# Semi marked Cruiser



## tms1989 (Oct 24, 2006)

I know what a marked crusier is, and i know what an unmarked crusier is, but what exactly is a "semi marked" crusier, and why would you use one of these?


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## TacOps (Nov 28, 2006)

I'm guessing you mean a low-profile cruiser, one that has no lights on the top. We sometimes use these as a supervisor's car or K-9 unit. They provide better traffic safety features, such as reflective lettering, than an unmarked car, but still have some stealth features. I believe we should just do away w/ the low profiles and get fully equipped unmarked patrol vehicles. Just my :2c: 

BTW, this is probably the only serious answer you'll get.


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## SOT (Jul 30, 2004)

The ones I have seen, have no lights or "hidden" lights....looking at them from the front, they look almost like a normal car. Looking at them from the back, some say police, but most will have a door emblem, roof emblem and/or number.

Short version, the kind of patrol car you don't know is one till you see the emblems on the side door.

I think some towns across the US went to them to foil the w(h)ackeratti and nut jobs that would fake being cops....


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## Inspector (Nov 13, 2006)

One reason low profile cars were introduced is because lightbars cause drag, especially at speeds, and that burns more gasoline.With the rising cost of gasoline they tried to conserve. There are others that would argue officer safety is improved with 360-degree emergency light visibility, hence the continued use of the light bars by most departments. The low profile wasn't mainly to sneak up on offenders, but it does help.


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## BlackOps (Dec 29, 2004)

Low-pros kick ass. Great for heavy traffic where a lightbar might stand out but still has markings to make it look official.


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## Dr.Magoo (May 2, 2002)

I normally drive a fully marked car. But on the few times I have had to borrow the low profile cruiser, it was amazing. People did more stupid stuff than unusual in front of me. I never realized what I was missing.


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## JoninNH (Jan 29, 2004)

It's a car that has only half the lights and lettering of a fully marked car. Usually the vehicle is bisected so that the drivers side is marked and the passenger side is not. The light bar is chopped off, at some shop in Marborough, and is left on the drivers side. So looking at the cruiser from the passenger side it looks like a livery cab. Some times, the brass makes us ride with a detective in the passenger side, that way from the passengers side it doesn't look strange that there is a man in a uniform riding shotgun. From the drivers side it looks like a usual crusier. We used to have half the word POLICE on the hood... but when equipped like I was just saying Immigration thought we were impersonating ICE members, and the mayor got pissed off when we went with POL. The tricky thing, though, wasn't the light bar... idigjiz200 fixed us all up with that, it was the license plate. Half a police plate and half a green/white. It didn't look right, you know? Anyway...


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## TacOps (Nov 28, 2006)

I have never seen a cruiser with half civ. half police. Also, with the new low profile LED light bars, I don't think drag would make much difference. When you say 360 traffic safety, low profile don't usually have bars on the top. That's why they're low profile. They do have the side warning wig - wags or LED modules.


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## HELPMe (Dec 17, 2004)

to put it simple its a car with no light bar but everything else. No markings and no light bar is unmarked.


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