Are you a Police Officer?

[ATB]

.....if so, please read this thread and tell me what you think....

http://forums.mg-rover.org/showthread.php?t=73998

[xpower_boy]

have you seen emmerdale and midsomer murders. Therea lways a 25 police car on emmerdale as well as millions of 75s and theres a 45 police car on midsomer murders. both facelifts. a shame its not real life

[ATB]

You've made a very good point. MGR have exceptional product placement for free, and can insert specialised 'Policerovers' into those programmes.

[ATB]

A marketing plan for 'policerover' would be to ensure they were seen escorting around Ministers cars, as well as used in the above programmes. Each would be based on Streetwise, ZS and ZT bodies.

[RoverAlex]

They haven't got any more Rover's in Glos Police any more. They've mainly got Ford's (Focus, Mondeo, Transit van's and a few fiesta's. The motorway cars are mainly E-class Merc's (there is an M-class as well). They used to have a few Rover 400's which were fairly well liked as the performance was good.

We just get given what the fleet manager decides on which I suppose ultimately comes down to which manufacturer gives the best overall deal. But the average Police Officer has no say in what they drive.

[ATB]

Originally Posted by RoverAlex

They haven't got any more Rover's in Glos Police any more. They've mainly got Ford's (Focus, Mondeo, Transit van's and a few fiesta's. The motorway cars are mainly E-class Merc's (there is an M-class as well). They used to have a few Rover 400's which were fairly well liked as the performance was good.

We just get given what the fleet manager decides on which I suppose ultimately comes down to which manufacturer gives the best overall deal. But the average Police Officer has no say in what they drive.

I didn't think they did, but in what I propose, you find out what they want and use it as part of the design criteria, and then sell the idea to the Fleet Manager - of course, centering heavily on costs and safety, which I assume are core concerns.

[xpower_boy]

the police force wherei live (preston) have range rovers and crummy old astras and modeos and the usual crap

[The Storm]

Whilst i don't want to sound 'anti-rover' (I own a ZS, my wife a ZR)or whatever etc etc etc, police officers need reliable cars that cost the minimum to run, service and more importantly, buy!

Within the confines of London, police officers need cars that can do the following:

1)...Carry two, three or even four fully uniformed officers at a time for 8 hours in comfort.

2)...Carry enough kit for these officers to carry out their duties correctly and expediently. (some carry stuff that would you would not believe)

3)...Be fast if the needs arise (pursuits etc)

4)...Be safe for the crew inside the car and safe for the motorists and pedestrians outside. (Rover 45 do not have an NCAP safety rating).

5)...Be economical to run / service / repair

6)...Meet all the Home Office approved requirements

Police officers who drive these cars get no choice what they drive. The car arrives in the yard, we are expected to get in it and drive it, whether it be a Ford Fiesta or a Range Rover. We (officers on ther street) get no choice in what their respective forces buy and use. It depends soley on each forces requirments. Some need powerful motorway vehicles, others need practical vehicles that are raised slightly to allow for terrain etc etc.

Within London, we drive Vauxhall Astra 2.0 diesels, Mercedes Sprinters carriers (diesel), Mercedes Vito's (diesel) and BMW 530Tdi saloons and estates as well as Mitubushi Shoguns (diesel).

These cars have proved to be cheap to purchase in the long run, have excellent running costs (diesel)and fit the requirements of the needs of the force. Even if it didn't need the requirements of each individual officer, we don't get a choice, although these cars do satisfy the requirements fairly well.

So, please refrain from blaming the police, have a pop at the home office and see what they have to say. They make the decisions on what we can and cannot use and who we should buy our cars from. Blame them for not buying British

If Rover did not offer the Home Office a good deal on buying / servicing / repairing etc, then like you and me, we will go elsewhere to get the best price

[ATB]

Don't worry, no blaming going on! Rather, just looking at what you need/want, and whether Rovers can fulfill it. I'm aware officers don't choose their cars, but their thoughts are still obviously useful.

On NCAP, can a modified car meet it, with added stiffening?

If we used hybrids as suggested, there might be more front-end crush space.


I noticed the Beemers, definitely targets for ZT's/ZT estates.

[The Storm]

Didn't imply that 'you' were blaming, just seems as usual that the police are to blame for driving the wrong type of car!! I just wanted to point out the fact that the Home Office normally have a massive input. No insults intended, your ideas are good but at the end of the day, it all comes down to cost! Like them though!

Not sure about the modified's getting NCAP'd at all. My honest opinion is that the BMW's do work well for the enviroment I work in just because I don't have ZT-T to drive around in!!

[Naj]

Well then, the Officer's put things into perspective.

