The Algood Police Department has been given permission to remove the decals from some of its patrol cars.
The Algood City Council passed an ordinance requiring every city vehicle be marked and striped, including police cars, in 2022. Algood Police PIO Elena Neff said a recent amendment to the ordinance made an exception for the police department.
“We can use them for a variety of different things,” Neff said. “If we need to conduct any sort of search warrant or anything like that, it allows us to get closer to the bad guy without them knowing that we’re coming ahead of time.”
Neff said unmarked cars can legally be used exactly the same as marked cars. Neff said unmarked cars are better for tasks like speed patrol.
“We’re able to utilize the unmarked vehicles in a wider variety of situations,” Neff said. “Primarily investigations, surveillance, definitely things like that are going to be the most use that these vehicles will get.”
Neff said there were no specific issues that led the department to ask for the amendment, but it has been in the works for several years. Neff said the change was merely a correction to an oversight in the original ordinance.
“It’s pretty standard practice, as far as having unmarked vehicles in the department,” Neff said. “It was more unusual that our department was not able to have an unmarked vehicle for awhile.”
