Traffic cops to get unmarked vehicles

The Cyprus traffic police department is planning to buy new high-performance cars to use as unmarked vehicles for catching speeders on the highway.

Law enforcement officials are filling out the paperwork on a new purchase of at least twelve cars, four of which will be used as unmarked vehicles.

According to local media, the unmarked vehicles will be parked along state highways to catch speeders, who may otherwise fail to stop when they are flagged down by officers on foot. The new vehicles will have high-torque engines and will be able to accelerate in order to merge more quickly and effortlessly onto the highway.

It is also understood that police in unmarked vehicles plan to go undetected as they spot drivers, who violate traffic rules including going over the limit and slow down as soon as they spot a police car.

All new vehicles will be equipped with automatic number-plate recognition systems (ANPR), which are currently installed only on a few police cars.

The ANPR system can alert officers whether there are arrest warrants against particular drivers in the area around the patrol vehicle or even if a car or motorcycle is uninsured or using public roads unlawfully.

This is the first time that traffic police in the Republic of Cyprus plan to use unmarked vehicles. The ones without visible external flashing lights or sirens, at least four according to reports, will have different colours other than white or blue, which are currently used on all other police vehicles.

All police officers wil wear uniforms including those driving the unmarked vehicles, according to officials.