Boca Raton police cars going black and white

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Even with the telltale roof lights and familiar Crown Victoria body, police cars can blend in.

Boca Raton police don't want anyone mistaking their cars for taxicabs or security companies. So they're switching colors to black and white. 'You'd be very surprised,' Assistant Police Chief Edgar Morley said of people not recognizing police cars. 'There's so many other distractions for people.' Black and white cars became popular in the 1930s but fell out of favor in years when police brutality complaints were in the news. In recent years, police departments across the country have switched back to the old-fashioned black-and-whites. Boynton Beach and West Palm Beach police departments already changed their fleets. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, though, has no plans to join the trend. Its signature forest green and white cars actually are required by a law going back to the 1930s. 'There's no confusion with Sheriff's Office cars because all cars in the state are green and white,' said Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.

In Boca Raton, the department unveiled its first nine black and white cars about a month ago. Instead of painting the cars, a wrap akin to tape was applied to change the colors, which Morley said was cheaper.

The department is set to replace 41 cars in this year and next. Those cars will be ordered black and white. Another 98 will be retrofitted, and about 30 will remain blue, white and yellow until they are replaced, Morley said. The department has 150 marked cars in its fleet of 300.

Boca Raton homeowner Peter Torres doesn't think the department needs to change car colors. Cutting costs is more important in a struggling economy, he said. 'If it doesn't have to do anything with officer safety, I don't see the point of spending the money for something's that not critically needed,' said Torres, 27. 'I think they're extremely recognizable as they are now.' Visibility is part of the department's crime-fighting strategy dubbed VIPER: The V stands for visibility. Boynton Beach police changed their fleet's colors in 2005 as part of a community policing plan, said Chief Matt Immler. 'It was a return to a design that was popular in the '50s and '60s, when community and police collaboration was better,' he said.

Source Sun-Sentinel, 9/15/2008