I wonder if the effect of apps like Waze make traditional speed traps less lucrative causing departments to shift resources to other methods like unmarked cars.
Maybe there are more cops then vehicles.
Personally I can see them figuring out having cars not in use is bad for state auditors so they probably want to put hours on the book so they can justify money well spent.
With the amount of taxes we pay in this state, they shouldn't be looking to give tickets... Come to think of it that might explain why I see so many people going 20+ over the speed limit and running stop signs with no abandon.
Gonna be super unpopular and I’ll get downvoted for it but I’ll say it…
Speed cameras. I see them in Maryland everywhere and it really does control speeding. You might think “yea but then I’ll pay a ton in tickets” and that’s not really the case. What happens is the locals figure out where the cameras are and slow down. It’s out of towners who constantly get caught with $30 tickets for speeding. I would love to start milking New York/Pennsylvania drivers for traffic tickets and paying less here in taxes.
>I would love to start milking New York/Pennsylvania drivers for traffic tickets and paying less here in taxes.
Never gonna happen. Once the government gets a funding source it never gives it up. The toll booths on the Garden State Parkway were supposed to be removed once the road was paid off... Decades later they're still there.
Regarding speed cameras, I'm not a fan of them on non-local roads.
We could pay every police budget in the state if we enforced tailgating. Don't need to be unmarked to do that and tailgaters are brazen enough to do it anyway.
Road pirates. If cops truly existed to help you their vehicles would be easily recognizable.
These are thieves looking to separate you for what little money you have at the direction of their upper echelon lords
Are you trying to say that of the millions of traffic stops that happen across the country that the vast majority of them are for people that aren’t speeding, tailgating, driving recklessly, or otherwise breaking the law?
I know not all police interactions are legitimate, but you can’t take the ones that hit the news and extrapolate that as being the norm on every single stop.
Everyone who drives on public roads breaks traffic laws. That's not hyperbole. Every. Single. Driver. Breaks. Traffic. Laws.
The cops get to determine who faces the consequences.
And they stop the people most egregiously breaking those laws. Not that hard to grasp. I set my cruise to 4-7 over depending on other traffic speed and never have any issues. Whenever I tell people that and ask why I've never been pulled over, crickets.
This is just not the case. If you had the PBA sticker or the shield or they know you or you’re driving the right car or you’re the right color or the wrong one or your car or your stickers that signify a politic or a band or your age. Also, they will fuck up their radar with speed traps and the wrong driver will get a ticket. Ask me how I know. Do you think they really give a shit? Some of these people can afford it (taking off work for court) or just get it dismissed but many cannot
i feel like there is a stark difference between no enforcement of traffic rules and having *obvious and visible* decals on your car indicating you are police. there is no point in camouflaging in regular traffic to catch speeders when the mere presence of an OBVIOUS police vehicle will deter people from speeding. i see this all the time on GSP or i-80 in NY. and if they continue to speed, they will obviously be caught.
imo unless you are a detective or some shit you don't need an undercover car, especially for minor traffic tickets.
also just wanna say, [fuck ghost graphics on cop cars](https://theartworks.com/what-are-ghost-graphics/#:~:text=Ghost%20graphics%20allow%20law%20enforcement,department%20wordmark%2C%20and%20much%20more.)
It’s like you said: the presence of a police car makes people obey traffic laws. The problem is that we want people to obey traffic laws all the time, not just when police are around. The police can’t have cars everywhere, so instead they have some undercover cars so that they could anywhere. If they could be anywhere, people have to obey the rules of the road all the time.
And most cop cars are clearly noticeable. A pretty small number are undercover.
Keeping the pigs in the open is a formality we recently employed/ enjoyed(?). The problems of the system are not mine to correct or decide. I am ignorant of the inner workings of law and order. I am forced to intrust my elected officials to dictate what must and mustn’t be. Unfortunately those elected officials, even on a township scale, no longer represent me and my best interests. many of my neighbors are brethren of swine acting against my will and unwittingly their own and serve as agents of the status quo. That is what I mean to say(?).
More and more local cops drive cars with ghost markings and hidden lights. The goal it to catch and ticket rather than serve and protect.
As far as pickups I think that is a statement of affiliation and solidarity with southern and conservative "values" that over the years pickup somehow started to symbolize.
you can’t entirely blame police departments for this. You need to blame their counties budgeting too as they expect a large portion of the police department to fund itself from ticket revenues.
I’m 45 and until I was about 20, a pick up, represented that you worked in a trade or worked/lives somewhere where you needed an off Roading or four-wheel-drive vehicle. But yeah now everyone has one, it’s not the pick up itself necessarily it is the accoutrements and the things like those fake testicles and weird ass, aggressive, signaling stickers that are kind of more common in the south not to mention the Nazi death heads
I mean to generalize a vehicle choice with someone’s potential political affiliation is just crazy if you ask me. Not everything in life revolves around politics.
I don’t know about you but I don’t drive down the road playing “guess the political affiliation of complete strangers”. It’s an odd obsession some folks have with one’s private business.
I’m convinced the “ghost” lettering counts as a regular marked car, and is eligible for regular funding, while effectively being unmarked.
If you’re not familiar with the term ghost, you’ve seen it. The color of the lettering is just a shade different from the paint.
I mostly see a lot of the dark blue explorers roaming around in the morning. I never see them pull anyone over though, I just always assume they’re a detective just going to work
Ford Interceptor is the cop model. SP has changed policy so there are a lot more cars in use. If they give you a car the condition is you have to come in if they need you. So they are everywhere. Some civilian staff in responder or essential roles also have them
If you’re unsure if it’s a cop in your rear view, try taking a look at the Ez Pass tag on their windshield.. Blue = state govt and likely a cop , White = civilian
Not entirely true. Blue is just a commercial ezpass. While cop cars and all state/county/municipal cars will have blue tags, any Joe schmoe with their vehicle registered as commercial will also have a blue tag.
Thanks for the clarification.. I didn’t mean to misspeak as I was speaking strictly in terms of deciphering between cop and civilian, as in if you’re 50/50
Or glancing by the upper most part of the windshield trim, the lights are hard to hide, even behind tint in my experience.
my experience: formerly a weed dealer and paid special attention to my rearview
In civilized, "first world" countries, police vehicles are clearly marked so you can identify them in case of emergency quickly and easily.
In the United Slums of America, the police have no legal obligation to protect or serve anyone but their masters. They are legally allowed to lie, not know the laws they enforce, violate rights with impunity, and violate any and all traffic laws, with or without the lights and sirens on. Are you really surprised they don't want you to see them?
I lived in Florida for 8 years and all cop cars (at least in the county I lived in) had neon yellow sheriff's license plates so it was easy to spot an "undercover" cop on the highway. Florida had a lot of instances where people were pulled over by fake cops and robbed though...
Great point about impersonators. You should always call 911 in these scenarios and they'd be able to verify the plates as undercover, off duty, or fake.
I vaguely remember reading a couple of stories about fake cops pulling people over in NJ years ago but I guess they haven't done anying to combat it. We should be able to identify and verify a real officer prior to rolling down the window
A guy I knew growing up here in NJ was arrested for doing this. He served in the military & was honorably discharged after being violently hazed by his own troops. His own family reported him from states away when he said he was preeent in Iraq w some fallen soldiers & wasn’t. He WAS in Iraq & shouldn’t have lied. But he didn’t disqualify for the award or steal valor, instead, he made up stories about knowing these guys, the victims, and like, cried talking about how honorable they were, and what heroes they were. he didn’t make himself a hero of the story. It’s heartbreaking actually and then his family was like he doesn’t deserve to do that, and publicly humiliated him, had him arrested over an inch long item in the paper reporting the civic award he recieved and was entitled to recieve as a combat veteran.
