What Kind of Gear Is Inside a Police Car

Police handle and respond to dozens of emergency situations every day. Working with such a wide variety of high-pressure situations calls for a lot of equipment, all of which must fit inside their police car. There are policies on what kind of gear is inside a police car. The list isn’t all-inclusive and can vary a bit from state to state. However, this article covers a general list of what police need in their cars.

Emergency Response Kits

Every police car or truck carries a host of items and kits that help police respond and react to any situation. Some common kits in a police car include a first aid kit for any injuries, a WMD kit, and a Biohazard kit. These kits are vital for police as they respond to dangerous situations.

Other Tools

Police need more tools than what’s inside response kits—they also need things like blankets, bolt cutters, and firearms, all of which help them do their jobs efficiently. Blankets can help calm citizens in shock, for example, and firearms can be used to defend innocents or stop criminals.

Evidence Kits

Outside of resolving emergencies, outdoor police work relates to evidence collection. This means police need equipment to find and collect evidence without destroying it. The most common way that police accomplish this is using evidence kits, which are kept inside their cars.

Markers

Another piece of gear every police car holds is markers (not the kind you use on a whiteboard, though.) Police often need to section off areas to perform their duties, which means they use markers to indicate where people can and can’t go. Crime tape and flares are in every police car for this exact purpose.

Traffic Enforcement

Some police vehicles carry specialized equipment for specific duties. For example. There are trucks that carry scales, cones, gates, fencing, pylons and other equipment designed specifically for traffic enforcement.

Having enough room inside a police car for gear storage is important, especially now that you know what kind of gear it is. Because space is so valuable,a lot of police vehicles use aftermarket modifications—such as slide-out truck bed storage—to increase the room available to them. This helps police optimize all the space in the trunk and enables faster unloading and loading times for equipment. Police often use these modifications because they don’t have enough room in their cars otherwise.