Police cars are used across the country and throughout the world to aid in police patrols, traffic stops, accident investigations and to help keep the peace. Before the invention of automobiles and the development of police cars; police officers would patrol their jurisdiction on foot or on horseback. The very first police car was run by electricity and it patrolled the streets of Akron, Ohio in 1899. Its speed was 16 MPH and it could travel only 30 miles before the battery needed to be recharged. Now police officers can patrol local side streets and major highways by using their police cruisers. Police cars come in all shapes, sizes and colors. The majority of police cars use a black and white color scheme or a white and blue color scheme.
Police cars have emergency lights, usually a variety of colors including blue and red, and blaring sirens to warn the public of their impending presence at an intersection or for the driver of a civilian vehicle to pull off the road for a traffic stop. Police cars are also equipped with a spot light and a megaphone. The megaphone is used for the officer driving the car to communicate with the public about where to maneuver their vehicles or what the new traffic pattern is.
There have been various makes and models of automobiles used as police cars. In Germany, there are police cars manufactured out of Mercedes-Benz vehicles. In the United States such models used are the Chevrolet Caprice and Impala, the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor and the Ford Focus. Some of the newer versions of police cruisers use the Dodge Charger and the Dodge Durango. The use of the new version of the Dodge Durango has become widely popular in the state of New Jersey for township police departments and state troopers.
The majority of police cars usually have decals on the outside of the vehicle that displays their town of service or state of service for state troopers but some police vehicles are unmarked. They usually do not have any writing or decals on the outside of the vehicle and do not have lights on the roof of the car. The lights are usually located in the vehicle's grill or in the windshield near the radar gun.
Police cars are equipped with a two-way for the police officer to contact other officers, the police station or the dispatch headquarters. Police cars are also equipped with a Plexiglas window or bars separating the front seat from the back seat so that any that is arrested cannot reach or harm the police officers from the back seat. There are also some police cruisers that are specifically made for dogs. These are called the K-9 Units. K-9 Units are popular in almost every police department across the country. The K-9 Units are useful in finding drugs and other weaponry at a crime scene