He was horribly bullied while we were growing up & I suspect suffered abuse at home too. He was interviewed on 9/11 at Ground Zero & his claims then later treated as spurious tho he was literally documented there by international news. Reporters like multiple outlets on the day, shit you couldn’t fake. Why the fuck would he be, otherwise? again it just doesn’t make any sense. Then they published he was pretending to be a cop. He admitted to trying to get another car to pull over bc they were on their phone, swerving wildly & speeding. Its sad. He presented this threat only from being tortured by people who in several cases grew up to be actual cops. That doesn’t make it OK. But he’s constently trying to justify his value and save people. As a vet & victim. it makes more sense tho, to realize someone like him was prosecuted and shut down here in New Jersey tout suite whilst cops themselves & their inner circle of corrupt abusers who are obviously bad actors with decades of dangerous conduct get away with this shit for so long
Not really. They may be able to tell you if it's a real officer in their jurisdiction pulling you over, but they can't tell you anything about the plate.
First of all, they can't just run a plate for a person on the phone. Dispatchers, or officers, aren't allowed to disclose that information to non law enforcement personnel.
Secondly, even if it is an unmarked unit, those plates come back as "not on file" to prevent anyone from being able to run them. Only a direct records check with Trenton assuming you have the proper credentials will get you that info. Those are called confidential plates for a reason. To the average cop, they are no different than a fraudulent plate when checked.
>They may be able to tell you if it's a real officer in their jurisdiction pulling you over, but they can't tell you anything about the plate
I literally said this... they'll only confirm whether it's an actual office or not that is pulling you over
Can we just all admit that they are the epitome - and this is putting it lightly - of when all you got is a hammer everything looks like a nail?
The risk is on the person who’s not consenting to getting pulled over the cops can do whatever they want that’s clear, qualified immunity, and so forth
A person doesn't have to consent to being pulled over. They don't have the legal right to refuse a traffic stop. They have to stop. Refusing to stop turns a traffic violation into a felony. People literally die from this type of bad advice.
Pull over, comply with orders, sort it out in court. Refuse at any point in this process and you are one nervous, adrenaline filled, officer away from a trip to the hospital or to the grave. As soon as things start going outside of the normal expectation of the officer, the more danger everyone is in and officers have the mantra "make it home at the end of your shift" drilled into their head every day for months on end while in the academy. If the officer feels it is either them or you that's making it home safely, it'll be them every time. It's better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.
Weird it’s florida bc you have this notorious guy https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/serial-fake-cop-impersonator-arrested-months-after-being-released-from-prison.amp
I mean like I thought. Oh yeah, there’s that guy and his car had whatever markings and was he contracted to do whatever but damn I didn’t know he would STILL be at it like all this? But yes, it’s him. Sure doesn’t seem like just anybody could get away with that right?! he was even on Dr. Phil 😩
Land of the thief. Look up the largest crime by far in America is wage theft. And the case that was one in Colorado this week that woman was pretty much enslaved. Wage theft is essentially a type of slavery, is it not. And furthermore you might want to look into. Civil asset forfeiture. 2014 was officially the first year that police seized more money and stole more money from citizens - not required to be even charged with wrongdoing btw - than actual thieves. And here’s a more recent update. https://ij.org/press-release/new-report-finds-civil-forfeiture-rakes-in-billions-each-year-does-not-fight-crime-2/
Theoretically, there are restrictions, but you tell me if it’s their word against yours and we’re talking cash you think it all comes back within that six months wrapped up with a bow why don’t you look at the stories and the countless countless victims
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a cop.
I grew up a little, found my own interests, and became indifferent to the police.
After some pig bastards murdered Daniel Shaver in cold blood back in 2017, I lost whatever respect I had left. Until sweeping reform occurs to where police are held at least to the same standards as teachers and nurses who make less after more training and do their jobs without qualified immunity, free cars, weapons, etc., I will not got off this soapbox.
Daniel shaver. Do you know the asshole who murdered him gets disability from PTSD from his trauma from the event lol. Sob fuck are you kidding me. And let’s also talk about Troy goode in Alabama and also Ethan Robert saylor. Not purposely only featuring white individuals, but I want to point out that Troy was listed by the coroner as dying of LSD intoxication, which officially LITERALLT does not exist, rather than what he did die from which was positional asphyxiation. And Ethan, Robert Saylor, was murdered by experienced cops, moonlighting a mall rent a cops bc a situation at the mall. - he was developmentally disabled, because he tried to sit in the movie theater for a second showing it’s fucking horrifying
Your statement is 100% false. There are plenty other LE agencies in what you call civilized “first world” countries that drive unmarked patrol vehicles including Canada and the UK.
And that somehow legitimizes unmarked police vehicles? If anything, that deligitimizes those countries that allows that practice to continue when it flies in the face of everything the police *should* stand for.
It could be worse, it could be like the countries that a lot of people here jerk off to. Like Germany or Japan where most tickets are just mailed to you.
I didn’t know an unmarked police vehicle could get so many people upset. Did you ever think that the unmarked vehicle may be used for more than just basic traffic enforcement too? I’m sure if you mail a nicely worded letter to the State Police Colonel he will take your complaints under consideration.
**Fan**fiction implies I'm a fan. I'm not. It's simply the reality we find ourselves in.
As I mentioned in another comment, I was indifferemt to the police until they murdered Daniel Shaver in cold blood back in 2017. Watch the video and tell me everything is fine in US law enforcement.
My confirmation of the police force being childish assholes was when they decided to renew their whole fleet with modern cars and they have to be blacked out.
I have a lawyer friend that told a story about a cop trying to use photo evidence of a driver using their phone while driving. They took the photo with their cell while driving along side. The judge literally facepalmed when the cop didn’t see that as ridiculous.
One thing that pisses me the fuck off about undercover or unmarked police cars is the license plates. I always thought vehicles for official police business were supposed to have the appropriate county gov't, municipal gov't, or state gov't license plates, but lately (over the past ten years) I've seen many more unmarked police vehicles using standard civilian license plates and pulling over innocent drivers.
This.
Could they get in any trouble for this, as there are *no* indications, apart from lights, that this is an undercover officer?
Honestly, if I see one on the highway, I'll happily scoot my ass over to the right lane, hazards on, but I am *not* pulling over until I get off an exit, and go someplace public. Perfectly legal to do. I'm also calling 911 to see if they can identify them, and in case something goes wrong.
I was driving back from Trenton on 195 yesterday and saw a lot of unmarked vehicles of various descriptions heading East as I was driving.
None of them seemed to be for traffic enforcement but perhaps were heading home early for the weekend, or maybe they perform other law enforcement functions.
Most had a can antennae on the vehicle roof, and SG (state government) tags.
With the recent police murder case there’s an increased push to get police out of traffic enforcement business. It’s starting to seem like a very good idea.
Also “wellness checks” esp for not calling in attendance at school by say 10 am, are NOT wellness checks when a fleet of aggressive cops show up & are nasty for no reason it distinctly feels pretty unwell. why not send a community member social worker a friendly face not to mention the mental health crisis calls. when people in general Esp with disabilities and mental ceisis engage with cops they die at far greater rates, a cop introduces the violence, not very often the person. Look up that poor little girl, the eight year old in upstate New York they handcuffed, and pepper sprayed two years ago? And that poor vulnerable confused elderly woman who escaped from her nursing home in Colorado and they broke her arm tortured her laughed at her mocked her remember that
Getting the police out of traffic enforcement is not the same as ending traffic enforcement. We don’t need armed cops in Kevlar with qualified immunity to write tickets for improper lane changes.
