The P.O.P. Factor

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"Just the facts, ma'am." More often than not, politically correct bullshit won't be found here. Pardon me while I exercise my 1st amendment right! I welcome all to my little world of bitches, moans, gripes and complaints, and sometimes, the downright freakin' odd. Take a seat and join me. I love a good story.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Big Wheels Keep on Rollin'

Dorchester Co., SC

As we all know, this was the last year that they were producing the Ford Crown Victoria police interceptors. Many departments went out of their way and juggled budgets to order the Crown Vic final edition for their fleets.

It's difficult to convince some of us hard liners that there is actually a car out there that can beat the roominess, maneuverability, stability and sturdiness of the Crown Vic interceptors. To hear that V-8 kick in when you accelerate....well there's nothing like it if you enjoy the muscle. Those big metal cars have saved many a police officer's life.
I am reluctant to admit that the Dodge Chargers are a decent replacement and certainly a much better choice than the Chevy Wimpala. Those cars seriously suck. The Chargers are rather cramped, with no real leg room. Put a video and computer terminal in there, and your partner gets a few knee bruises.

When you get a pretty new white Crown Vic, it has to be dressed out for it's future as a po-leece car.
The Dorchester County Sheriff's office brought one of it's brand new cars over to a detail shop to have all it's badges and decals put on.
The detail shop is located in a very busy and well lit area of a small town. He took for granted that it would be safe sitting outside all night. (SNORT!)

The shop owner arrives at 7:30 a.m. to find a scene similar to this.....





Yep, bring your own cinder blocks and steal the rims and tires off a new po-po car.
Estimated loss, no doubt coming out of the pocket of the detail shop owner, is $1600.00.


The Dorchester County Sheriff's office has had some bad luck already. Some time ago, person or persons unknown cut a hole through the fence in to their evidence compound and stole tons of copper wiring that was recovered in another case.  No suspects were ever arrested in that case and I'm guessing that this one won't be all that easy to solve either.

5 comments:

Mad Jack said...

I always wondered if police cars ever got stripped. Well, now I know.

Don't they keep a junk yard dog in the evidence compound? :)

That wire is big time history. I only learned recently about the value of metal, and it's no small deal. It's impossible to trace and the various scrap yards are so conscientious about recording their transactions... well, anyway houses in the area get stripped down to the 2x4s overnight.

Anonymous said...

i'm not a cop, but man i would kill to be in a giant empty field testing out how sturdy a crown vic really is!

Older School said...

@ Mad Jack,
The price of copper wiring has cost a few dumb asses their lives. Electricity is not always your friend.
A junk yard dog would indeed be an idea. Alarms and video cameras that work are always helpful too.

@ Anonymous; Police cars are often taken into places that normal people wouldn't take their own cars. Front end alignments and tires are quite naturally the biggest expense.
A straight away and a standard driving course is too much fun!

Departments are now planning on holding on to their unused Crown Vics in lieu of auctions so that they can harvest parts. Sometimes the dead lined cars are donated to driving schools or academies so they can be beat and battered for
driver training.

I must admit that rolling over railroad tracks at about 50 mph isn't always a pleasant experience.

Beat And Release said...

Best cruiser I ever had was a 1989 Chevrolet Caprice. Put the Crown Vics to shame and left 'em like they were standing still.

Older School said...

Those Chevys from back in the day were certainly comparable, but I always felt they were slipping on tight curves. You realize, of course that we're dating ourselves by talking about 80's model police cars?