[Dr Dave]

Good informative thread....well done Storm

[ATB]

Originally Posted by The Storm

Whilst i don't want to sound 'anti-rover' (I own a ZS, my wife a ZR)or whatever etc etc etc, police officers need reliable cars that cost the minimum to run, service and more importantly, buy!

Within the confines of London, police officers need cars that can do the following:

1)...Carry two, three or even four fully uniformed officers at a time for 8 hours in comfort.

2)...Carry enough kit for these officers to carry out their duties correctly and expediently. (some carry stuff that would you would not believe)

3)...Be fast if the needs arise (pursuits etc)

4)...Be safe for the crew inside the car and safe for the motorists and pedestrians outside. (Rover 45 do not have an NCAP safety rating).

5)...Be economical to run / service / repair

6)...Meet all the Home Office approved requirements

Police officers who drive these cars get no choice what they drive. The car arrives in the yard, we are expected to get in it and drive it, whether it be a Ford Fiesta or a Range Rover. We (officers on ther street) get no choice in what their respective forces buy and use. It depends soley on each forces requirments. Some need powerful motorway vehicles, others need practical vehicles that are raised slightly to allow for terrain etc etc.

Within London, we drive Vauxhall Astra 2.0 diesels, Mercedes Sprinters carriers (diesel), Mercedes Vito's (diesel) and BMW 530Tdi saloons and estates as well as Mitubushi Shoguns (diesel).

These cars have proved to be cheap to purchase in the long run, have excellent running costs (diesel)and fit the requirements of the needs of the force. Even if it didn't need the requirements of each individual officer, we don't get a choice, although these cars do satisfy the requirements fairly well.

So, please refrain from blaming the police, have a pop at the home office and see what they have to say. They make the decisions on what we can and cannot use and who we should buy our cars from. Blame them for not buying British

If Rover did not offer the Home Office a good deal on buying / servicing / repairing etc, then like you and me, we will go elsewhere to get the best price

Interesting - no's 1 and 2 are for a certain class of use though - don't you still use smaller cars? (thinking of the StreetWise)

[ATB]

Would a 45 be considered big enough for most uses?

[The Storm]

The smallest car used on patrol now is the five door Astra turbo diesel. I personally think the Streetwise would be to small, impractible due to it's heightened suspension and the lack of boot space is a negative as well. I am not knocking the car but I would not use it for that type of police work.

A 45 would be OK if Rover were able to offer it in bulk with competitive prices when it comes to purchasing, servicing and repairs. Once again though, no NCAP rating which either suggests that it's not safe or Rover did not submit the car for the rigourous crash testing it endures to enable it to NCAP approved. Looking at the cars we do drive, the BMW scores 4/5 and the Astra hatchback scores 5/5. With the way the media are with regards to police driving standards on the roads of the UK as it is, can you imagine the uproar if we took a car out that got driven 24/7 (some of which is on 'blues & two's') that was not even crash rated?

[ATB]

OK. Scratch the Streetwise. Thanks

[ATB]

Clearly you'd have to get NCAP rating for the 45 I think. Although I don't think the public would be that concerned.

[The Storm]

Originally Posted by ATB

Clearly you'd have to get NCAP rating for the 45 I think. Although I don't think the public would be that concerned.

Very true. I can only imagine it came down to cost. The Met (being the largest force in the country) has 32 borough. Each borough will operate in excess of 20+ cars. That's one hell of a servicing bill each month as well as the cost of purchasing them originally. It would appear that BMW / Mercedes and Vauxhall were able to offer better bulk deals on their cars

[0-60]

why not consult the yorkshire police they usually crash two or three cars a week they should be able to tell you the safety of the cars they use? only joking.

[BrianR]

Originally Posted by The Storm

Very true. I can only imagine it came down to cost. The Met (being the largest force in the country) has 32 borough. Each borough will operate in excess of 20+ cars. That's one hell of a servicing bill each month as well as the cost of purchasing them originally. It would appear that BMW / Mercedes and Vauxhall were able to offer better bulk deals on their cars

Just out of interest, how long has the Met had all those diesels?

I remember being told that back in the 60's, some forces ended up having to buy Mk II Jaguars just to keep up with the baddies, who had them.

Now, if were planning a bank heist (bearing in mind that I have no experience of such things ), I think I'd want something like Jaguar XJ as my getaway car. And I think I'd rate my chances pretty well against a wheezy, rattly, smokey, asthmatic old diesel (and I'm afraid no-one will ever convince me that diesels, even modern DI turbo ones, are not all of those things).

Is this another example of a bean counter somewhere deciding that diesels are cheaper to run, and to hell with the poor sods that actually have to drive them, or is there a practical reason why they're considered better for London?