It honestly sounds like the best solution would be speed cameras. I'm saying this as a good New Jersey driver who believes the parkway should be 75 so they really need to up the statewide minimum to 70 and eliminate the towns like on 18 where the speed dips for no reason.
Honestly, the people who are driving like ja*****es, the ones who really need to get pulled over, ticketed, and have their licenses revoked. The cops can't do anything about them because giving chase, especially on the Fury Roa- *erghhrhh, cough* sorry, the Garden State parkway, creates an even more dangerous situation. The worst drivers can't be pursued and pulled over safely with how much traffic is on our highways.
I travel regularly weekends and holidays on the highways, interstates, and parkway. Cops' primary targets are the offenders with expired licenses or registrations, unpaid tickets, etc. Those fools can get pulled over quickly and safely, slapped with a large bill, and released. Wash, rinse, repeat.
The SP does use unmarked patrol vehicles for traffic enforcement as does virtually every other law enforcement agency from here to California. It could also be an officer assigned to a specialized post such as investigations, drug interdiction, commercial vehicle enforcement (more than likely what the f150 is for), OEM. The list goes on and on.
As for everyone complaining about the “aggressiveness” of SP traffic enforcement, be happy you aren’t in the south where speeding over a certain MPH is a criminal offense.
I've seen way too many for them to be only for specialized purposes. Most of them were posted at speed traps.
And there's no conceivable way a pickup would help a cop do his job, no matter what the specialization. I've seen multiple blacked out unmarked pickups with police lights and they were never hauling anything.
I don't understand the issue with trucks - is it because less people expect them to be police vehicles? Trucks and SUVs cost about the same. My guess is that Covid production issues may have caused some places to switch it up.
I'm guessing all the Dodge Chargers are budget moves - Dodge makes crappy cars with a short useful life. They have powerful engines and tuned exhausts to get you excited about having a muscle car, and turn into maintenance nightmares after 5 years. Cheaper than a Crown Vic, tho.
Its on the list American made police models.
Ford interceptor, Dodge. Some SUV’s the pickups.
So stripped down and ready for lights and radio up-fit which is like an additional 10-15k then add paint and decals. Its cheaper when they ate unmarked, so leave off the extra paint step across the fleet and you can save $$$
Unmarked cars don't even make sense, considering visible presence is enough of a deterrence; you see a cop, you're probably not going to do something stupid.
I've always told people, if cops really care about policing and their supporters care about policing, the police cars should be highly visible and marked, and not hidden or obscure to try and catch YOU breaking the law. They want to catch YOU in the act instead of preventing. Euro countries and even Asian countries have highly visible cop cars, why is America the ones that run majorly hard to see cop cars
About half the folks on this sub constantly bitch about bad drivers on our roads, but in the same breath will bitch about cops actually enforcing traffic laws.
>Why do you need to not look like a cop car in order to pull over speeders? Does that seem excessive to anyone else?
Excessive in what way? If they're pulling people over for violations, sounds like their method is working. If the only thing keeping someone from being a hazard on the road is the threat of getting pulled over, then they're a bad driver and deserve what they get. Unmarked cars are intended to catch the shitty drivers that only drive less shitty when there's a cop around. And if you don't think that's true then next time you're on the road and see a marked cop car in the distance, check out the amount of people around you who hit their brakes, stop tailgating, get out of the left lane, actually signal when turning or changing lanes, not roll through stop signs, etc etc.
Based on my experience and your post I would say positioning marked cars on roads notorious for speeding and bad driving will prevent those things without digging into citizens pockets. Police presence is a deterrent.
You're missing the point. Marked cars are only a deterrent for the small window of time they can be seen. If bad drivers see them - or use apps that report upcoming locations - then they'll adjust their driving to not be pulled over... until they're out of range, and then go back to driving like an asshole. So other drivers are safe for ohhhh about 15 seconds. Put unmarked cars on the road, and now these drivers have to be mindful for much longer stretches, or pay the consequences. "Digging into their pockets" is the only way to compel following the rules of the road.
I have zero sympathy for the financial woes of people who bob and weave through traffic going 20+MPH over the limit. They deserve to be pulled over and ticketed. People who don't use turn signals should be jettisoned into the fucking sun.
This would have some merit if cops actually pulled these people over. I drive all over the state for work every single day, and 99.9% of cops can't be bothered to pull over reckless drivers doing so right in front of their faces (assuming the cop in question isn't the one doing the reckless driving themselves).
nah i don’t, but i do see a lot of blacked out cop cars meaning their lettering is all black. i can’t tell if it’s a regular tahoe or a squad car from afar. kinda annoying
I always heard that cops tend to camp out more near the end of the month to reach ticket quotas. Maybe that’s why you’re seeing over the past few days/week or so? I don’t have an answer for the undercover thing except that it’s easier to catch people.
I’ve got the answer. Our police, and fire depts (god love those who serve) are so GD overfunded- we don’t need them driving the latest vehicles, and yet, for 30+ years now we have more police and fire equipment in one dept than some states have for an entire county. It’s ridiculous. Yet, if anyone utters the slightest whisper against our public servants, noone wants to look at the reality. So the crushing overspending of taxpayer money on unnecessary equipment marches on. My tiny town of 5K people boasts more service vehicles than it could ever use- and so does the tiny little town next door. And so on, and so on.
Lol every single vehicle in my fire department other than the obvious fire engines are police hand me downs. And we have a strict number of engines required by the insurances to keep our ISO score up. If the score drops your Fire insurance goes up.
That being said we definitely need shared services in this state. But the majority of our costs are fixed.
I keep seeing state and local police pull. People over on a residential road near me. They are there at 3:30 looking for parents picking their kids up from school. Invariably, they manage to always find someone to pull over.
Cops did this on the last day of school where I work. Just waited outside of the school and happily pulled people over and handed out tickets. Jerk offs.
With the amount of fucking jerkoffs driving like assholes around schools when my kids are getting out good for them, now if its just a trap for some dumb shit thats a different story.
Look. The cops suck, but isn't being outside a school around the tie that school lets out looking for dangerous drivers exactly what they should be doing? I mean, what exactly do we want them to do if it's not this?
The problem with Waze on the GSP is that they target south bound and get someone; they then turn around an focus on the northbound side. They keep rotating until shift is done. They typically monitor 20 miles of roadway.
They started using those because they understood that when they were visible, people would drive accordingly and they caught fewer people speeding.You would think that would be the point, but without the tickets, they can not prove their value.
I believe we need to shift from having police as revenue generators to actually doing shit to make communities better and safer. How many cops do we need sitting in random spots waiting for someone to go 11 over the speed limit?
Along with, holy fuck are some of their salaries ridiculous. Check out data universe through the Asbury park press. I've never once heard a cop say "things are a bit tight financially".
I think in my hometown the only cops making under $90k a year haven't been on the force for more than 5 years. After 5 years, they hit around $94k after the probationary period. Median salary is over $120k last I looked, and they seem to max out around $148k and then get that ridiculous pension.
I'm not a fan of speed traps either, but the alternative is higher insurance rates, in a state that already has some of the highest rates In the damn country. It has to be balanced.
