Police Depts With Major Light-Color Changes Over Time

[LRGJr72]

Starting with agencies who've gone from "all of one color" to "all of another."


- Not sure when or why the Louisiana State Police made this change.


- Is the Ohio State Hwy Patrol actually doing the same thing?


- Throughout the 60s, 70s & 80s the Detroit PD went back and forth several times with many overlaps of all the above before settling with red/blue.

 

[LRGJr72]

 

[LRGJr72]

 

[stansdds]

Sorry that I don't have pictures, but...


Henrico County, VA, went from all red to red and blue in the mid-80's to all blue in the early 1990's


Richmond, VA, went from all red to red and blue in the early 80's (IIRC) and now blue with a red center section on their bars.


Chesterfield County, VA, went from all red to all blue and now to red and blue.

 

[LRGJr72]

Sorry that I don't have pictures, but...

Henrico County, VA, went from all red to red and blue in the mid-80's to all blue in the early 1990's


Richmond, VA, went from all red to red and blue in the early 80's (IIRC) and now blue with a red center section on their bars.


Chesterfield County, VA, went from all red to all blue and now to red and blue.

I guess much of virginia was all-red in the early years and then many of those depts made various changes, mostly ending up at red/blue. I'm surprised the VSP doesn't have any red in their current configuration.

 

[stansdds]

I think a red and blue combination is highly effective both during the day and at night. As for the VSP, I remember when they ran all red, as in a single Federal 15 Junior Beacon Ray with a red dome.

 

[Hoser]

I was told by a OSHP radio tech that the red was an add on after the brass found out that they had to have red for some accreditation. The Col. wanted all Blue. I agree that Red and Blue both have times where one color shines over the other.

 

[LRGJr72]

I was told by a OSHP radio tech that the red was an add on after the brass found out that they had to have red for some accreditation. The Col. wanted all Blue. I agree that Red and Blue both have times where one color shines over the other.

Numerous tests over the years have demonstrated that red is more visible in daylight while blue is more dominant at night. I think that's why the Florida Hwy Patrol went with groundbreaking new bars that go all-red during the day and then switch to all-blue at nite.

 

[50theman]

Sorry that I don't have pictures, but...

Henrico County, VA, went from all red to red and blue in the mid-80's to all blue in the early 1990's


Richmond, VA, went from all red to red and blue in the early 80's (IIRC) and now blue with a red center section on their bars.


Chesterfield County, VA, went from all red to all blue and now to red and blue.

actually RPD stopped using red a couple of years ago, they may have a few old bars floating around with red centers, but not many.


Here is a picture of the new all blue led light bars, the only red they have is the hideaways in the rear brake/turn signal lights.





5-0


opo:

 

[RIG755]

- Not sure when or why the Louisiana State Police made this change.

My guess is to differentiate themselves from all parishes around the state that use red & blue. Trust me, folks around the state know the all blue lightbars are usually LSP or DPS. Some small town spots off the interstate path do run all blue.


I'm not sure what type of setup they are, but you cannot claim to not see LSP's blue lights, especially at night! They are very well fitted with almost everything you can imagine. The pic you have is dated. I can't recall the last time I've seen a strobe type lightbar on an LSP unit.


Sent from RIG755's iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Phillyrube]

I guess much of virginia was all-red in the early years and then many of those depts made various changes, mostly ending up at red/blue. I'm surprised the VSP doesn't have any red in their current configuration.

Back in the late 80s they were running red grill lights and the blue Model CJ184 lights. Flashing headlights were not legal until app. 1995 or so, and state did away with the grill lights and went with the headlights.

 

[stansdds]

actually RPD stopped using red a couple of years ago, they may have a few old bars floating around with red centers, but not many.

Here is a picture of the new all blue led light bars, the only red they have is the hideaways in the rear brake/turn signal lights.


5-0


opo:

I haven't been in the City of Richmond for a while, last time I saw a Richmond car it had a blue Federal Vista with a red center section. So, all blue now? Yes, studies have shown, and I've seen it with my own eyes, that blue does not show up as well as red during the day, but blue is superior at night.

