Unmarked police cars on patrol in downtown Phoenix (Glendale: insurance, how much)

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by jimj

Having not seen one for years I'd just figured they finally went away but I guess not. I do see the AHP hiding behind bushes on the median from time to time which I think is chicken poop and not the "norm" but don't know if they're just snoozing or citing since I see cars flying by and a good radar detector snitches 'em off anyway.
I do remember some places in the south where the speed would go from 55 or 65 to 25 REALLY fast but haven't been in those areas in years.

I agree you don't really see that in the Valley but you do still see that in rural areas in Arizona and southern states.

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by jimj

Having not seen one for years I'd just figured they finally went away but I guess not. I do see the AHP hiding behind bushes on the median from time to time which I think is chicken poop and not the "norm" but don't know if they're just snoozing or citing since I see cars flying by and a good radar detector snitches 'em off anyway.
I do remember some places in the south where the speed would go from 55 or 65 to 25 REALLY fast but haven't been in those areas in years.

There are two places in Gilbert that I see them. One is on Val Vista Drive, and the other is on Higley Rd near Seville. They sit in plain view with their radar guns pointed. Even though they're in plain sight, if you're speeding, they've usually got you before you see them.

On occasion a motorcycle cop will sit on the overpass sidewalk at the east bound hwy 60 exit at Val Vista Drive. He's visible but you have to look for him. There is No Turn on Red there, and during commute time, lots of folks in a hurry ignore it, and lots of folks get caught by the motorcycle cop.

[jimj]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

There are two places in Gilbert that I see them. One is on Val Vista Drive, and the other is on Higley Rd near Seville. They sit in plain view with their radar guns pointed. Even though they're in plain sight, if you're speeding, they've usually got you before you see them.

On occasion a motorcycle cop will sit on the overpass sidewalk at the east bound hwy 60 exit at Val Vista Drive. He's visible but you have to look for him. There is No Turn on Red there, and during commute time, lots of folks in a hurry ignore it, and lots of folks get caught by the motorcycle cop.

Well I guess if the sign's there, the cop is in plain sight then you get what you get....

[seand442]

When the cats away, the mice will play. When you see a fully marked police car, I can guarantee the first thing you do is slow to the speed limit or less and act like a 16 year old in drivers training. When he exits the freeway, it's back to pretending it's NASCAR. You don't have that luxury with unmarked vehicles. The officer gets to keep watching your stupidity.

While the whole "I'm not gonna stop because it could be a serial killer" thought may be what you are thinking, 99.9% of traffic stops in unmarked vehicles are made by real officers. They may not be in uniform but they are a real officer with a badge and police authority. By not stopping, you will end up with several more marked police cars behind you and when you do stop, a number of high powered rifles may be aimed at you.

My advice: if you get stopped by an unmarked car, pull over at the nearest safe place( lit if at night). If the officer is in uniform, you have a pretty good idea it is a real officer. If you are still not satisfied, for whatever reason, ask for a commission card. If that doesn't convince you that the officer is not some rogue serial killer getting his kicks, call 911 and explain that you are stopped by some officer from whatever dept he is from. You will get transferred to that dept and they can verify that the officer is really an officer and the ticket you get is legitimate.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by seand442

When the cats away, the mice will play. When you see a fully marked police car, I can guarantee the first thing you do is slow to the speed limit or less and act like a 16 year old in drivers training. When he exits the freeway, it's back to pretending it's NASCAR. You don't have that luxury with unmarked vehicles. The officer gets to keep watching your stupidity.

Here's a thought - some of us have driven MILLIONS of miles without ever being cited for speeding. Not a camera, nor hiding in the bushes, nor a cross-dressing cop dressed as a construction worker will trip them up... because they DON'T SPEED.

The least law enforcement can do is to mark their vehicles clearly, so we know we're pulling over for a REAL cop and not some deviant bandito.

Blustering on about how it's my responsibility to identify an officer is a cop-out.

