are not so nice and good....We have just put our OWN child into harms way.  
There should be a law that states you have to change a used police car to one of the 2 colors or completely to another color....if there isn't one already.  
I hope I am not the only one that thinks leaving it black and white is wrong.

Don't have a problem. Not all cars are black and white. Maybe before they get rid of them they should be removing one color before selling.

HLF I can see where you are coming from, but if you're concerned children not knowing the difference, should parents who teach their children police safety maybe be a little bit more specific in describing the car? Tell them to look for the light bar on the roof, the writing on the side of the car, etc... it's just a thought, and I know that depending the age of the child they may not understand those but instead of complaining about it we could maybe teach our children to look for those signs that indicate an "active" car not an old one

Yep, if it looks exactly like a police car and it is not, then it is a problem.

If a new paint job was required the value of these used cruisers would drop to pretty much zero. How much bigger would our police budgets have to get to offset the loss of revenue from used vehicle sales?

ren008 said "If a new paint job was required the value of these used cruisers would drop to pretty much zero. How much bigger would our police budgets have to get to offset the loss of revenue from used vehicle sales? "

They aren't selling these cars for much now . Could almost sell them for scrap for what they are sold for.

I remember a time in the late 80's and into the 90's that all retired RCMP vehicles were re-painted to a solid blue, from the blue with white doors. However, times change. Back then, prepping and painting was relatively cheap and they were just the doors. Often enough, the front set were only white. I drove one for a while as a 'winter beater'. The doors were painted over to match the rest of the body (sort of... wasn't the best job. LOL). But now, it's all four doors and the roof. Plus, these cars often started off as white and had the front and back painted black. I would guess painting the car back to a solid will cost the dealer too much. The city won't certainly do it. The best they do is remove all the cop essentials on the inside and peel off the decals.  
 
I personally feel that the cars should be made solid before being sold to the public. Only saying this for the reason, that back in the 90's, I've sometimes been mistaken for as an RCMP. Even though the car was a solid color, it was the fact that I was in a non-descript 4-door Ford LTD. with no chrome trim, black steel wheels with the tiny tin hubcaps and having that distinctive RCMP royal blue. Many on the road would instinctively hammer on the brakes to slow down. As a young adult, I thought it was amusing. ...Especially, when I came roaring up to those classic "pit and house parties". Watching the crowd start to quickly disperse, before realising it was only me, was very funny (or at lease, I thought it was funny). Man, I had a lot of fun with that car. That old 351 interceptor with the heavy suspension would go like hell, and drive through it as well. But I have to admit, the best thing that I enjoyed about having that car was misleading and/or surprising others. ...Which now, I look back with older/wiser eyes and consider me as being stupid.  
 
However, saying all this... If there is no law being broken, people can use them however they want. But, I do think having them sold at auction should be stipulated that they would need to be changed back to a solid before they can be put back on the road again. Just for the sake of the public.  
 
Just my opinion, I could be wrong.  
 

so then we should have a concern / problem with police in their unmarked ("ghost") cars?  
Must only be me but I'm not following the logic of this.  
Let's teach kids that police cars should have the logo on the side & light bar on top.

my children are all grown up now but I don't see a problem unless the kid is 2 years old, a child should know different with a real police car with words police on it and should have seen few times the look of their city police cars also police wear a uniform. The police (i doubt anyway) that will ask a child to get in their car.  
I don't get the big issue here.  

Crash said "    ren008 said "If a new paint job was required the value of these used cruisers would drop to pretty much zero. How much bigger would our police budgets have to get to offset the loss of revenue from used vehicle sales? " They aren't selling these cars for much now . Could almost sell them for scrap for what they are sold for. "

these old cop cars are sold for two to three hundred each? Sounds too cheap to me.

Pretty sure it's easy to slap some lights in and make it look more realistic. And I have heard that a ghost car shouldn't be used for anything but sting operations because people can use this and do horrible things. I can understand the concern.

RainaRo said "Pretty sure it's easy to slap some lights in and make it look more realistic. And I have heard that a ghost car shouldn't be used for anything but sting operations because people can use this and do horrible things. I can understand the concern. "

Someone impersonating a police vehicle or officer is a much different issue than a vehicle having the same basic colours (black and white) as a police vehicle.  
 
Police officers are required to also wear their uniforms, they don't walk around in jeans and t-shirt while on the job.

I too recall where Crown assets would always paint the required portions of an old police car before selling to the public. I was surprised to see Brandon selling them still with the black and white. Even a budget paint job would suffice, and not necessarily lower sale price of the car by any great amount.  
 
If I recall correctly, the Brandon police vehicles were selling in the $1400-2300 range. At least these were the prices a few years ago. I have a friend who regularly purchases the ex-RCMP cars. They tend to go a lot cheaper, and he has often picked up cars for $600-800 each. The Manitoba ex-RCMP cars are all sold out of Winnipeg. As they are all white these days, no further prep is done aside from removing the decals and any police specific attachments like interior shields, lighting, or the trunk kits.

If someone purchased one with the intention of doing something illegal , even if the city they went the expense of painting it before the sale,20 bucks for a couple cans of spray paint from Canadian Tire and it looks like an old cop car again, maybe you would be happier if they just scraped all the cars just in case. and took a complete loss and just added it to the tax bill we get.

RainaRo said "Pretty sure it's easy to slap some lights in and make it look more realistic. And I have heard that a ghost car shouldn't be used for anything but sting operations because people can use this and do horrible things. I can understand the concern. "

but I believe that a "ghost" car was 1st on scene to last week's hit & run in the city. Perhaps a good use of the unmarked car?  
If I'm correct I think the victim would be happy to see it!

This is an issue?  
 
Has there ever been an incident because of it? Sure you can say there could be the very remote chance of it happening. But it's just not the colour that makes these marked cruisers. They have the roof lights, front grill guard, decals on the car, spotlights on the side mirror.  
 
And many 'ghost' cars are no longer just a grey version of the regular police cruiser, but modified regular passenger vehicles of different colours. They will blend in seamlessly with other vehicles, they way they should.  
 
At first glance when I see a white Crown Victoria I think it's RCMP, but further looks tend to reveal it's not.

Nothing better to do than complain? If that's all you have time for, try a better subject.

A family member of mine has one of these cars he bought many years ago. I can reassure you he is completely harmless lol