 

[LRGJr72]

My guess is to differentiate themselves from all parishes around the state that use red & blue. Trust me, folks around the state know the all blue lightbars are usually LSP or DPS. Some small town spots off the interstate path do run all blue.

I'm not sure what type of setup they are, but you cannot claim to not see LSP's blue lights, especially at night! They are very well fitted with almost everything you can imagine. The pic you have is dated. I can't recall the last time I've seen a strobe type lightbar on an LSP unit.


Sent from RIG755's iPhone using Tapatalk

If they simply wanted to stand out then staying with all-red would've worked best since there are numerous agencies (maybe half the state) also using all-blue. And no one in LA uses all-red, save for the St Martin Sheriff.


The all-blue pic is dated, but I used that to demonstrate the color change. More recent pics show clear-lensed LEDs.

 

[LRGJr72]

Has it been confirmed that the Ohio State Hwy Patrol is going all-blue, fleet-wide?

 

[RL1]

Has it been confirmed that the Ohio State Hwy Patrol is going all-blue, fleet-wide?

Yes, all blue bar with a single red interior light to the front and another to the rear. Check the Visual Warning page for a great thread about it.

 

[108FP1]

I can remember this from my childhood:


Richmond Police originally had all-red Twinsonics in the late 70's/early 80's. The next change came in around 1984, when they went to half red/half blue Streethawks, then a smattering of blue MX7000's with red center sections showed up around 1995, then around 1998 or so, the Vista with blue outers/red inners hit. The Vistas were strobe outboards/inboards, with a halogen rotator center IIRC. In 2003 or so, they started phasing in various makes of LED bars with all-blue and no red.


Chesterfield Police had the red Rotobeacons for a while. I'm not sure what make, but it looked like two red beacons bolted to a single luggage bar, with a chrome siren speaker in the middle. They switched to all-blue Streethawks around the time that Richmond did, switched to all-blue Whelen Edge bars when Richmond went to the Vista, switched to blue/red E911 LED bars when Richmond went LED, then finally to the current red/blue Whelen Freedoms in around 2006/2007 or so.


If anyone remembers the VSP switch to the blue Edge bars, they will also remember they got headlight flashers....a single 556 can flasher on the circuit. Both headlights. On off on off on off on off.......cheap.

 

[Sarge619]

I can remember this from my childhood:

Richmond Police originally had all-red Twinsonics in the late 70's/early 80's. The next change came in around 1984, when they went to half red/half blue Streethawks, then a smattering of blue MX7000's with red center sections showed up around 1995, then around 1998 or so, the Vista with blue outers/red inners hit. The Vistas were strobe outboards/inboards, with a halogen rotator center IIRC. In 2003 or so, they started phasing in various makes of LED bars with all-blue and no red.


Chesterfield Police had the red Rotobeacons for a while. I'm not sure what make, but it looked like two red beacons bolted to a single luggage bar, with a chrome siren speaker in the middle. They switched to all-blue Streethawks around the time that Richmond did, switched to all-blue Whelen Edge bars when Richmond went to the Vista, switched to blue/red E911 LED bars when Richmond went LED, then finally to the current red/blue Whelen Freedoms in around 2006/2007 or so.


If anyone remembers the VSP switch to the blue Edge bars, they will also remember they got headlight flashers....a single 556 can flasher on the circuit. Both headlights. On off on off on off on off.......cheap.

I worked for the Richmond Bureau of Police as a NAO in the early 80's when I was in college. The 80/81 Ford LTDs and handful of R-Body MoPars left over (I can't remember if they were '79 Chrysler Newports or '80 Plymouth Gran Furies - basically identical) at the time had all-red Twinsonics, the '82 M-body Dodge Diplomats were a mix of all-red Twinsonics and red AeroDynics with a clear section flanking the chrome center speaker section. Unmarked units had red "lollipop" flashers in the grille and a similar light on a swing-down/swivel mount on the front headliner between the sun shades and no rear deck lights at all. The last batch of Richmond cruisers delivered before I moved back north were the '83 Impalas equipped with the red/clear Aerodynics.