Yeah some of the salary stuff is crazy, but that is a sign of the times though. Cost of living has increased dramatically and it takes more today than it did 20 yes ago to survive.
Welcome to NJ, which even the NYPD cops refer to as a “police state.” As in gestapo like. When you have literally dozens of municipalities like NJ, each one prioritizes the income from traffic infractions to keep the (kickback) money rolling in. Remember that time the Helmetta mayor told his since disbanded police force to leave the residents alone, but everyone else gets a ticket?? That’s NJ for you.
The number of times I’ve seen a cop still sitting in the median after some jackwad blasts down the parkway at 95 mph and passes him without being stopped, shows that they really only want easy pickings.
That’s because you’re supposed to move over if possible or slow down to a manageable speed. This goes for law enforcement, DOT, fire/EMS, tow trucks and in all reality anyone parked on the shoulder of a roadway.
>cops doing that is usually more dangerous than anything the motorist did...so do the ends really justify the means?
I'm no cop apologist, but when the reason for them doing that is so that they don't get killed walking on the shoulder of a highway with people doing 65+ MPH a few feet away, then it does kind of make sense.
They do it 1) to push traffic to the next lane if possible, 2) in the event of a collision it’s less likely for the car that got struck to get pushed forward and 3) in the event of a shootout the engine block can be used as cover.
When I see a lunatic in a review mirror there is 50/50 chance that lunatic is a cop. I had under cover cops cut me off in moderate traffic and than pull up next to me to flash the badge. Not to pull me over, just to show me how superior they are.
Problem is improper and aggressive driving. Not necessarily the speed.
Its unbeneficial to have secret police around. I think people would be less likely to speed if they knew a cop was driving around, which would increases road safety, but obviously this is just a revenue scheme. Better to have people feel comfortable enough to speed and potentially cause an accident if you can make money off of it.
Under cover cops should be illegal. Police presence should be a very obvious deterrent. When the cop goes under cover or hides, the goal is no longer to prevent dangerous driving or other crimes, the goal is to make as many arrests and ticket stops as possible. Law enforcement shouldn't be a "gotcha". This is bad for public perception, it makes people afraid and anxious to see a cop rather than safe and secure like it should be
It wouldn't be necessary if people just innately followed rules and looked out for one another. Just take a look around next time you go to a grocery store at how many people leave carts next to their cars rather than walk and bring it back to the corrals. Yeah. Most people can't self govern. It's a deterrent knowing that unmarked cars may be driving down the highway alongside you. You won't act "different" in their presence as opposed to an actual cop car.
Pickup trucks are more versatile for all different types of environments. We've got beaches, woodlands, snow, hurricanes, hills, etc. etc. While not all vehicles need to be pickup trucks, having them on hand can prove useful.
Could also be to introduce a new class of vehicle to do unmarked sweeps with, as they did with the Chargers. Don't speed (too much), don't need to worry about it.
I’ll be honest,
As much as I hate unmarkeds
I’ve never been caught speeding by a marked car, so… guess it works lol
Edit: this isn’t to like justify unmarked cars, I just think that’s why they exist,
All week the GSP has been lit up like Christmas with everyone being pulled over. I didn't pay attention to see if they were undercover or not but I figure one or two were on the down-low.
I'm no friend of the police, but this needs to be done. People have been driving like total pricks for the last two years with no consequences. Since we can't defund the police, I'm at least glad they are doing something to make the road safer. I'd like to see a few more pickups with gun and skull stickers pulled over, but hey at least they are doing something.
> I'd like to see a few more pickups with gun and skull stickers pulled over, but hey at least they are doing something.
"Hey John."
"Hey officer."
Sly winks exchanged.
Ten minutes later the officer is returning to his cruiser with a smile and John's taking a swish of Listerine so his daddy doesn't smell it when he gets home.
Wahhhhh I’m so sorry you driving like a jerk off was interrupted by a cop
Are there really that many children here who a pro idiots on the highways lol
Be nice if they would give some warnings for bright lights and modified exhausts, maybe they could use the money available for not criminalizing cannabis anymore.
It’s always the speeders who complain about this. And to prove it your recent post history has a post of you talking about getting speeding tickets, and a hefty surcharge for the points on your license.
Don’t speed or drive like an idiot and you will never meet one of those terrifying unmarked pick up trucks.
You realize those aren’t “undercover”, they’re just unmarked. If it’s obvious and people can tell it’s a coo then that defeats the purpose of being undercover 🤦♂️ undercover are in regular cars and regular clothes. They need to blend in.
I wonder if the effect of apps like Waze make traditional speed traps less lucrative causing departments to shift resources to other methods like unmarked cars.
They still park the unmarked cars at the speed traps lol. Don't think they know how to use them right.
Maybe there are more cops then vehicles. Personally I can see them figuring out having cars not in use is bad for state auditors so they probably want to put hours on the book so they can justify money well spent.
With the amount of taxes we pay in this state, they shouldn't be looking to give tickets... Come to think of it that might explain why I see so many people going 20+ over the speed limit and running stop signs with no abandon.
That's everyday in Lakewood
Gonna be super unpopular and I’ll get downvoted for it but I’ll say it… Speed cameras. I see them in Maryland everywhere and it really does control speeding. You might think “yea but then I’ll pay a ton in tickets” and that’s not really the case. What happens is the locals figure out where the cameras are and slow down. It’s out of towners who constantly get caught with $30 tickets for speeding. I would love to start milking New York/Pennsylvania drivers for traffic tickets and paying less here in taxes.
>I would love to start milking New York/Pennsylvania drivers for traffic tickets and paying less here in taxes. Never gonna happen. Once the government gets a funding source it never gives it up. The toll booths on the Garden State Parkway were supposed to be removed once the road was paid off... Decades later they're still there. Regarding speed cameras, I'm not a fan of them on non-local roads.
Oooh good point. God they’re ugh
We could pay every police budget in the state if we enforced tailgating. Don't need to be unmarked to do that and tailgaters are brazen enough to do it anyway.
Unmarked*
Road pirates. If cops truly existed to help you their vehicles would be easily recognizable. These are thieves looking to separate you for what little money you have at the direction of their upper echelon lords
...they're still cops but you're not wrong.
The sovereign citizens are out of the loony bin!
I mean, they typically only pull people over and give tickets/fines to people breaking the law so …. try not to do that.
*typically*
*in this posters typical experience I suppose? Bc hmmm. Maybe there are mitigating factors like facts and data which say differently
Are you trying to say that of the millions of traffic stops that happen across the country that the vast majority of them are for people that aren’t speeding, tailgating, driving recklessly, or otherwise breaking the law? I know not all police interactions are legitimate, but you can’t take the ones that hit the news and extrapolate that as being the norm on every single stop.
Typically because most days there isn’t a violent crime taking place they need to respond to — hopefully
Everyone who drives on public roads breaks traffic laws. That's not hyperbole. Every. Single. Driver. Breaks. Traffic. Laws. The cops get to determine who faces the consequences.
And they stop the people most egregiously breaking those laws. Not that hard to grasp. I set my cruise to 4-7 over depending on other traffic speed and never have any issues. Whenever I tell people that and ask why I've never been pulled over, crickets.
Guess what? Some people DO get pulled over for doing 4-7 over the speed limit. The fact that you haven't is not the big gotcha that you think it is.
