NCJ Number
146700
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 41 Issue: 12 Dated: (December 1993) Pages: 72-75
Date Published
1993
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The author discusses police cars in the United Kingdom, particularly as they compare to those in the United States.
Abstract
While American police have a choice of five vehicle models specially packaged for them--two from Ford, two, from Chevrolet, and one from Chrysler--British police can choose from among 10 models--five from Ford of England alone. These British cars tend to be smaller, less modified, less elaborately equipped, and designed more for spirited driving than American cars, which are are set up more for comfort and soft ride. While virtually every American police car has an automatic transmission, almost every British police car has a five-speed manual. The reasons for these differences are that the roads and the nature of the police work itself are different. In Britain and all over Europe, roads are narrower, shoulders are smaller or nonexistent, and parking is at a much higher premium than in America. Chases have been deemphasized; when they occur, fleeing motorists are likely to find few places to flee to, and often give up when they realize that a helicopter is tracking them, or when they run into a roadblock that has been set up for them. Once apprehended, they tend to be less trouble than their American counterparts, thus there is less of a need for protective cages in the cars, and insufficient room anyway.