Well I'll be damned! VW transporters being used as undercover highway patrol police vehicles now by the looks of it.

I saw a transporter pull over a ute on the calder yesterday, cop with flashing lights and all I wonder if they are hotted up or not?

Australia is joining the rest of the world. VW Transporter cop cars are everywhere in Europe.

In Australia you have a choice of Transporter engines. They are all 2.0-litre turbo four TDI diesels, but with different outputs. TDI250 = 75 kW / 250 Nm. TDI340 = 103 kW / 340 Nm. TDI400 = 132 kW / 400 Nm (twin turbo). I would think the highway patrol would probably go for the top model. Download the brochure and spec sheet here:

http://www.volkswagen-commercial.com.au/en/models/transporter_delivery_van/in...

Dee Why Police use a marked Transporter for Police transport and general duties.

Unfortunately road tests of commercial vehicles such as the VW T5 TDI400 don't include performance figures - top speed and 0-100, and neither does the VW fact sheet. As they used to say at Rolls Royce, the VW's performance would be 'sufficient.'

http://www.themotorreport.com.au/spec/make/volk/model/transpo/volk13cm 

If you give a T5 Transporter a mild tune and some race wheels and tyres, you can get around the classic Nurburgring circuit in under 10 min - seriously impressive for a van.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5kwkTipAgI 

Transporter at Dee Why

Queensland are using trucks, so they try anything these days to catch you out.

I have seen plenty of police unmarked VW transporters,Hyundai Iloads,skoda station wagon,dual cab Hilux 2x4 with a white canopy,Toyota Prados,Toyota LandCruisers,list goes on in QLD,most of the commercials are used as speed traps

There was a Commodore station wagon with a bike rack and bikes on the back being used as a speed camera in Ferntree Gully! Looked just like the average family wagon.

Do they ever use old cars? or are they always current/ish models?

^ haha VN cop cars, still see heaps of ex VN cop cars around.

My God there is some crap and urban myths in this thread. I still work for the "firm" and have done so for 45 years. So in NSW at least here is the gospel according to Old Hutcho.

Unmarked vans are used to transport stuff around. You know, exhibits, bales of hay for the horses, weapons and equipment for the SPSU attending sieges, stores for outlying stations. That sort of underhanded sneaky stuff.

In NSW they are really sneaky and actually mark the VW transporters which are almost exclusively used as general duties hacks. (And a dismal failure they are too). Maintenance and purchase costs are being heavily undercut by the Hyundai i load, so expect to see more of those around.

There are NONE, ZERO being used as camera cars. NSW Police DO NOT RUN CAMERA CARS that are not Traffic Command Sedans or sports cars. Any van you see with a camera in the back will either be an RMS vehicle (radar - infrared) or will be some sort of vehicle or system on trial, not actually operational and booking people.

The make and type of vehicle being used is dictated by the purchase and ongoing running costs after all manufacturers are asked to tender for the contract. At the moment Toyota is dumping their Hiluxes on us and they are only fair in terms of running costs. We used to run the Ford Ranger until the Vawdrey pod on the back became too much for the cowboys who wanted to put them into corners like Ferraris and turned a few over.

I cannot believe that someone actually thinks that a table top truck is being used for operational Policing. I know we have some to transport large property loads to auctions and stuff like that. Maybe some horsefeed to the stables and horseshit out again. But as an operational vehicle? Pull the other one.

regards

Old Hutcho

They sure do use old cars. Usually on loan from the local car yards. Our blokes here use anything the yard can give them, old or new. Used mostly for surveillance and undercover work.

At Manly in the lates 80's we used the "Gotcha" cars. Whenever we had issues with people stealing from cars in the multi level carparks we would park our unlocked or partially secured gotcha cars (sometimes up to three a day) in the carpark with a camera or wallet peeping out and when the crook got inside to rummage, the instant he shut the door, he was trapped inside, an alarm went off in the station. We would have a coffee and stroll into the carpark, pick up our baggage and job done. Beautiful piece of work. Never got tired or locking up shitheads stealing other peoples stuff. Job satisfaction.

Those cars are still in use in NSW.

regards

Old Hutcho

Vlad and Old Hutch, you are talking about different states.

Also, Hutcho you being a pre 88'er would know TJF

And how many unmarked vans would have the time and money spent on them to have lights actually fitted up by old Billy Ayers (spelling ?) and the boys.

Kev

Camo

Yes mate I am pre 88 and I remember Billy well. He fitted a lot of cars over the years for us. Lifes good if you're pre 88 isnt it? I hope you were.

Vlad

Yes mate we are in different states. My word is gospel remember? (But only for NSW) NSW may use a stationary hand hel radar in an area thast hasnt or cant be risk assessed for safety. Those people then radio ahead for the fly trappers and thats where they get their ticket. The cops in NSW have gone soft. They cant do RBT or Radar in an area if it hasnt FIRST BEEN IDENTIFIED, RISK ASSESSED AND LOGGED AS SAFE TO DO SO. So if you use your noodle a bit you can go as fast as you like PROVIDED ITS IN AN AREA THATS BEEN RISK ASSESSED AND DISMISSED AS BEING UNSAFE. Apart from that, you're on your own mate. Good luck.

regards

Old Hutcho

yeah I never said I was in NSW, it was about what we have here in VIC.

