Ridgeland police reported they will use 18 vehicles as “unmarked units,” this year, a requirement under Mississippi law. Undercover cars typically are used to disguise police operations and are used for different types of missions. The cars are disguised by removing the logos, and lights.
Of those 18 vehicles, 11 will be used as investigative units. Investigative units can be used by police officers or detectives for discretion. Police Chief John Neal of Ridgeland talked about some of the other reasons that police use unmarked vehicles.
“It really depends on the mission,” said Neal, “but we use undercover units for a few different things.”
Drug busts and sting operations are some of the typical operations that require unmarked vehicles. Other types of operations include surveillance details and serving warrants. When officers are serving warrants, they often use a disguise, so they do not alert the neighbors. Officers also use unmarked when speaking to witnesses.
“It keeps their identity safe. There is always a chance that the suspect is close. So, we operate in disguise,” said Neal.
Depending on the operation, different car models will be needed. For a surveillance operation a Dodge Charger could be needed, or a pickup truck. In the list of vehicles reported to be used undercover, there are 8 different models. Unmarked 2016 Dodge Chargers are exclusively used for serving warrants. Chevy Tahoe, Dodge Charger and Durango are all among the unmarked models.
According to Neal, the cars are acquired through the state funding the police gets every year.
“We aren’t using cars that we have in the impound,” said Neal, “they are budgeted through general funds.”
Among the officers, getting to use an undercover unit does not indicate that the officer is promoted. There are investigative officers, detectives, and Ridgeland has a few. There are also plain clothes officers, who perform their duty undercover, usually to do surveillance.
