Qld Hwy Patrol cars to have videos fitted

[Pedro]

Talking to a Qld Highway Patrol officer the other day and he tells me that videos like those used in USA have been trialed and accepted and are going to be installed shortly in some (budget restraints) Qld Hwy Patrol vehicles.

The digital camera will be mounted inside at the top of the windscreen to get the best view and will record any chases from start to finish. Any offender contesting their action can see an instant replay in the patrol car and the recorded action can be used as court evidence.

Aside from that, he told me that they've conducted acceleration "tests" (read industrial areas) between their V8 Holdens and the Typhoons they are using and the Holdens take a whipping. For this reason, they are getting more Typhoons.

[Dave_au]

NSW HP has had video cameras fitted in most highway cars for the last 2 or 3 years.

As for your HP Officer's comments regarding the Typhoon vs Commodore, the police have to operate at least a 2 model variant fleet, in case of recalls or safety issues grounding one particular model.

In NSW it is up to each individual local command area to select which Highway cars to order - most of the time this is delegated to the individual highway officers who will drive each vehicle.

For instance, my friend who is an officer down here in Northern Sydney is currently driving an XR6T, however he, and the other officer who normally drives the vehicle on the alternating shifts have both agreed to try a VE when the car is due for replacement in November.

The general belief down here with the police is that the commodore is generally faster however the Falcon is a more comfortable car. I can't remember where the Typhoon issue is sitting with the NSWHP but I believe they are trialling the car.

[Ringo]

Ditto in Vic.......Video units are being fitted to VicPol HWP

[seXE]

my dads a highway patrol officer, and his car has a camera. ive seen the DVD's on his desk at home.

[Mechan1k]

Has a highway patrol officer come to a club meeting and he showed us the NSW unmarked XR6T he had .... damn those things are decked out ... the quality of the video cameras they use are much better than the US systems ... and in clear colour ... even at night ... the quality of it is awesome indeed.

Also they pretty much all carry voice recorders on them ... all licked back to the car ... and everything is also recorded 30 seconds prior to it being activated.

Say if an officer hits the record button for the camera to capture something ... everything is kept 30 seconds prior to the actual press of "record".

They have a pretty damn impress setup here ... they make it harder for people to lie in court that's for sure.

[DODDO]

One of the blokes who i worked with a few years ago, who left to become a police officer, recently popped into work to say g'day in his XR6t HWP car.
I dont know how those blokes drive those things! There are computers screens everywhere! Cameras on the dash and on the parcel shelf and as Mechan1k said, real good quality pics.
He reckons he prefers the Holden to the Ford, but he's a Holden fan, so his opinion would be biased. LOL.

Cheers

[Mechan1k]

I was amazed at the mount of screens in the vehicle ... they run XP as well on the main monitor.

[b2tf]

Originally Posted by Mechan1k

Has a highway patrol officer come to a club meeting and he showed us the NSW unmarked XR6T he had .... damn those things are decked out ... the quality of the video cameras they use are much better than the US systems ... and in clear colour ... even at night ... the quality of it is awesome indeed.

Also they pretty much all carry voice recorders on them ... all licked back to the car ... and everything is also recorded 30 seconds prior to it being activated.

Say if an officer hits the record button for the camera to capture something ... everything is kept 30 seconds prior to the actual press of "record".

They have a pretty damn impress setup here ... they make it harder for people to lie in court that's for sure.

Have had a good look at these setups too and I reckon they make it easier to spot cop cars sometimes, mainly cos when the camera is on you can see a big red light at the top of the windscreen.

[VSSII]

Originally Posted by Dave_au

NSW HP has had video cameras fitted in most highway cars for the last 2 or 3 years.

As for your HP Officer's comments regarding the Typhoon vs Commodore, the police have to operate at least a 2 model variant fleet, in case of recalls or safety issues grounding one particular model.

In NSW it is up to each individual local command area to select which Highway cars to order - most of the time this is delegated to the individual highway officers who will drive each vehicle.

For instance, my friend who is an officer down here in Northern Sydney is currently driving an XR6T, however he, and the other officer who normally drives the vehicle on the alternating shifts have both agreed to try a VE when the car is due for replacement in November.

The general belief down here with the police is that the commodore is generally faster however the Falcon is a more comfortable car. I can't remember where the Typhoon issue is sitting with the NSWHP but I believe they are trialling the car.

Not quite. For the last few years the luxury of vehicle choice was taken away. NSW HWP went all Ford due to massive discounting offered. Extensive problems were encountered which were covered here many moons ago which crippled the fleet. So they bought a stack of the outgoing VZ's no matter what colour. But only after realising digging their heels in wouldn't make the complaining by the cops go away. Only in the last month VE's have been on the road I think. Do a search and you'll prolly find info on this topic.

[Dave_au]

Originally Posted by VSSII

Not quite. For the last few years the luxury of vehicle choice was taken away. NSW HWP went all Ford due to massive discounting offered. Extensive problems were encountered which were covered here many moons ago which crippled the fleet. So they bought a stack of the outgoing VZ's no matter what colour. But only after realising digging their heels in wouldn't make the complaining by the cops go away. Only in the last month VE's have been on the road I think. Do a search and you'll prolly find info on this topic.

Yeah I can only go off what I'm told from someone at Harbourside - he said they had a choice - well I guess at least they have a choice now.

[seXE]

yeah the VE's came in June. i asked dad why he doesn't drive one and he says he much prefers his Falcon.