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Panda car
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
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Panda cars were named after pandas because they were originally painted in large panels of black and white, or blue (usually light blue) and white. This may have been influenced by the black-and-white vehicle colour scheme favoured by North American police forces, which allowed the unambiguous recognition of patrol units as such from a significant distance.
The first use of Panda cars seems to have been in Lancashire Constabulary area in about 1965, the Chief Constable described the use of blue and white Ford Anglia Panda cars in Kirkby in an article in The Times on 26 January 1966. These were blue with a white line painted around them. In the 1980s police cars in the UK began to be painted predominantly white to save acquisition costs, usually with reflective red or yellow stripes. The Dunbartonshire force found an enterprising way round this, however, buying two Hillman Imps (subsequently nicknamed 'Pinky and Perky'); one blue and one white. The boot lids, bonnets and doors were then swapped to create a panda car style scheme. Today, patrol cars are painted in a variety of different colours, often with multicoloured panels or stripes, although many forces still use a mainly white colour scheme. The name panda car or panda is still often used, however.
In many areas the panda car replaced the traditional "bobby on the beat" when it was seen that larger suburban or rural areas could be more effectively patrolled by officers in cars, as opposed to on foot, bicycles or motorcycles. The provision of shelter from the weather and a two-way radio were also benefits.
The panda is distinct from the "area car", a larger and more powerful vehicle which acts as support to the beat constables, usually carrying two officers.
Article by the Chief Constable of Lancashire in The Times (Mobility Answer to Police Shortage (News) Colonel T. E. St. Johnston - The Times, Wednesday, 26 January 1966; pg. 13; Issue 56539; col F)
Many models of panda car have been or are used by British police forces. Among the most popular are or have been:
