Police Car

Police cars are emergency services vehicles primarily used by police officers. The cars begin to chase the protagonist of each Grand Theft Auto game when they have received either a police head or wanted star. Police cars are known by different names in different games, whilst GTA IV has two models of police cars: The Police Cruiser and Police Patrol.

Other police and law enforcement vehicles exist. These include the Enforcer police/SWAT van, the Police Maverick helicopter, HPV-1000 police bike and the Predator police boat.

Grand Theft Auto 1
In Grand Theft Auto 1, the police car is known as the "Squad Car" and there are three variants; the Liberty City variant, which looks like an early '90s Chevrolet Caprice, and the San Andreas/Vice City variants, which appear to be police-issue versions of the Portsmouth. Surprisingly, it is the fastest car in the game, and is capable of taking alot of damage. In the PC version of GTA 1, the police cars (along with the Ambulance and the Fire Truck) will have their radio tuned to Brooklyn Underground FM, unlike all other renditions throughout the series which only have the standard police dispatch radio.

In GTA London 1969 and GTA London 1961, the police car is known as the Copper.

Grand Theft Auto 2
In Grand Theft Auto 2 the police car is known as the "Cop Car" and assumes a completely original design, looking like a modernised 1940s car. Like in GTA 1, it is the fastest car in the game, along with the Meteor, and is the only car in the game which gives a Cop Bribe when crushed.

GTA III Era
Throughout all GTA III era games, the police cars, referred simply as the Police, are very fast with excellent handling, its durability, however, isn't very high. It has two sirens, one default "long-whirl" and with the horn button held down, the "rotating-weep". By getting in the Police Car, the player will receive a Shotgun with 5 rounds of ammunition.

It is possible to activate the "Black Traffic" cheat to make the Police Car all black. This causes the car to look somewhat like an unmarked patrol car.

GTA III & GTA Liberty City Stories
The Police Car in these two games resemble a cross between a Chevrolet Caprice and a Ford Crown Victoria. In GTA III the Police Car was originally supposed to have a livery similar to the then-current NYPD police cars, however, in the final version, they have a standard black and white livery. The Police Cars in GTA Liberty City Stories feature the livery that was intended to be on the GTA III cars, but instead of blue with white stripes, they are black with white stripes.

GTA Vice City & GTA Vice City Stories
In these two games the vehicle resembles a 1980's Ford LTD, and they both feature a green and white livery - as opposed to the beta versions, which were white with red and blue stripes along each side. In the PC version of Vice City, there are also Police Cars which are completely white with "POLICE" marked on the side. These are the same model as the green-and-white vehicles, however the white vehicles seem only to appear when 100 percent completion is achieved.

GTA San Andreas
There are three variations in GTA San Andreas; the Los Santos Police Department and San Fierro Police Department version (Each have the same build, with respective markings from each city). This is a variant of the Premier (which is based on the 1994-1996 Chevrolet Caprice). The Las Venturas Police Department version resembles a 1981-1990 Chevrolet Caprice, the sides and back end could also arguably be from 1980-'89 Dodge Diplomats. All variations feature a standard black and white livery. The police officers in the countryside have a large, four-by-four Ranger as they are required to go off-road.

Grand Theft Auto IV
In Grand Theft Auto IV, there are two similar but separate police cars - the Police Patrol and Police Cruiser. The player can get in any police car and access the in-car computer while stationary. Here, the player can look at the most wanted lists and then track down criminals. The siren on the Police Car features some variations, including the classic "code-3 siren" wail, the yelp when the siren is activated and the horn button is held down, and with the siren turned off and the horn button held down, a distorted "crowd control" air horn used in real life, that when used, signals for people to vacate the area.

The player can dial 911 to summon the police car either by requiring assistance, or by luring them into a false alarm. By stealing the cop car (whilst the officer searches for any incidents), a one wanted star level will appear and cops will give chase, and it will be easy to evade them, as long as the player doesn't get chased by cops for an extended period of time. In some places, a cop car can be stolen from a parking lot or curbside without incurring a wanted level; however, there is a slight chance that a cop is asleep in the back seat (he may ask for a donut on awakening).

Locations
Police cars will be found randomly throughout each city, and are often locked.

GTA III & GTA Liberty City Stories
 * Police Station in Portland View, Portland Island
 * Police Station in Torrington, Staunton Island
 * Police Station in Pike Creek, Shoreside Vale

GTA Vice City & GTA Vice City Stories
 * Police Station in Washington Beach
 * Police Station in Vice Point
 * Police Station in Little Havana
 * Police Station in Downtown
 * Two of the white Police Cars spawn in the parking lot of the Moist Palms Hotel in GTA Vice City

GTA San Andreas
 * Police Impound Lot in Pershing Square, Los Santos
 * Police Impound Lot in Downtown, San Fierro
 * Police Impound Lot in Roca Escalante, Las Venturas

GTA IV
 * Broker: Hove Beach; South Slopes
 * Dukes: East Island City; Francis International Airport
 * Bohan: Northern Gardens; Fortside
 * Algonquin: East Holland; Varsity Heights; Middle Park East; Westminster; Lower Easton; Suffolk
 * Alderney: Leftwood; Acter; Acter Industrial Park