Ideal Cop Car Bike

The Ideal Cop Car/Bike For The Indian Police

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The title itself we know will invite many bricks and tomatoes from people who think that splurging on vehicles for cops is absolutely unnecessary. The same set of folks would be the first to vent their ire at the government for not modernizing our security forces enough when a certain incident brings to light that the rust covered machine guns and vintage, bird shooting double barrels our police force uses, are often jammed. Our regular readers must’ve gone through news where the Gujarat government has acquired Harley-Davidson motorcycles for escorting and piloting VIP convoys. A waste of funds we’d agree because even if they deploy some of these machines to patrol the city streets, a Harley Davidson isn’t something that is nimble and quick-footed enough to keep up with the ‘chain snatcher’ on his street bike in a few feet wide lane.

India International Security Expo 2013

We feel the Duke 200/ 390 or one of the more powerful upcoming Pulsar could become ideal bikes for Cops in India. Nimble and manoeuvrable within narrow streets and traffic, equally comfortable at high speeds on the highways. Available at a fraction of the cost of a Harley-Davidson, they’d also be easy on the government’s pockets and still manage to inspire the motor headed aspiring policeman. What should be driving our police force on four wheels? They aren’t the ones who have arrived in style at a crime scene in movies, pulling the handbrake to slide the car and announce their arrival. They’ve rather been the ones hanging outside blue jeeps with a lone orange lamp and siren on the top, almost overshooting the place where they needed to stop because of overcooked brakes.

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Mostly driving around in a rickety Gypsy, an ailing Toyota Qualis or a Mahindra UV, we feel they deserve better for the job they do, for being on the street even when its Diwali or Eid or Christmas, for going through the disgusting feeling of smelling our breaths, because we as citizens want to be irresponsible at times. We feel they should get hatchbacks for the city and rugged UV’s where the roads don’t exist. We feel they seriously need modern machinery equipped with things that a decent enough police force in the world would arm themselves with.

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A few countries have equipped their cops with some fancy stuff, but then that move is aimed at attracting tourism and inspiring their youth, more than keeping crime in check. In India, such moves wouldn’t matter, as the journey of an aspiring Policeman starts off from learning how to grease palms in order to move up the ranks and appease his/her superiors, rather than training to become an ideal cop. Since the grease has to come from somewhere, it is you and me who act as suppliers when we want to set a record for the fastest settlement of a traffic violation. Wanting to be on our way after flashing a currency note, ignoring the ‘Satyamev Jayate’ message on the left corner.

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The dirty fact and some preaching aside, you could be someone who feels relieved to see red and blue flashy lights approaching or you could be the one who feels the chills listening to the siren. Drop in your comments, suggestions and everything else that rattles your mind after reading this in the space below. Do you think we should get the AMG 6×6 and some fancy bikes for our cops? Do you think their large bellies will obstruct movement in case they dial in too much power and need to counter steer?

2 thoughts on “The Ideal Cop Car/Bike For The Indian Police”

  1. Interesting read. One needs to consider various factors the police require for the car to be practical enough for them. I would suggest the Swift Dzire LDi for the following reasons:
    1. Maruti Suzuki reliability.
    2. Has enough grunt and economy.
    3. DZire’s boot has less capacity, but enough to stock bare essentials.
    4. Has a small bootprint for city, can tackle highways too.
    5. Has enough premium feel over the existing fleet here in Mumbai/Thane, I.e. thr Maruti Gypsys.

    On the SUV/UV front, Mumbai Police and the Thane Police have Mahindra Boleros and Scorpios and some old Tata Sumos and Toyota Qualises. An appropriate replacement would be the Innova, but it is very expensive compared to the Bolero and the Scorpio. So, the Bolero should be the logical choice considering how the UVs are manhandled.

  2. Hi Karen,

    That was a good post and topic was really an interesting one. I am from chennai and cops in here use Toyota Innova for patrolling and TVS Apache RTR is provided for beat officers and also a latest addition of mahindra Scorpio as the interceptor. In my opinion, as what I have seen through the years is that these vehicles are exploited for personal reasons by higher officials and is out of reach for the lower grade personnel’s. Also I have seen them being used for petite reasons which are not legal. I respect the turmoil that police officers go through but it is more for the lower grades. I know pretty much about the police life as many in my family are in the force. So rather than investing more on mobility it’ll be great if the lifestyle of the officers are improved big time through wages, latest weapons and give them a sense of dignity. I am open to your comments, and keep doing the good work.

    Thanks
    Deepak

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