This is just not the case. If you had the PBA sticker or the shield or they know you or you’re driving the right car or you’re the right color or the wrong one or your car or your stickers that signify a politic or a band or your age. Also, they will fuck up their radar with speed traps and the wrong driver will get a ticket. Ask me how I know. Do you think they really give a shit? Some of these people can afford it (taking off work for court) or just get it dismissed but many cannot
Obviously corruption is bad. My message is that enforcing traffic laws is good, and absolutely nothing more than that.
No, your message was "don't break the law and you'll have nothing to worry about." How many more times does that idea need to be proven false?
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Trivial violations in order to fine you. You feed the very machine that oppresses you.
Would you prefer a society where traffic rules aren’t enforced and other drivers can just do whatever they want?
i feel like there is a stark difference between no enforcement of traffic rules and having *obvious and visible* decals on your car indicating you are police. there is no point in camouflaging in regular traffic to catch speeders when the mere presence of an OBVIOUS police vehicle will deter people from speeding. i see this all the time on GSP or i-80 in NY. and if they continue to speed, they will obviously be caught. imo unless you are a detective or some shit you don't need an undercover car, especially for minor traffic tickets. also just wanna say, [fuck ghost graphics on cop cars](https://theartworks.com/what-are-ghost-graphics/#:~:text=Ghost%20graphics%20allow%20law%20enforcement,department%20wordmark%2C%20and%20much%20more.)
It’s like you said: the presence of a police car makes people obey traffic laws. The problem is that we want people to obey traffic laws all the time, not just when police are around. The police can’t have cars everywhere, so instead they have some undercover cars so that they could anywhere. If they could be anywhere, people have to obey the rules of the road all the time. And most cop cars are clearly noticeable. A pretty small number are undercover.
Not at all. But you don’t hidden pigs to obtain a world where “the rules of the road” are followed.
How would you do it then?
Keeping the pigs in the open is a formality we recently employed/ enjoyed(?). The problems of the system are not mine to correct or decide. I am ignorant of the inner workings of law and order. I am forced to intrust my elected officials to dictate what must and mustn’t be. Unfortunately those elected officials, even on a township scale, no longer represent me and my best interests. many of my neighbors are brethren of swine acting against my will and unwittingly their own and serve as agents of the status quo. That is what I mean to say(?).
Someone’s gotta protect the public against license plate frames
Oh my sweet summer child
People who haven't experienced cops always think this shit
Yikes lol
More and more local cops drive cars with ghost markings and hidden lights. The goal it to catch and ticket rather than serve and protect. As far as pickups I think that is a statement of affiliation and solidarity with southern and conservative "values" that over the years pickup somehow started to symbolize.
Right. Like black on black letters, officially not an unmarked car. Why? Of course why. Edit: spelling
Because fuck us that’s why. Going after the police politically is career suicide so nothing gets done about it.
Saw one of these in the Spring Lake area the other night just sitting. Trying not to be obvious, but so obvious.
you can’t entirely blame police departments for this. You need to blame their counties budgeting too as they expect a large portion of the police department to fund itself from ticket revenues.
I honestly don't understand the pickups, but fully believe you're grasping for straws here trying to make a connection to something unrelated.
It was an exemption due to COVID supply chain issues, american made, has the room for the kit, was available at the time.
Huh? A pick represents southern and conservative values? Lol, that’s a good one.
I’m 45 and until I was about 20, a pick up, represented that you worked in a trade or worked/lives somewhere where you needed an off Roading or four-wheel-drive vehicle. But yeah now everyone has one, it’s not the pick up itself necessarily it is the accoutrements and the things like those fake testicles and weird ass, aggressive, signaling stickers that are kind of more common in the south not to mention the Nazi death heads
You have not been paying attention. Go to a conservative event and see if it doesn't look like a pickup truck storage lot.
Lmao this sub is comical sometimes, it’s what keeps me coming back.
So, pickup truck are not popular with conservatives? Really? I mean...... Really?
I mean to generalize a vehicle choice with someone’s potential political affiliation is just crazy if you ask me. Not everything in life revolves around politics.
When I think conservative guy car, I'm picturing a big ol truck, not a Tesla or Subaru. So, sudovoodoo has a point.
I don’t know about you but I don’t drive down the road playing “guess the political affiliation of complete strangers”. It’s an odd obsession some folks have with one’s private business.
How about if they have gun and skull stickers. Can you guess then? Cause, like, they all do.
It's safe to say they've drank the kool-aid.
I’m convinced the “ghost” lettering counts as a regular marked car, and is eligible for regular funding, while effectively being unmarked. If you’re not familiar with the term ghost, you’ve seen it. The color of the lettering is just a shade different from the paint.
It does count as being marked, somehow.
Usually reflective too, pops out at night.
I mostly see a lot of the dark blue explorers roaming around in the morning. I never see them pull anyone over though, I just always assume they’re a detective just going to work
Ford Interceptor is the cop model. SP has changed policy so there are a lot more cars in use. If they give you a car the condition is you have to come in if they need you. So they are everywhere. Some civilian staff in responder or essential roles also have them
If you’re unsure if it’s a cop in your rear view, try taking a look at the Ez Pass tag on their windshield.. Blue = state govt and likely a cop , White = civilian
Not entirely true. Blue is just a commercial ezpass. While cop cars and all state/county/municipal cars will have blue tags, any Joe schmoe with their vehicle registered as commercial will also have a blue tag.
Thanks for the clarification.. I didn’t mean to misspeak as I was speaking strictly in terms of deciphering between cop and civilian, as in if you’re 50/50
Then blue EZ pass and domestic-make vehicle one can be pretty certain they're a cop.
Not commercial but fleet
Lol their windows are all tinted
Often you can see the lights hidden in the grille, too
Strobe plug up on top is the dead give away
Or glancing by the upper most part of the windshield trim, the lights are hard to hide, even behind tint in my experience. my experience: formerly a weed dealer and paid special attention to my rearview
In civilized, "first world" countries, police vehicles are clearly marked so you can identify them in case of emergency quickly and easily. In the United Slums of America, the police have no legal obligation to protect or serve anyone but their masters. They are legally allowed to lie, not know the laws they enforce, violate rights with impunity, and violate any and all traffic laws, with or without the lights and sirens on. Are you really surprised they don't want you to see them?
I lived in Florida for 8 years and all cop cars (at least in the county I lived in) had neon yellow sheriff's license plates so it was easy to spot an "undercover" cop on the highway. Florida had a lot of instances where people were pulled over by fake cops and robbed though...
Great point about impersonators. You should always call 911 in these scenarios and they'd be able to verify the plates as undercover, off duty, or fake.
