
The AFP were making use of the recently boarded up Alexander and Abermarle Buildings in for training again today. I wonder where they will move to when they are finally demolished?
I took note today specifically, as there were at least five similar landcruisers decked out with the unmarked car lighting, bullbars, roof-rack’s, and in some cases winches and snorkels. It set me to wondering just how many such vehicles a city the size of Canberra needs?

Hes right you know they arent police vehicles. A group of soccer mums got sick of being late all the time so they had their vehicles fitted out like undercover cop cars! They never get held up in traffic anymore!
vg said :
ASIO? or something similar?
vg said :
SSSHHH EVERYBODY! vg’s going to tell us all about what the REAL situation is without disclosing any credentials or sources, and we have to believe him cos, like, he TOTALLY knows what he’s talking about because he said so!
vg said :
People are listening, but like normal they are ignoring you.
vg said :
It helps if you say which post you are commenting on.
davo101 said :
This is true for most Chinese vehicles currently on the market (I haven’t driven them all). There is a reason they are cheap.
gazket said :
Ah yes, I had the “pleasure” of driving a Geely MK in WA last year. You forget how far automotive engineering has come in the last couple of decades until you get into something that has missed it all.
Antagonist said :
Ooops. Another user error …
Pitchka – I can see how $80k might be spent on a handful of specialist vehicles. But a dozen of them? That is just wasteful spending, and reflects the wasteful nature of the public budget system that forces agencies to spend all of their money (hence big purchases at the end of financial years), lest they lose it from next years budget.
Pitchka said :
SES officers are allowed to use those vehicles for private use because they pay for the car, usually through salary sacrifice. They pay for fuel, rego, insurance, maintenance and FBT. The car is NOT free, or paid for by the taxpayer.
Pitchka – a lot has changed since Dasfleet was pissed off about 100 years ago. I do agree that $80k on so many vehicles is a
You’re not listening.
They’re not Police vehicles
Keijidosha said :
Great Wall 4×4 at $22,990 drive away
I’m sure the TRG have suits and masks they could wear while driving them as they do have some asbestos parts. But at that price who cares
Sandman said :
No they dont pay retail bud, your right… having worked for Dasfleet in a previous life, fleet cars are not charged at the RRP, far from it.. whether they are 4 bangers, larger cars or 4wd’s. .
Keijidosha said :
Certain models of vehicles lend themselves to certain modifications, Toyota Landcruiser 200s are one such vehicle that modifiers are comfortable and experienced with.
You can bet given the age of those vehicles and certain visual cues that they aren’t typical factor fleet models.
ATypicalUsername said :
Hm, this is a weird comment. We’ve gone from berating the Police for buying expensive cars, to berating them for not splashing out on expensive livery.
A lot of ACT Policing vehicles are unmarked, including Ford Territories, Ford Falcon utes, Toyota Aurions, and some Holden Commodores.
Having those large, unmarked 4x4s serves a number of purposes, some of which probably less important now that they have the Bearcat.
Evacuation from dangerous situations is one.
Storage of specialist equipment, you can bet there’s safes in the back.
Entry into dangerous environments, hence the grab bars around the roof line.
Covert/surprise interdiction.
When Police choose vehicles, they need to consider even minute things like how quickly someone in certain gear and holding certain equipment can get in and out of the vehicle. When you look at the designs of a lot of vehicles now, they go for sleek style of utilitarian aspects. So even that substantially limits the choices.
Not a problem at all, a very justified resource for them.
I do think something that should be questioned is having every Police car a large sedan. When you compare the SRG vehicles to comparable over seas units, they’re not as fancy. But when you compare the broader fleet to overseas Police, we definitely take after the Americans and their beloved Crown Vic rather than British and European police. Hopefully when the Commodore and Falcon get culled after 2015, local Police will be a bit more creative. Larger engine area cars and highway cars, and smaller general duties vehicles with Di engines.
How do you think they access all the dope plantations on the south coast? Not going to get an LPG Falcon in there.
I doubt they pay retail price either. I know a couple of farmers that always seem to have brand new Prado’s because if they sell it in the first couple of years they can get the same as what they paid new with their primary producers discount. Imagine the fleet pricing the cops get on them.
bigM said :
SHUT UP, YOUR MAKING SENSE…
Keijidosha said :
i can only imagine they carry around some serious gear in the back of those cruiser that probably isnt likely to last very long in the back of a dual cab is a pretty good reason. Plus have you ever sat in the back of a dual cab ute,hardly enough room for a small child, let alone adults with a good few kilos of equipment on.
plus everyone knows that cruisers are the best 4wd’s
I think we’ve all seen unmarked Landcruisers pulling over motorists, which seems to imply they are ACT Policing vehicles. It’s possible they’re being used as “deep cover” – who would suspect police to be driving an $80k unmarked Landcruiser? I even saw one with Qld plates a year or so ago, had pulled over a car on the Monaro Hwy. Are the Qld plates even more “deep cover”, or had it been transferred from AFP in Qld and they hadn’t got around to changing the registration?
IP
G-Fresh said :
I’ve got a mate who reckons that a bloke in a pub once told him that the AFP operates Huey gunships that were salvaged from the South China sea after the yanks dumped them off carriers after the fall of Saigon in 1975.
Seriously….
c_c™ said :
They also have a number of Jeep Cherokee’s with Hemi’s running around, Subaru Forester’s, Ford Territory’s etc
Haven’t seen them in a Chery yet.
Keep your shirt on, Pitchka! I’m not concerned about what it costs to equip our Police with the equipment they need, but a luxury 4×4 does strike me as slightly exorbitant, perhaps because I’m ignorant of features that the Landcruiser offers that the AFP need. Can you enlighten me?
(FYI: I know the difference between a dual cab and wagon 4×4, but besides the enclosed cargo area I can see no practical difference, hence my original question. Again, I’m happy to be educated!)