The following year (1984) the rules changed allowing VA law enforcement vehicles to use blue in conjunction with or as a replacement for red as the primary police lighting color. VASP changed to blue beacons in 1985 (according to their history page online). As mentioned, they ran blue CJ184 beacons (including the first year of the "bathtub" styles Caprices which debuted in 1991, as seen in this picture :http://policecarwebsite.net/fc/agl0873/vasp226.jpg - although I found this pic of a '91 "bathtub" Caprice sporting a FS JetSonic: http://policecarwebsite.net/fc/agl0873/vasp2.jpg) with red grille lights. IIRC, the '93 Caprices they bought (http://policecarwebsite.net/fc/agl0873/vasp1.jpg) were the first with all-blue Whelen Edges.

 

[OSP959(R)]

Has it been confirmed that the Ohio State Hwy Patrol is going all-blue, fleet-wide?

All the cars are switching to the blue lightbars. The cars have the blue lightbars, blue deck lights in the rear window, and then (2) red lights in the lower corners of the front grill, and one in the top center of the rear window. They look pretty cool. I especially like how the reds in the grill seem to jump out at you more since there is more seperation distance between them and the blue lightbar. I've seen the cars with the blue bars in Columbiana, Stark, Jefferson and Belmont counties. The transition seems to be coming along pretty quick.

 

[Blade Runner]

And no one in LA uses all-red, save for the St Martin Sheriff.

I was down in Cut Off a few years ago, and a cop there was running all red. I think he was a deputy.....

 

[Mndlm]

Here in Minnesota all the L.E. depts were all red, and with amber only facing the rear. Around the mid 90's some suburbs started to use blue on the right rear side of their bars only. More recently red/blue is becoming the norm and even on paramedic rigs I'm seeing red/blue facing the front and back of their rigs.

 

[LRGJr72]

Didn't the Arizona Highway Patrol and Phoenix PD use 50/50 RED/AMBER once upon a time?

 

[twodogs603]

Up until the mid 80s, all emergency vehicles in Virginia were red, then the state code changed for law enforcement to go blue. A few years later it changed to allow blue, or red and blue. And just recently it changed to allow blue, blue and white, or red blue and white combination warning lights.

 

[Ronnie229]

In Virginia, back in the 1970s and earlier, blue was Civil Defense. I had blue lights in my POV grill for CD and a red fireball on the dash for VFD.


Ronnie

 

[theroofable]

In Virginia, back in the 1970s and earlier, blue was Civil Defense. I had blue lights in my POV grill for CD and a red fireball on the dash for VFD.

Ronnie

Do you have a pic of this?

 

[Ronnie229]

Do you have a pic of this?

No, that was almost 45 years ago.


Ronnie

 

[Detroit VAP]

Arizona law required red and amber lights until the 1980's. In California, it was a steady red to the front and a flashing amber to the rear. In the 1980's they started allowing blue on police cars, but the steady red to the front and flashing amber to the rear are still required. The Michigan State Police ran all reds until about 1995, then they started adding a flashing blue light to the rear. Now they have on many of the slick top cars red/blue to both front and back. Also there are a few red/blue LED light bars running around on MSP cars. Most of these cars are not the standard blue color cars, but other shades of blue and silver/gray. In the 1960's most of the local police cars in Michigan ran with red lights, then in the 70's, blue started to appear.

 

[LRGJr72]

Arizona law required red and amber lights until the 1980's. In California, it was a steady red to the front and a flashing amber to the rear. In the 1980's they started allowing blue on police cars, but the steady red to the front and flashing amber to the rear are still required. The Michigan State Police ran all reds until about 1995, then they started adding a flashing blue light to the rear. Now they have on many of the slick top cars red/blue to both front and back. Also there are a few red/blue LED light bars running around on MSP cars. Most of these cars are not the standard blue color cars, but other shades of blue and silver/gray. In the 1960's most of the local police cars in Michigan ran with red lights, then in the 70's, blue started to appear.