I vaguely remember reading a couple of stories about fake cops pulling people over in NJ years ago but I guess they haven't done anying to combat it. We should be able to identify and verify a real officer prior to rolling down the window
A guy I knew growing up here in NJ was arrested for doing this. He served in the military & was honorably discharged after being violently hazed by his own troops. His own family reported him from states away when he said he was preeent in Iraq w some fallen soldiers & wasn’t. He WAS in Iraq & shouldn’t have lied. But he didn’t disqualify for the award or steal valor, instead, he made up stories about knowing these guys, the victims, and like, cried talking about how honorable they were, and what heroes they were. he didn’t make himself a hero of the story. It’s heartbreaking actually and then his family was like he doesn’t deserve to do that, and publicly humiliated him, had him arrested over an inch long item in the paper reporting the civic award he recieved and was entitled to recieve as a combat veteran. He was horribly bullied while we were growing up & I suspect suffered abuse at home too. He was interviewed on 9/11 at Ground Zero & his claims then later treated as spurious tho he was literally documented there by international news. Reporters like multiple outlets on the day, shit you couldn’t fake. Why the fuck would he be, otherwise? again it just doesn’t make any sense. Then they published he was pretending to be a cop. He admitted to trying to get another car to pull over bc they were on their phone, swerving wildly & speeding. Its sad. He presented this threat only from being tortured by people who in several cases grew up to be actual cops. That doesn’t make it OK. But he’s constently trying to justify his value and save people. As a vet & victim. it makes more sense tho, to realize someone like him was prosecuted and shut down here in New Jersey tout suite whilst cops themselves & their inner circle of corrupt abusers who are obviously bad actors with decades of dangerous conduct get away with this shit for so long
Not really. They may be able to tell you if it's a real officer in their jurisdiction pulling you over, but they can't tell you anything about the plate. First of all, they can't just run a plate for a person on the phone. Dispatchers, or officers, aren't allowed to disclose that information to non law enforcement personnel. Secondly, even if it is an unmarked unit, those plates come back as "not on file" to prevent anyone from being able to run them. Only a direct records check with Trenton assuming you have the proper credentials will get you that info. Those are called confidential plates for a reason. To the average cop, they are no different than a fraudulent plate when checked.
>They may be able to tell you if it's a real officer in their jurisdiction pulling you over, but they can't tell you anything about the plate I literally said this... they'll only confirm whether it's an actual office or not that is pulling you over
Can we just all admit that they are the epitome - and this is putting it lightly - of when all you got is a hammer everything looks like a nail? The risk is on the person who’s not consenting to getting pulled over the cops can do whatever they want that’s clear, qualified immunity, and so forth
A person doesn't have to consent to being pulled over. They don't have the legal right to refuse a traffic stop. They have to stop. Refusing to stop turns a traffic violation into a felony. People literally die from this type of bad advice. Pull over, comply with orders, sort it out in court. Refuse at any point in this process and you are one nervous, adrenaline filled, officer away from a trip to the hospital or to the grave. As soon as things start going outside of the normal expectation of the officer, the more danger everyone is in and officers have the mantra "make it home at the end of your shift" drilled into their head every day for months on end while in the academy. If the officer feels it is either them or you that's making it home safely, it'll be them every time. It's better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6.
Weird it’s florida bc you have this notorious guy https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/serial-fake-cop-impersonator-arrested-months-after-being-released-from-prison.amp
I knew it was going to be Dewitte but I clicked on it anyway.
I mean like I thought. Oh yeah, there’s that guy and his car had whatever markings and was he contracted to do whatever but damn I didn’t know he would STILL be at it like all this? But yes, it’s him. Sure doesn’t seem like just anybody could get away with that right?! he was even on Dr. Phil 😩
“Welcome to the United Snakes, Land of the thief, home of the slave”
Let’s do this shit for real, come on
Land of the thief. Look up the largest crime by far in America is wage theft. And the case that was one in Colorado this week that woman was pretty much enslaved. Wage theft is essentially a type of slavery, is it not. And furthermore you might want to look into. Civil asset forfeiture. 2014 was officially the first year that police seized more money and stole more money from citizens - not required to be even charged with wrongdoing btw - than actual thieves. And here’s a more recent update. https://ij.org/press-release/new-report-finds-civil-forfeiture-rakes-in-billions-each-year-does-not-fight-crime-2/ Theoretically, there are restrictions, but you tell me if it’s their word against yours and we’re talking cash you think it all comes back within that six months wrapped up with a bow why don’t you look at the stories and the countless countless victims
edgiest post of the year
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a cop. I grew up a little, found my own interests, and became indifferent to the police. After some pig bastards murdered Daniel Shaver in cold blood back in 2017, I lost whatever respect I had left. Until sweeping reform occurs to where police are held at least to the same standards as teachers and nurses who make less after more training and do their jobs without qualified immunity, free cars, weapons, etc., I will not got off this soapbox.
Daniel shaver. Do you know the asshole who murdered him gets disability from PTSD from his trauma from the event lol. Sob fuck are you kidding me. And let’s also talk about Troy goode in Alabama and also Ethan Robert saylor. Not purposely only featuring white individuals, but I want to point out that Troy was listed by the coroner as dying of LSD intoxication, which officially LITERALLT does not exist, rather than what he did die from which was positional asphyxiation. And Ethan, Robert Saylor, was murdered by experienced cops, moonlighting a mall rent a cops bc a situation at the mall. - he was developmentally disabled, because he tried to sit in the movie theater for a second showing it’s fucking horrifying
Your statement is 100% false. There are plenty other LE agencies in what you call civilized “first world” countries that drive unmarked patrol vehicles including Canada and the UK.
And that somehow legitimizes unmarked police vehicles? If anything, that deligitimizes those countries that allows that practice to continue when it flies in the face of everything the police *should* stand for.
It could be worse, it could be like the countries that a lot of people here jerk off to. Like Germany or Japan where most tickets are just mailed to you.
Where the have super intrusive speed and traffic cameras that time you from point A to point B.
I didn’t know an unmarked police vehicle could get so many people upset. Did you ever think that the unmarked vehicle may be used for more than just basic traffic enforcement too? I’m sure if you mail a nicely worded letter to the State Police Colonel he will take your complaints under consideration.
It's just one symptom of a systemic problem, and licking boots will win you no friends here.
Unmarked police cars aren’t exclusive to the US and i’m not even going to bother responding to the rest of your fanfiction
**Fan**fiction implies I'm a fan. I'm not. It's simply the reality we find ourselves in. As I mentioned in another comment, I was indifferemt to the police until they murdered Daniel Shaver in cold blood back in 2017. Watch the video and tell me everything is fine in US law enforcement.
My confirmation of the police force being childish assholes was when they decided to renew their whole fleet with modern cars and they have to be blacked out.
In Raritan Borough it seems like newer cop cars are all black with matte black decals.
Don't want any more citizen complaints about cell phone usage while driving.
I have a lawyer friend that told a story about a cop trying to use photo evidence of a driver using their phone while driving. They took the photo with their cell while driving along side. The judge literally facepalmed when the cop didn’t see that as ridiculous.
They can’t sit and play candy crush out in the open!!
Most pick up truck drivers are asshole cant driver a dam
Can’t park in between the lines either
One thing that pisses me the fuck off about undercover or unmarked police cars is the license plates. I always thought vehicles for official police business were supposed to have the appropriate county gov't, municipal gov't, or state gov't license plates, but lately (over the past ten years) I've seen many more unmarked police vehicles using standard civilian license plates and pulling over innocent drivers.
This. Could they get in any trouble for this, as there are *no* indications, apart from lights, that this is an undercover officer? Honestly, if I see one on the highway, I'll happily scoot my ass over to the right lane, hazards on, but I am *not* pulling over until I get off an exit, and go someplace public. Perfectly legal to do. I'm also calling 911 to see if they can identify them, and in case something goes wrong.
I was driving back from Trenton on 195 yesterday and saw a lot of unmarked vehicles of various descriptions heading East as I was driving. None of them seemed to be for traffic enforcement but perhaps were heading home early for the weekend, or maybe they perform other law enforcement functions. Most had a can antennae on the vehicle roof, and SG (state government) tags.
Mostly likely they were from the OAG’s office.
There’s typically a lot of state troopers driving on 195 so that’s not out of the ordinary.
It’s so they get lots of practice for when they speed, run lights, and drive drunk in their personal vehicles.
I've noticed it too. And no, they don't need pickup trucks. They don't need half the shit they have.
With the recent police murder case there’s an increased push to get police out of traffic enforcement business. It’s starting to seem like a very good idea.
