Cop cars: A black and white issue

LOLITA HARPER

Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they come

for you?

The steel drum beats of the infamous reggae song that opens the

television show “COPS” denotes danger, hazard and menace involved in

crime fighting. Red flashing lights burst on the screen and a lawless

thug is slammed down on the black trunk of the police vehicle.

Notice I said the black trunk -- as in black and white cars. And

so is the image of cops, er, police officers, the brave men and women

who put themselves in peril to protect us from the bad guys.

Of course, Costa Mesa Police Chief John Hensley seems to realize

this important connection between the traditional “black and whites”

and the morale of officers who dreamed as little boys and girls to be

patrolling in such cars. And that is one of the reasons he is

changing the look of Costa Mesa’s patrol cars from all white to black

and white.

Santa Ana Police Sgt. Carlos Rojas was surprised to hear that

Costa Mesa was going back to black. While not being able to speak for

other agencies, he said the officers in his department prefer the

black and whites. Like Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, Santa Ana too

had all white police cars but the department changed that in the late

1980s, he said.

“I think the black and whites are more traditionally associated

with police officers,” he said.

A former Long Beach police officer and Newport Beach resident, who

chose simply to be identified as Ray, said he also agreed with

Hensley’s decision.

“There is just something about driving a black and white car,” Ray

said. “I can’t explain it, but it is just part of being a cop.”

Costa Mesa can get away with the color change, but cities such as

Newport Beach and Irvine could not. Black and white cars simply would

not fit in those cities, Ray said, because they don’t have the “edge”

necessary to pull off that kind of look. For the most part, nothing

happens in Newport Beach or Irvine that is dangerous enough to

warrant the police departments with an ultra-tough image, he said.

Of course, this is good for the residents, because who wants to

live in a city with crime-ridden streets, where law enforcement

officers risk their lives on a daily basis fighting crime? But when

demanding the respect of your law enforcement peers -- or street

credibility in general -- it’s a different story, Ray said.

“Take Newport Beach,” he said. “You look at them in their nice,

clean, white cars and you know they haven’t really seen the gritty

side of police work. You lose respect for that.”

To summarize, the more a police car looks like a Brinks patrol

car, the more likely it is for the officers inside it to be

performing duties more similar to security-guards than crime

fighters. Duties such as breaking up loud parties, reporting vehicle

theft and moving illegally parked cars.

Now of course, police at the Newport Beach police department take

exception to that stereo-type.

“I certainly don’t want to argue over crime statistics,” said

Newport Beach Sgt. Steve Shulman. “I am proud for having lower crime

statistics than other cities. I think that is something to be proud

of. And we do have our fair share of criminal activity, as well as a

criminal element that comes in from other cities.”

Shulman said Newport Beach is “more focused on how an officer does

his or her job than the vehicle they are driving.” All that said,

however, Newport Beach is considering changing its patrol car design.

Shulman, the public information officer of Newport Beach Police

Department, said the chief recently surveyed the officers as to their

preferred patrol car design. While there is a faction that would

prefer black and white, that is simply not an option the chief is

willing to consider, he said.

“The organization is not going to be going black and white in the

near future,” Shulman said.

Newport Beach officers had their choice between blue and white

cars or all white cars, with updated lettering. Officers

overwhelmingly rejected the concept of blue and white cars, but were

more open to a some sort of redesign.

“We are comfortable with the non-traditional look of all white,”

Shulman said.

* LOLITA HARPER is the community forum editor. She also writes

columns Wednesdays and Fridays. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275

or by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.