MSP is still all-red with the exception of the single blue to the rear. Even the slicktops are all red visor, red sideview mirrors & red bumper mounted LEDs. The non-traditional cars (cruisers not painted MSP blue) come in solid white, black, grey & burgandy. They are for stealth traffic enforcement and feature the MSP door logo only on the passenger side. All the ones I've seen are slick-top. I had no idea there were traffic units sporting actual roof-bars. And red/blue to boot? Has anyone else seen these?

 

[Andy L.]

MSP is still all-red with the exception of the single blue to the rear. Even the slicktops are all red visor, red sideview mirrors & red bumper mounted LEDs. The non-traditional cars (cruisers not painted MSP blue) come in solid white, black, grey & burgandy. They are for stealth traffic enforcement and feature the MSP door logo only on the passenger side. All the ones I've seen are slick-top. I had no idea there were traffic units sporting actual roof-bars. And red/blue to boot? Has anyone else seen these?

MSP's slick tops use a single blue lighthead to the front - passenger side of the windshield light. They have used the single blue there since around 2006. The remaining front and side lighting is red. The Dodge Charger slick top use two dual Talons or Avengers in the rear window and each is red/blue.


The non-traditional cars have been phased out - those used the single blue to the front and either one or two blue in the rear depending on year. There were even a few Tahoe's setup in the non traditional colors. They used the same lighting.


The guys who work the track always seem to be testing out new lighting things. I've never seen a lightbar out on the road, but have seen several on cars at the track. This past summer one of the Chargers there had a full front interior LED bar in red/blue. So stuff like that is out there...just not too often.

 

[Sarge619]

Connecticut State Police, like their neighbors in New York and Rhode Island used red lights right up through the late sixties/early seventies. The first pic I've ever seen of a CTSP cruiser using blue was in 1970. Many local CT towns remained red for much longer after that.. then most adopted red/blue combinations.

 

[LRGJr72]

Connecticut State Police, like their neighbors in New York and Rhode Island used red lights right up through the late sixties/early seventies. The first pic I've ever seen of a CTSP cruiser using blue was in 1970. Many local CT towns remained red for much longer after that.. then most adopted red/blue combinations.

I've always been intrigued by CtSP vehicles. Few or no graphics, various colors and often something unusual in lighting. Pretty cool.

 

[Sarge619]

I've always been intrigued by CtSP vehicles. Few or no graphics, various colors and often something unusual in lighting. Pretty cool.

If you're interested, PM me.... I have an archive of CTSP pics from the sixties onward you might enjoy.... Plymouths, Fords, ambulances, etc.

 

[Detroit VAP]

The MSP slick tops with the red/blue lights to the front, are Linz6 mounted on a special metal mount. I had a chance to look at them at Canfield Equipment. I was thinking of having one of our cars changed to this from a slimlighter. Back in the mid 70's, there was two MSP cruisers patrolling the Detroit freeways, with the Federal AreoDynamics, in red. They only seemed to last a few months before they decided they wouldn't work. That may be the same for the two stealth cars and the accident investigation Tahoe that a buddy claims he saw in Livonia with the LED light bars.

 

[LRGJr72]

The MSP slick tops with the red/blue lights to the front, are Linz6 mounted on a special metal mount. I had a chance to look at them at Canfield Equipment. I was thinking of having one of our cars changed to this from a slimlighter. Back in the mid 70's, there was two MSP cruisers patrolling the Detroit freeways, with the Federal AreoDynamics, in red. They only seemed to last a few months before they decided they wouldn't work. That may be the same for the two stealth cars and the accident investigation Tahoe that a buddy claims he saw in Livonia with the LED light bars.

It would INCREDIBLE if someone could produce pics of those MSP cars with AeroDynics. I'd love to see those.

 

[pc0k894]

Here you go....


From my collection at copcar dot com - The home of the American Police Car - Photo Archives


EDIT: Oops... Wrong MSP. When I saw MSP and read AeroDynic I was thinking Massachusetts. I don't think I've seen a Michigan SP car with an AeroDynic, but I'll look thru my files...

