Police Vehicles of the Twenty-First Century Britain and Northern Ireland

by Godwin, John A.

• ISBN13: 9781398126473
• ISBN10: 1398126470
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2025-08-19
• Publisher: Amberley Publishing

Summary

Police vehicles have always been an essential part of protecting law and order in the United Kingdom. Whether responding to emergency incidents, stopping fleeing motorists or providing protection to the public in the most hostile of situations, the country’s police forces have a wide variety of assets at their disposal. Beyond the commonly seen neighborhood patrol vehicles are many specialist resources, including fast traffic vehicles, armed response teams, mounted units for transporting police horses, marine support units for patrolling on the water and the provision of air support from above delivered by aircraft, helicopters and drones.
Since 2000, much has changed: vehicle manufacturers have come and gone, police vehicle liveries have almost universally adopted the blue and yellow ‘Battenburg’ scheme, and as environmental considerations come to the fore, police forces have assessed and incorporated both hybrid and all-electric vehicles into their fleets. John Godwin presents a fascinating insight into police vehicles over the last twenty-five years, including examples from many of the forty-five Territorial Police Forces of the UK, the three Specialist Police Forces, Parks Police, Ports Police and several others. All sections are amply illustrated with color photographs from across the country.

Author Biography

Author John A. Godwin is an experienced emergency vehicle photographer, having recorded the history and development of all types of emergency vehicle over a thirty-year period, having a focus within the UK but also covering more than forty countries across the world. His work has been published in magazines and journals and is regularly used by some of the emergency services he has visited for inclusion in their training and publicity materials. He is also became a young fan of The Italian Job film in the early 1970s, and in 2009 was the winner of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s competition to propose a credible solution to the film’s cliff hanger ending. John has since visited many of the filming locations and enjoys researching the history of this classic film.