One of the problems with police work, especially traffic enforcement, is that you have to catch people not paying atention in order to bust them. They have to have left their car at the meter and wandered off, or maybe they’re not paying attention while texting or talking on the phone. If they’ve got their wits about them, odds are they’ll notice a traditional police car before the police car notices them, and can adjust their driving accordingly. This theory is what makes the Westchester County Police Department’s ghost car such a great idea.
It’s a 2009 Ford Crown Victoria, like all the other cop cars out there, but it has a few differences. It’s nearly an unmarked car. The low-profile cruiser has white paint and white decals, so the police identifiers are visible only close up. There are no lights on the roof, merely built into the grill. Even the license plate hides the car’s true nature by being a taxi license, rather than a government license!
“When you see a police car, you’re going to be on your best behavior,” said spokesman Kieran O’Leary, a stereotypical cop name if ever I’ve heard one. “But when the ghost car is there, drivers don’t correct their behavior because they haven’t processed that it’s a police car. And by the time they see it, it’s probably too late.”
Tags: Westchester County, New York, Westchester County Police Department, ghost car, unmarked car, low-profile police cars, undercover police cars, Ford Crown Victoria, unusual police cars, unusual vehicles, camouflage
