Vehicles

Vehicles

Area Car

The Sun Hill Area Car, as seen in "The Bill".

These are saloons like the BMW 5 series or large hatchbacks like the Vauxhall Vectra. They also appear to be mostly manual transmission. Often can be heard screetching to a start when chasing anyone, or in a hurry in general. The call sign for the Area Car is Sierra One.The Area Car is a Police Stations fast response car. It handles urgent 999 calls and car chases as well as providing assistance to other officers. Currently Tony Stamp, Roger Valentine and Will Fletcher(currently seconded to CID) is qualified to drive the area car. The current area car is the BMW 5 Series. Past area cars were the Ford Mondeo, Ford Sierra, Rover SD1 and the Vauxhall Vectra. The Sierra was first seen on The Bill in the early '90s, the Mondeo: 1996 and the Vectra: 1997. (more information...)

IRV

The Sun Hill IRV, as seen in "The Bill".

IRV stand for Instant Response Vehicle which is dispatched by CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) when the area car is dealing with a crime or is not near enough to deal with the reported crime. The Instant Response Vehicle is a level below the Area Car. It's slower than the Area Car, but alot faster than the Pandas. It can handle emergency calls, assist the Area Car and do general Police stuff.Current IRV's at Sun Hill are Two Ford Focus MkI and One Vauxhall Astra MkIV (more information...)

Panda

This is one of The Bill old Panda cars

The phrase panda car refers to a small or medium-sized police car operated by British police forces. They are used for ordinary patrol work, with larger and more powerful vehicles being used for emergency response, traffic patrol and special services. The current Panda Car is the Vauxhall Astra MkIV

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Van

The Sun Hill Vans, as seen in "The Bill".

Sun Hill has three vans. One for personnel transportation, with a cage at the back for prisoners, and two more solely for personnel transportation without a cage.Current vans are two Ford Transit Minibuses and One Leyland DAF 400 Series

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Helicopter

The Metropolitan Police Airborne Unit, as seen in "The Bill".

India 97/99 is the Metropolitan Police Airborne Unit. India 97/99 is called in for searches, major operations, to assist in a chase, or, sometimes to check out large disturbances that Sun Hill cannot reach quickly. It comes with all the standard Police Helicopter gear: Cameras, Infrared Cameras and a big spotlight.See Helicopter in action India 97/99

Equipment

Batons & ASPs

The ASP telescopic steel baton used by both uniform and CID. Compact but strong, it is used for self defense and for controlling offenders. The ASP acts as a shock device when an offender is struck. Replaced the acrylic and wooden batons in the mid-1990s.

This is the same type of Baton used in The Bill

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CS Spray

Introduced into service only a few years ago, CS is a non-lethal spray which incapacitates offenders. Normally sprayed onto the face and causes major discomfort to the eyes.

Two officers using CS Spray

Cuffs

Quick-cuffs are used for restraining uncooperative offenders. Handcuffs with solid metal connector instead of a chain. The cuffs can be put on quicker during an arrest, making it slightly more difficult to resist being cuffed. With the use of quick-cuffs, offenders easier to control in that the more a suspect struggles, the more discomfort is felt.

Vests & Jackets

The heavy blue flak jacket or bullet-proof vest provides limited protection to the wearer in situations where firearms are involved. Most familiarly worn by officers from the force firearms unit, CO19. Police markings on the front and back of the flak jacket ensure the wearer is identified as a police officer. Velcro-strips keep the garment on the wearer.

The Metvest is a stab-proof and ballistic-proof vest. It is normally worn under officers' clothing to provide protection against serious injury.

The fluroscent yellow-green luminous jacket or glow-vest is permanently worn by traffic officers. It is worn by divisional officers for traffic duty, at scenes of traffic accidents, at night, during public events and during searches. Fluroscent yellow-green has been specifically chosen because of its high visibility to the human eye.

Radios

The Personal Radio or PR is a two-way radio used for police communication. Up until 2006 the Metropolitan police force used analogue radios, controlled from CAD. In 2007 they changed over to the digital system, now controlled from BIU or Internal Borough Operations. The panic button can be activated when an officer requires urgent assistance. Radio banter can be heard at all times. The PR clips onto shirts, jumpers, tunics, belts or wherever the officer chooses. The Met's radio sets are made by telecommunications giant Motorola.

Pocket Book

An officer's pocket book is used for recording incidents on scene, when witnesses give their version of events or just for situtation reports. The pocket book can be referred to when an officer gives evidence in court.

Torch

Sometimes forgotten as an important piece of equipment, the torch provides an officer with light in dark places. It is especially handy during searches and during the night shift.

Kits

The Personal Protection Kit or PPK consists of rubber gloves, resuscitation mask and a sterile wipe. It is used in situations involving injured persons when police are the first on scene.

Warrant Card

A warrant card is a proof of identification and authority carried by police officers. The term is normally used only in the United Kingdom this gives the officer the right to exercise his/her powers of arrest.