Dee Why area had a green SS ute unmarked, Neutral bay had a white ss ute unmarked, north sydney had an unmarked white tarago and kuringai had a pale yellow 80's model celica.
I've been pulled over by all of them hahaha

Who cares what it's called ( and I think, maybe wrong, that "entrapment" is a USA thing) but if some lowlife is steeling from cars parked legally and locked then get the mongrels any way you can. Thanks officer

Thanks Donn. You are correct mate. Who cares if it is. These lowlife oxygen thieves make a living off other peoples misery. I for one got enormous satisfaction strolling up to the gotcha car with the panic stricken shithead trapped inside trying to kick his way out. Of course he would then be charged with malicious damage to the inside of the car on top of his other offences. You should have heard the excuses. The best one for me was "My mate has a car just like this one. I broke into this one by mistake."

And for the information of those folks who consider it may be entrapment. Its not. Entrapment is encouraging people to break the law and luring them into committing an offence. These people broke into cars cause thats the way they live. Its habit. Some of them would win lotto and still steal cause thats all they know.


regards

Old Hutcho

Firstly, I'm sure this would be considered both entrapment and deprivation of liberty. In Qld it is actually an offence to leave a car unsecured in a public place. So by leaving something obviously visible in an unsecured car, isn't it exactly that?

Secondly, are the crooks that silly they can't work out a way to open it? Fold the back seat and go through the boot? Hotwire it and drive it away?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not pro crime, but as an ex security guard we had these things drummed into us and I knew several colleagues who were charged after detaining someone against their will for a period of time.

Painted the same colour as my VW!!!

Paul

Even though the cars were either unlocked or partially locked even crooks are not allowed by law to enter and steal from cars even though they belong to the NSW Police.

Deprivation of liberty? It most certainly was. As all arrests are by definition. I dont know the circumstances of the cases you allude to, but security guards detaining someone would (at least then anyway) fall under S352 ss1,2,3,and 4 of the Crimes Act of 1900 re powers of arrest and continued detention. These sections and sub sections now fall under the Law Enforcement Powers and Responsibilities Act (or LEPRA by acronym)

Entrapment? No definitely not. These people had to open the door and physically enter a vehicle which clearly did not belong to them. There were the same impediments as a normal motor vehicle, i.e: a closed door with a closed window. Same principle in law as break and enter. If there is a seal and you break it, by lifting a window, opening a latch etc, thats breaking.

So in that respect, the court recognised that the intent was there to commit a crime. The Crown solicitors office (as it was then) had case law and legislative argument available should we ever be challenged in court. I cant remember a not guilty to the many (read under 100) crooks who got caught. The cars all had boots welded shut, doors all configured and engineered in such a way that no amount of kicking would get you out of them. Some had lexan windows. I saw some VERY desperate druggies try to kick their way out of these cars and not one was successful. Its easy enough to build a car you cannot escape from. They were even provided with a fan on the floor under the drivers seat whicdh pumped fresh outside air into the gagging, choking, frantic oxygen thief inside. Just so they couldnt say they were mistreated.

I accept you are a law abiding citizen and not arguing on behalf of the crooks but it is healthy to be sceptical about some things and ask questions. Some of the answers may even surprise and educate you. They certainly did me.

regards

Old Hutcho

We were trained that if you did not actually arrest someone at the time of detaining them this was deprivation of liberty. So a shoplifter could not be held either physically or by blocking an exit/locking a door waiting for the police to show up. We were taught to use their assumption that they couldn't walk out of there and that was it. So by that reckoning, with those cars, f the police took 20 minutes to turn up before releasing and arresting the crim, they had not been arrested or taken into custody at the time of being detained.

Anyone with half a brain doesn't sit in a car and shut the door to pinch stuff. Probably the point of the story. Like the crims who "win the lotto" in the USA and get nabbed when they show up to collect.

Not sure if the rules were different back then or if it was a state thing (maybe the snivel libertarians hadn't sunk their claws in as much at that stage) but in the town I did my training in, the trainer ran a security company and one of his guards who had been stalked by a woman for months after he knocked her advances back, and I mean full on stalked, followed around the site (a university) for hours at a time, sent gifts and flowers to him at home and work, he had reported and documented all of it but nothing was ever done about it, one day it became serious when she was following his patrol (postie) bike with her car, he stopped, she didn't, he was quite badly injured but managed to pick himself up, got her out of the car and detained her, called the cops, she lawyered up, despite all the evidence against her, she fought for deprivation of liberty and was willing to drop those charges if all charges against her were dropped, which is what happened. So if serious charges like that get traded off over deprivation of liberty, we were trained to follow, observe, report, photograph, but never detain. She was connected, had a good lawyer, but so can any crim.

And a token reference to put me back on topic - many speed camera vans up here are VW transporters.