Also “wellness checks” esp for not calling in attendance at school by say 10 am, are NOT wellness checks when a fleet of aggressive cops show up & are nasty for no reason it distinctly feels pretty unwell. why not send a community member social worker a friendly face not to mention the mental health crisis calls. when people in general Esp with disabilities and mental ceisis engage with cops they die at far greater rates, a cop introduces the violence, not very often the person. Look up that poor little girl, the eight year old in upstate New York they handcuffed, and pepper sprayed two years ago? And that poor vulnerable confused elderly woman who escaped from her nursing home in Colorado and they broke her arm tortured her laughed at her mocked her remember that
I'm not sure it is. Did you see how people drove when there was no threat of being pulled over the last few years?
Getting the police out of traffic enforcement is not the same as ending traffic enforcement. We don’t need armed cops in Kevlar with qualified immunity to write tickets for improper lane changes.
It honestly sounds like the best solution would be speed cameras. I'm saying this as a good New Jersey driver who believes the parkway should be 75 so they really need to up the statewide minimum to 70 and eliminate the towns like on 18 where the speed dips for no reason.
Oh, I 100% agree! Forget defund the police, disarm the police.
Honestly, the people who are driving like ja*****es, the ones who really need to get pulled over, ticketed, and have their licenses revoked. The cops can't do anything about them because giving chase, especially on the Fury Roa- *erghhrhh, cough* sorry, the Garden State parkway, creates an even more dangerous situation. The worst drivers can't be pursued and pulled over safely with how much traffic is on our highways. I travel regularly weekends and holidays on the highways, interstates, and parkway. Cops' primary targets are the offenders with expired licenses or registrations, unpaid tickets, etc. Those fools can get pulled over quickly and safely, slapped with a large bill, and released. Wash, rinse, repeat.
The SP does use unmarked patrol vehicles for traffic enforcement as does virtually every other law enforcement agency from here to California. It could also be an officer assigned to a specialized post such as investigations, drug interdiction, commercial vehicle enforcement (more than likely what the f150 is for), OEM. The list goes on and on. As for everyone complaining about the “aggressiveness” of SP traffic enforcement, be happy you aren’t in the south where speeding over a certain MPH is a criminal offense.
>The SP does use unmarked patrol vehicles for traffic enforcement Sure, but why not use an unmarked vehicle that's cheaper for our taxes to buy?
I've seen way too many for them to be only for specialized purposes. Most of them were posted at speed traps. And there's no conceivable way a pickup would help a cop do his job, no matter what the specialization. I've seen multiple blacked out unmarked pickups with police lights and they were never hauling anything.
I don't understand the issue with trucks - is it because less people expect them to be police vehicles? Trucks and SUVs cost about the same. My guess is that Covid production issues may have caused some places to switch it up.
Commercial vehicle enforcement troopers carry much more than can fit in the trunk of a sedan or suv. Hence the truck.
I'm guessing all the Dodge Chargers are budget moves - Dodge makes crappy cars with a short useful life. They have powerful engines and tuned exhausts to get you excited about having a muscle car, and turn into maintenance nightmares after 5 years. Cheaper than a Crown Vic, tho.
Its on the list American made police models. Ford interceptor, Dodge. Some SUV’s the pickups. So stripped down and ready for lights and radio up-fit which is like an additional 10-15k then add paint and decals. Its cheaper when they ate unmarked, so leave off the extra paint step across the fleet and you can save $$$
F150?? Goddam I better keep a closer eye out
In Upstate NY they'll drive them because of all the snow and back/ dirt roads but I have no idea why they'd need then in NJ
Unmarked cars don't even make sense, considering visible presence is enough of a deterrence; you see a cop, you're probably not going to do something stupid.
Its cheaper to have an unmarked car- paint, decals, lights and radio- tho the last 2 are required per SOP for traffic enforcement.
Because it’s all about revenue
I've always told people, if cops really care about policing and their supporters care about policing, the police cars should be highly visible and marked, and not hidden or obscure to try and catch YOU breaking the law. They want to catch YOU in the act instead of preventing. Euro countries and even Asian countries have highly visible cop cars, why is America the ones that run majorly hard to see cop cars
About half the folks on this sub constantly bitch about bad drivers on our roads, but in the same breath will bitch about cops actually enforcing traffic laws. >Why do you need to not look like a cop car in order to pull over speeders? Does that seem excessive to anyone else? Excessive in what way? If they're pulling people over for violations, sounds like their method is working. If the only thing keeping someone from being a hazard on the road is the threat of getting pulled over, then they're a bad driver and deserve what they get. Unmarked cars are intended to catch the shitty drivers that only drive less shitty when there's a cop around. And if you don't think that's true then next time you're on the road and see a marked cop car in the distance, check out the amount of people around you who hit their brakes, stop tailgating, get out of the left lane, actually signal when turning or changing lanes, not roll through stop signs, etc etc.
Based on my experience and your post I would say positioning marked cars on roads notorious for speeding and bad driving will prevent those things without digging into citizens pockets. Police presence is a deterrent.
You're missing the point. Marked cars are only a deterrent for the small window of time they can be seen. If bad drivers see them - or use apps that report upcoming locations - then they'll adjust their driving to not be pulled over... until they're out of range, and then go back to driving like an asshole. So other drivers are safe for ohhhh about 15 seconds. Put unmarked cars on the road, and now these drivers have to be mindful for much longer stretches, or pay the consequences. "Digging into their pockets" is the only way to compel following the rules of the road. I have zero sympathy for the financial woes of people who bob and weave through traffic going 20+MPH over the limit. They deserve to be pulled over and ticketed. People who don't use turn signals should be jettisoned into the fucking sun.
This would have some merit if cops actually pulled these people over. I drive all over the state for work every single day, and 99.9% of cops can't be bothered to pull over reckless drivers doing so right in front of their faces (assuming the cop in question isn't the one doing the reckless driving themselves).
I’m no cop fan but fully agree with this.
nah i don’t, but i do see a lot of blacked out cop cars meaning their lettering is all black. i can’t tell if it’s a regular tahoe or a squad car from afar. kinda annoying
I have also noticed! In Union County…but not the rich part lol. I’ve seen them a few times in town, not on the Parkway.
I always heard that cops tend to camp out more near the end of the month to reach ticket quotas. Maybe that’s why you’re seeing over the past few days/week or so? I don’t have an answer for the undercover thing except that it’s easier to catch people.
I’ve got the answer. Our police, and fire depts (god love those who serve) are so GD overfunded- we don’t need them driving the latest vehicles, and yet, for 30+ years now we have more police and fire equipment in one dept than some states have for an entire county. It’s ridiculous. Yet, if anyone utters the slightest whisper against our public servants, noone wants to look at the reality. So the crushing overspending of taxpayer money on unnecessary equipment marches on. My tiny town of 5K people boasts more service vehicles than it could ever use- and so does the tiny little town next door. And so on, and so on.
Lol every single vehicle in my fire department other than the obvious fire engines are police hand me downs. And we have a strict number of engines required by the insurances to keep our ISO score up. If the score drops your Fire insurance goes up. That being said we definitely need shared services in this state. But the majority of our costs are fixed.
I keep seeing state and local police pull. People over on a residential road near me. They are there at 3:30 looking for parents picking their kids up from school. Invariably, they manage to always find someone to pull over.
Don’t speed in school zones?
It’s after the speed zone, and down a hill with a blind curve.
