Campus Police Not Happy Having To Cruise In VW Beetle

:rofl:

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How macho, how daunting. Here's University of Cincinnati Police Officer Doug Barge, all strapping 6-feet-4-inches of him, tooling down the road in a squat white Volkswagen Beetle, which is not only cute and compact but also happens to have decals of a ladybug cop - an officer with a badge and tie and a spotted red shell on his back - applied to the hood and doors.

"BUG ME FOR INFORMATION," Ladybug Cop says.


"The guys aren't 100 percent happy with the car," UC Police Capt. Karen Patterson jokes from the back seat. "You don't look very intimidating driving a Bug."

Yeah, but that's sort of the point.

If you live or work around UC, you've probably seen the car. It's striped in red and black and is known to attract honks and smiles from passersby and - sometimes - smirks from city cops. It's been a part of the UC Public Safety fleet since 2000, when Student Affairs and Services Vice President Mitchel Livingston wanted another way to make UC officers visible and accessible to students.

"Police need soft edges as well," Livingston said, "and all of us have a sense of humor."

So the Bug it was. It joined the force as a showpiece, a literal public relations machine with no intentions to intimidate. Think about it: Has anyone ever looked in a rearview mirror and felt that deep-belly dread - U h oh, was I speeding? - at the sight of a VW Beetle (mind you, also the vehicle of choice of a computer support service called the "Geek Squad")?

The Bug's friendly. The Bug's not out to bust you for doing 40 in a 30.

"Hey, it beats walking," Barge says. "And it does get people talking."

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060611/NEWS01/606110363/-1/all

cops - especially campus cops - do not need monstrous SUVs to patrol.

I suggest that if the bugged cops have a macho problem with the form factor, they strap a fuckin' rocket to the back of the thing: http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/street-legal-jet-powered-vw-beetle

They used to be used as Police cars in Germany...





But then, there are German cops who are really lucky...

are almost always intimidating no matter what they drive

The Berlin police was equipped with overpowered BMWs, which didn't have much effect except for a 300% increase in totaled police cars.

Hence they switched back to Renault and VW minivans.


->

They really don't need the powerful pursuit-tuned vehicles that regular cops have. It's not like they will be involved in any 70mph chases down a freeway or anything.

No one takes campus police seriously anyway.

An acquaintance at Berkeley learned the hard way that in California, campus cops are legally police officers like any other. He was drinking on campus and when the campus cop tried to arrest him, he hit the cop and ran off. If he hadn't been drinking, he might have realized how stupid that was since he'd already handed over his ID, and he might not have spent a few months in jail as a result. I remember that lots of us on campus were kinda shocked when it happened, because nobody really knew that campus police are actually state police officers with powers equal to that of the CHP (just with drastically reduced jurisdictions). Some of them, on some campuses, are even armed!

whenever you see a cop!

it's funny they finally merge the campus security with the town's police force (meaning now they carry guns) but I still can't take anyone seriously, gun or not, coming after me on a friggen segway!

It varies from state to state.

Though Bruiser Cruiser is increasing in popularity with the PT Cruiser.