CT State Police

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km1r

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Well actually CSP DOES have some (very few) marked vehicles, CV's and I think a jeep or two. Someone on this board more educated in this aspect can probably tell you how many and exactly what.

As for not marking them as a matter of routine... as long as I can remember, they were not marked except for the little state shield that stuck out of the bumpers (years ago.)

Again, there is sure to be someone on this board with accurate information.

Good listening...

Mike KM1R
 

bobmich52

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It's Hard To See, But look At the Light Bars & In The Middle You Should See "State Police"

Saw A White Crown Vic That Was Well Marked The Other Day.
 

KB1JHU

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I have seen a few of the white marked cars at Bradley the last few times I've been up there. There was a marked car with those dumb ultra low-profile aerodynamic strobe bars at Troops G a few years ago, only saw it on the road once. I think they put some marked cars out a few years back in Hartford when they needed CSP assistance.

CT state law enforcement doesn't seem to like marking vehicles. Obviously CSP doesn't have many marked cars, DMV only has a small decal on the doors, EnCon Police don't mark their trucks/SUVs but have magnet decals they put on for events (if they remember). EnCon only just started putting a few marked cruisers out there over the last 2 years, typically used by seasonal law enforcement in the parks or new full-time hires they haven't gotten trucks for yet. Watch out in the parks sometimes during the summer. If they don't have enough spare cruisers for seasonal law enforcement, they get loaner cars from DAS that end up being Dodge Stratus' or Ford Taurus' that they stick lights and a radio it. DEP HazMat Expeditions have similar bars to CSP, with "HazMat" lit in the center.

I saw a photo book one time that had a load of old cop car pics and I don't think there were any marked CSP cars. Even back when they only lights they had were two big rotators on a roof bar, there was a metal sign stuck in the middle of the bar that said "State Police", a low-tech version of the lit middle section they have on the current bars.
 

digitalBill

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the Troopers keep their cars even when off-duty....they just remove the light bars then have a normal(ish) looking sedan to drive home in
 

EFjohnsonVHF

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digitalBill said:
the Troopers keep their cars even when off-duty....they just remove the light bars then have a normal(ish) looking sedan to drive home in

I believe they put the light bars in the trunk, And the reason they take them off when they're not on duty is so that people will know that they're off duty, Although I have seen some on-duty troopers with no light bars on top of their cars.
 

800crazy1

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yep only seen the marked white cruisers at bradley int. aprt. .... along with the jeep cherokee and mabey one other vehicle , very rare ...but that is a good question asked as to why not a marked fleet , and , yep , in the middle of the light bar the lit up state police light . interesting ! someone must know the answer to this ? retired trooper ? cant be that top secret .
 

KB1JHU

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I think it's just that they've been doing it that way forever. Plus, it's easier for them to hide on the side of the highway at night without all those super-bright reflective decals all over the sides. Another thing with the CSP cruisers, many different colors. There's no standard other than they seem to be fairly dull colors, grey, dark blue, maroon... I'm sure it's cheaper than some custom paint job like Mass has.
 

comspec

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The question was answered above, but maybe you didn't see it or thought it was speculation. By contact Troopers take their cars home at night and can put the light bars in the trunk. I beleive the contact allows personal use of the car anywhere in the state. In theory this makes them more readilly available for emergencies.

This does not mean they will never use the cars on duty without lights and I have on very very rare occasion seen them help out off duty. Once on the scanner, I heard an off duty trooper execute a stop on a suspected DWI request backup as he was off duty and had his wife in the car.

Also as for being stealthy, I find a marked slicktop hides a lot better than an "unmarked" with lights. Also, have you noticed at night the turn on relatively low power red and blue "marker" lights on the light bars to help identify themselves?
 