 

[pc0k894]

Chicago PD also changed from red to blue lights in 1960


1958





1960 with the new color scheme. The first few of the new blue cars still red domes


[Broken External Image]:http://images109.fotki.com/v786/photos/4/42477/6896931/73-vi.jpg


After 1960 with all blue lights





From my collection at copcar dot com - The home of the American Police Car

 

[LRGJr72]

Here you go....
From my collection at copcar dot com - The home of the American Police Car - Photo Archives


EDIT: Oops... Wrong MSP. When I saw MSP and read AeroDynic I was thinking Massachusetts. I don't think I've seen a Michigan SP car with an AeroDynic, but I'll look thru my files...

I always knew that police cars in Massachusetts used partial red/lensed bars, but I've only seen the red portion displayed to the rear in that state. This is a really cool pic! As for the Michigan State Police sporting AeroDynic... I'd never heard of that until it was mentioned on this thread. I'm still not totally convinced on that one. But I cannot imagine why anyone would make that up. So it's probably true.

 

[LRGJr72]

Chicago PD also changed from red to blue lights in 1960

1958





1960 with the new color scheme. The first few of the new blue cars still red domes


[Broken External Image]:http://images109.fotki.com/v786/photos/4/42477/6896931/73-vi.jpg


After 1960 with all blue lights





From my collection at copcar dot com - The home of the American Police Car

Never knew Chicago PD ever used red. Excellent pics! Great examples of color changes! Thanks, Greg.

 

[50theman]

Never knew Chicago PD ever used red. Excellent pics! Great examples of color changes! Thanks, Greg.

Yep, CPD had red lights. I read on a website somewhere years ago and I can't find it now, but one of the main reasons they changed was because they were ordered by the Police Supt. to activate there red light at all times while on patrol to reduce traffic crashes. Well wouldn't you figure, then no one paid attention to the police car when they were responding to calls and etc. So the state of Illinois authorized a city with a certain population (I don't remember the number) to run blue lights on there police cars. The only city that qualified by population was Chicago. So they changed to blue.


Greg, Help me out if I have something wrong or you can tell us more.


Take Care,

 

[pc0k894]

You had most of your facts right, LRGJr.


Chicago changed to blue when the new police superintendent was hired in 1960. Former Stanford U professor and police administrator Orlando W Wilson was first hired as a consultant by the city to chair a committee to find a new head of the CPD, but the mayor and city council ended up giving him the job to change the dept's slipping public image and help pull it out of a few significant scandals.


OW Wilson ran the department like a corporation and closed old, antiquated station houses. He also put most officers in vehicles. Prior to 1960, cops walked foot beats or rode 3-wheel Harleys. Police stations had 2 marked cars and a paddy wagon. Wilson bought hundreds of new vehicles in all shapes and sizes. 2drs, 4drs, full-size, compact cars and station wagons. Part of this positive PR push was to make these new vehicles "conspicuously marked". His research and teachings had leaned toward blue as the color more associated with police and/or authority. The blue and white color scheme was chosen and the new patrol vehicles were all adorned in this new look with reflective blue stars and POLICE lettering. Wilson also wanted to set Chicago Police cars apart from all the other emergency vehicles on the road. He wanted to make sure the public as well as the criminals knew when the CPD was on the way. He lobbied state legislators to change the law regarding emergency lighting. IL Vehicle Code was amended to read that police vehicles in all cities in IL with a population of 1/2 million or more will be equipped with blue lights. Since Chicago was and still is the only city to fall under that category, CPD remains the only agency with solid blue lights.


During his 7-year tenure as superintendent, OW Wilson turned the CPD into the world model of municipal police department efficiency with the most modern, cutting edge equipment, communications and training. The base salary for a patrolman also more than doubled in his term, making the job something that was honorable and desired civil employment. This also brought in a stream of better, smarter, more qualified personnel to the ranks. It also raised the image of the Chicago Police Department in the eyes of a weary, un-trusting public. Wilson was the father of community policing that so many agencies still pride themselves on today.

 

[FireEMSPolice]

So the state of Illinois authorized a city with a certain population (I don't remember the number) to run blue lights on there police cars. The only city that qualified by population was Chicago.

Shitcago is its own little fiefdom. Doesnt surprise me that a law was written just for them.