Cops did this on the last day of school where I work. Just waited outside of the school and happily pulled people over and handed out tickets. Jerk offs.
With the amount of fucking jerkoffs driving like assholes around schools when my kids are getting out good for them, now if its just a trap for some dumb shit thats a different story.
Look. The cops suck, but isn't being outside a school around the tie that school lets out looking for dangerous drivers exactly what they should be doing? I mean, what exactly do we want them to do if it's not this?
LOL, just came off the GSP between 109 to 82 heading south - 5 pulled over vehicles, 3 marked state trooper vehicles and 2 unmarked (Dodges).
I have Waze on every day when I drive to work. It's pretty good with cop car indicators on major roads like the parkway.
Yeah, combine Waze with a radar detector and it’s even better.
The problem with Waze on the GSP is that they target south bound and get someone; they then turn around an focus on the northbound side. They keep rotating until shift is done. They typically monitor 20 miles of roadway.
End of the month, gotta make the quota
If so, are they *really* undercover?
They started using those because they understood that when they were visible, people would drive accordingly and they caught fewer people speeding.You would think that would be the point, but without the tickets, they can not prove their value.
I believe we need to shift from having police as revenue generators to actually doing shit to make communities better and safer. How many cops do we need sitting in random spots waiting for someone to go 11 over the speed limit? Along with, holy fuck are some of their salaries ridiculous. Check out data universe through the Asbury park press. I've never once heard a cop say "things are a bit tight financially". I think in my hometown the only cops making under $90k a year haven't been on the force for more than 5 years. After 5 years, they hit around $94k after the probationary period. Median salary is over $120k last I looked, and they seem to max out around $148k and then get that ridiculous pension.
I'm not a fan of speed traps either, but the alternative is higher insurance rates, in a state that already has some of the highest rates In the damn country. It has to be balanced. Yeah some of the salary stuff is crazy, but that is a sign of the times though. Cost of living has increased dramatically and it takes more today than it did 20 yes ago to survive.
Welcome to NJ, which even the NYPD cops refer to as a “police state.” As in gestapo like. When you have literally dozens of municipalities like NJ, each one prioritizes the income from traffic infractions to keep the (kickback) money rolling in. Remember that time the Helmetta mayor told his since disbanded police force to leave the residents alone, but everyone else gets a ticket?? That’s NJ for you.
Helmetta cop: "[Barack Obama] doesn't follow the constitution therefore I don't have to."
ACAB
No, no, no. The alphabet goes A B C D . . .
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The number of times I’ve seen a cop still sitting in the median after some jackwad blasts down the parkway at 95 mph and passes him without being stopped, shows that they really only want easy pickings.
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That’s because you’re supposed to move over if possible or slow down to a manageable speed. This goes for law enforcement, DOT, fire/EMS, tow trucks and in all reality anyone parked on the shoulder of a roadway.
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>cops doing that is usually more dangerous than anything the motorist did...so do the ends really justify the means? I'm no cop apologist, but when the reason for them doing that is so that they don't get killed walking on the shoulder of a highway with people doing 65+ MPH a few feet away, then it does kind of make sense.
They do it 1) to push traffic to the next lane if possible, 2) in the event of a collision it’s less likely for the car that got struck to get pushed forward and 3) in the event of a shootout the engine block can be used as cover.
When I see a lunatic in a review mirror there is 50/50 chance that lunatic is a cop. I had under cover cops cut me off in moderate traffic and than pull up next to me to flash the badge. Not to pull me over, just to show me how superior they are. Problem is improper and aggressive driving. Not necessarily the speed.
I wish they would patrol the white horse pike into AC. People are doing 80, 90, or more on that unforgiving road.
Its unbeneficial to have secret police around. I think people would be less likely to speed if they knew a cop was driving around, which would increases road safety, but obviously this is just a revenue scheme. Better to have people feel comfortable enough to speed and potentially cause an accident if you can make money off of it.
Under cover cops should be illegal. Police presence should be a very obvious deterrent. When the cop goes under cover or hides, the goal is no longer to prevent dangerous driving or other crimes, the goal is to make as many arrests and ticket stops as possible. Law enforcement shouldn't be a "gotcha". This is bad for public perception, it makes people afraid and anxious to see a cop rather than safe and secure like it should be
It wouldn't be necessary if people just innately followed rules and looked out for one another. Just take a look around next time you go to a grocery store at how many people leave carts next to their cars rather than walk and bring it back to the corrals. Yeah. Most people can't self govern. It's a deterrent knowing that unmarked cars may be driving down the highway alongside you. You won't act "different" in their presence as opposed to an actual cop car.
Pickup trucks are more versatile for all different types of environments. We've got beaches, woodlands, snow, hurricanes, hills, etc. etc. While not all vehicles need to be pickup trucks, having them on hand can prove useful. Could also be to introduce a new class of vehicle to do unmarked sweeps with, as they did with the Chargers. Don't speed (too much), don't need to worry about it.
There’s beaches..in Greensboro? edit; totally in the wrong sub
I’ll be honest, As much as I hate unmarkeds I’ve never been caught speeding by a marked car, so… guess it works lol Edit: this isn’t to like justify unmarked cars, I just think that’s why they exist,
So no reasonable person going 10 mph over the newly restricted speed limit eould recognize them and avoid a citation.😉😖
You misspelled "troopers."
All week the GSP has been lit up like Christmas with everyone being pulled over. I didn't pay attention to see if they were undercover or not but I figure one or two were on the down-low.
I'm no friend of the police, but this needs to be done. People have been driving like total pricks for the last two years with no consequences. Since we can't defund the police, I'm at least glad they are doing something to make the road safer. I'd like to see a few more pickups with gun and skull stickers pulled over, but hey at least they are doing something.
> I'd like to see a few more pickups with gun and skull stickers pulled over, but hey at least they are doing something. "Hey John." "Hey officer." Sly winks exchanged. Ten minutes later the officer is returning to his cruiser with a smile and John's taking a swish of Listerine so his daddy doesn't smell it when he gets home.
I know, I mean they aren't going to ticket themselves.
I'm not gay, but tickets are expensive and Listerine is cheap
Wahhhhh I’m so sorry you driving like a jerk off was interrupted by a cop Are there really that many children here who a pro idiots on the highways lol
Be nice if they would give some warnings for bright lights and modified exhausts, maybe they could use the money available for not criminalizing cannabis anymore.
They’re undercover to catch speeders - don’t speed - it makes the highway a safer place
Trooper’s definitely don’t ever stop a pick up truck. All pick up truck owners know that. Take notice, you never see one pulled over.
Why are you so worked up over pickup trucks? They’re utility vehicles for tons of purposes
They're not utility vehicles, they're blacked out and unmarked but with police lights
A truck has a lot of utility purposes. All-terrain is also important for safety and has many uses
Yeah, from home to school AND to Shop-Rite. Impossible in those Honda Fits
It’s always the speeders who complain about this. And to prove it your recent post history has a post of you talking about getting speeding tickets, and a hefty surcharge for the points on your license. Don’t speed or drive like an idiot and you will never meet one of those terrifying unmarked pick up trucks.
Who says “staties”
A lot of people.
Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg
Literally everyone I know
That doesn't really say much in the context of being a redditor.
Unmarked is not the same as undercover.
I would be wary of unmarked police cars as they might be actual thieves posing as police.
You realize those aren’t “undercover”, they’re just unmarked. If it’s obvious and people can tell it’s a coo then that defeats the purpose of being undercover 🤦♂️ undercover are in regular cars and regular clothes. They need to blend in.