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backingit

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When they are off duty they probably take the light bars off so people don't drive all paranoid and slower than normal as if they are being followed by a trooper w/ a light bar. I was in an accident last year and an off duty trooper responded. A few minutes later an on duty officer arrived then left the scene after the off duty officer said he would write the accident report. With the GPS tracking devices in the cars I think dispatch can call an off duty officer to assist if needed if they're in the area of an emergency.
 

comspec

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Unfortunately, taking the light bars off is not enough to make them invisible. The still look like police cars, still have antennas, still have those suspicious looking hub caps, etc. etc.

Besides, if they bear down on you in the left lane you would probably pull over just to be safe (I know I would ;)

Also, I guess being called for service while off duty is the trade off for getting to take the company car home. I wonder if they get paid extra for actually filling the report where stopping to help may be a freebie? That may explain why he was willing to do the papaerwork.

Truth is I actually know very little about the CSP. What little I do know comes from a cousin who knows the resident trooper in his town.
 

backingit

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comspec said:
Unfortunately, taking the light bars off is not enough to make them invisible. The still look like police cars, still have antennas, still have those suspicious looking hub caps, etc. etc.

Besides, if they bear down on you in the left lane you would probably pull over just to be safe (I know I would ;)

Also, I guess being called for service while off duty is the trade off for getting to take the company car home. I wonder if they get paid extra for actually filling the report where stopping to help may be a freebie? That may explain why he was willing to do the papaerwork.

Truth is I actually know very little about the CSP. What little I do know comes from a cousin who knows the resident trooper in his town.

Yeah I probably know less than you do,,, those are just my opinions.
 

dtab55

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most of the time the Marked CV's at Bradley are occupied by AIrport police. The airport police got taken over by the State Police a few years agoand is mostly dissappeared except for a about two or three guys just waiting for retirement. They are in State Police vehicles but they fall under that quassy trooper status, just UConn & Central CT State Police. I think that those marke CV actually look pretty sharp, but if they were all marked you might actually notice how you never see them on the highways except at work zones.
 

MarkEagleUSA

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I'm not certain of this, but I doubt very much that they routinely remove and install their lightbars. Those are $2000 items and don't lend themselves to being handled frequently (as far as I know there is no quick-mounting option for a Whelen lightbar). I think the bars stay on the cars even when the trooper is off duty, especially in light of the fact that they're always "on call".

I also think that only troopers assigned to "patrol" duties actually have lightbars. This would include those that patrol the highways, resident troopers, etc. Others have to make do with the hide-aways and deck lights.
 

KB1JHU

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They all have connector boxes on the drivers side of the car so they can be removed quickly. When the bar is off the roof, the box stands out pretty well. The new EnCon Police F-250s are the same, they can remove their bars when they don't need it or want to try to blend in a little better.

cnpca8237-vi.jpg

[size=-2]Image from http://www.policecararchives.org, edited to add arrow.[/size]
 
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backingit

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KB1JHU said:
They all have connector boxes on the drivers side of the car so they can be removed quickly. When the bar is off the roof, the box stands out pretty well. The new EnCon Police F-250s are the same, they can remove their bars when they don't need it or want to try to blend in a little better.

cnpca8237-vi.jpg

[size=-2]Image from http://www.policecararchives.org, edited to add arrow.[/size]

I don't see to many cruisers w/out the push bar either.
 
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MarkEagleUSA

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KB1JHU said:
They all have connector boxes on the drivers side of the car so they can be removed quickly.
I understand that, but the actual mechanical attachment of the bar to the vehicle is what I was referring to, not the wiring.
 

backingit

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MarkEagleUSA said:
I understand that, but the actual mechanical attachment of the bar to the vehicle is what I was referring to, not the wiring.

They can be taken off in about 30 seconds.
 

KB1JHU

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MarkEagleUSA said:
I understand that, but the actual mechanical attachment of the bar to the vehicle is what I was referring to, not the wiring.

Though I don't know how they attach, I would imagine that if they bothered to use a quick connect to wire it, then they would be fairly easy to remove. No sense making it easy do disconnect wires without easily being able to remove the unit. Next time I'm working with the local EnCon officer, I'll try to remember to have him show me how they are attached.
 
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