Despite the unmarked vehicles on the road, as someone who doesn't speed, I'm routinely subjected to flashed lights, cut off, and given the finger. It isn't fair or reasonable to add to that the very real danger that myself or a family member could be carjacked, raped, or murdered due to law-enforcement agency's fetish for being "undercover".

[seand442]

Why do you think stores use "undercover" shoppers to gauge customer service? Because they know it will show how their employees act towards everyone as opposed to someone wearing a, I am a secret shopper shirt. If you aren't breaking the law, congratulations. However, out of the hundreds of thousands of traffic stops conducted every year, how many do you think were made by others pretending to be officers. If you're not involved in the criminal trade, you're chances of being stopped by an impersonator looking to do something drops dramatically, to the point of almost non-existence.

[jimj]

Originally Posted by seand442

Why do you think stores use "undercover" shoppers to gauge customer service? Because they know it will show how their employees act towards everyone as opposed to someone wearing a, I am a secret shopper shirt. If you aren't breaking the law, congratulations. However, out of the hundreds of thousands of traffic stops conducted every year, how many do you think were made by others pretending to be officers. If you're not involved in the criminal trade, you're chances of being stopped by an impersonator looking to do something drops dramatically, to the point of almost non-existence.

Just because a small number of people pretend to be cops (I'm guessing it's small for the sake of argument) does NOT excuse cops whose primary duty is traffic enforcement from being in a marked car nor should it calm people into a false sense of security. What would you be saying if a person got killed or hurt by this supposed "small percentage"? Ooops?
Once again, I always thought a cops job was deterrence first and enforcement when needed otherwise why have marked cars at all? They're marked for a reason and it ain't because they look pretty or the city has soooo many stickers they have to use up.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by seand442

Why do you think stores use "undercover" shoppers to gauge customer service? Because they know it will show how their employees act towards everyone as opposed to someone wearing a, I am a secret shopper shirt. If you aren't breaking the law, congratulations. However, out of the hundreds of thousands of traffic stops conducted every year, how many do you think were made by others pretending to be officers. If you're not involved in the criminal trade, you're chances of being stopped by an impersonator looking to do something drops dramatically, to the point of almost non-existence.

I'm not saying the odds of being pulled over by an imposter in an unmarked car aren't remote, I'm saying that putting officers in unmarked cars makes it easier for those with ill-intent to impersonate an officer. The risk of allowing that outweighs any "reward" that can be attributed to allowing unmarked vehicles.

Furthermore, in a metro-area the size of Phoenix, even a "remote" chance is something that will end up happening on a regular basis, just based on the number of people who live here. Google "police imposter" for about 10,000 true stories of it happening across the country.

And for the record, a family member had someone attempt to pull him over in a car that looked much like an unmarked car - in the daytime, on a very busy road in town, just a few months ago. The guy even flashed a "badge", but he disappeared when my family member pulled into a (busy) store parking lot.

A "remote" danger isn't the same as no danger - especially when it's your family member.

[las vegas drunk]

Originally Posted by jimj

Well there's several things wrong with it imho... tickets for revenue generation is a tax plain and simple that's not been voted on or approved taken at the end of a gun. Secondly, deterrence is their FIRST job not tax collection. How about we make this real easy and just put snitch boxes hooked to everyone's car computer with a gps (it already exists btw) that would report back every time any vehicle law was broken and a cite would be mailed to you. Heck how about instead of mailing you a citation they just send you a receipt after they withdraw the $$ from your account?

I am glad at least one person on this thread "gets it." Great post

[TBCasino]

There will always be police impersonators, marked units or unmarked units. If you think getting rid of all of the unmarked units will, all of a sudden, solve the problem of impersonators, think again. The last impersonator we stopped was about 2 years ago, he was in a marked unit that looked almost identical to a Glendale PD car. We had to get right up to it, to see that it wasn't one of theirs, it was that good. Another group picked up a fake marked BP ( Border Patrol ) truck a little while back. That one was freaking identical. Maybe we should ban all the marked units too?