Armored Car / Armored Vehicles

An armored car provides secured transportation of valuables by means of "specially designed and constructed bullet-resistant armored vehicles and armored car guards. Some of the attributes common to armored cars are thick bullet-proof windshield glass, gun ports, and black borders around the windows. The distribution of goods and services to consumers in the United States requires the free flow of currency, bullion, securities, food stamps, and other items of unusual value in interstate commerce. The armored car industry transports and protects such items in interstate commerce, including daily transportation of currency and food stamps valued at more than $1,000,000,000.

A number of armored cars - specifically the "Peacekeeper," a light, 4X4 armored car on a truck chassis - have been transferred to law enforcement agencies. The supply of these vehicles was soon exhausted; however, some M-113 family of armored personnel carriers (APC) are available for transfer upon presentation of sufficient justification. The M-113 is a full-track vehicle and is generally considered suitable only for off-road use because of the damage its treads may inflict on paved surfaces. Agencies interested in the armored personnel carriers should also search for 5-Ton tractors and low boy trailers to transport the vehicle. HUMMWV vehicles are now available for routine screening.

Armoring, the requirement for which is self-evident, requires larger vehicles able to support the weight put upon the chassis. Heavier security vehicles drive fuel consumption upward. Heavy, armored vehicles have a shorter life-cycle because of the excess weight they carry, even though the mechanical components have been upgraded.

The demand for armored vehicles ebbs and flows depending on risk, and the need for risk mitigation through upgraded transportation tools and processes require constant scrutiny and response. Vehicles assignments are determined based on primary and ancillary missions. For example, diplomatic security is an ancillary mission that requires armored sedans to transport the Chiefs of Mission. One of the most vulnerable vital parts of military vehicles when subjected to enemy fire is the engine and more particularly the water and oil radiators, as loss of coolant fluid or lubricating oil results in putting the vehicle out of commission in a very short period of time. Radiators are particularly vulnerable to enemy fire because they are made of a honeycomb structure of very thin relatively soft metal providing a multitude of coolant fluid passageways and air core passageways affording a large heat exchange area surface between the coolant fluid or lubricating oil and the ambient air flowing through the air cores of the honeycomb structure. A single bullet hitting the radiator, or a simple steel rod manually ran through the honeycomb structure, causes a positive loss of fluid with resultant overheating of the engine, which rapidly causes shutdown of the engine and disablement of the vehicle.

The problem of controlling large crowds of unruly people is a law enforcement matter which is handled usually by police and other security forces. The problem of controlling and dispersing large crowds of hostile and unruly people may be generated by a variety of situations as, for example, police raids, political demonstrations, athletic events, picket lines, and so forth. Any of the last mentioned situations can erupt in a violent fashion, and the control of such disorder is a delicate task. A hostile and unruly crowd may resent the use of force by law enforcement personnel, and as a form of retaliation the crowd's conduct may become more violent. In such situations, minor conflicts can escalate into highly destructive riots, whereby martial law is required to stop the loss of life and property.

Heretofore, the use of high pressure water emitted from fire hose has been employed in some cases to control large crowds of unruly people. However, a disadvantage of the last mentioned procedure is that the personnel manning the fire hose are not protected from rocks and bottles thrown by a crowd, or from small arms fire by a sniper. A further disadvantage of the use of fire hose for crowd control is that its use is restricted to an area determined by the length of the hose from its source of supply of water under pressure. A further disadvantage of the use of fire hose for crowd control is that the high pressure of the water makes the controlling of the fire hose difficult, so that it is ineffective and inefficient as far as aiming the fire hose nozzle and hitting a desired target is concerned.

A water cannon adapted for controlling large crowds of unruly people in a highly effective, yet non-lethal fashion. The cannon can be mounted on an appropriate vehicle, such as an armored car, so as to make it mobile and its supporting system completely self-contained. The water cannon discharges a high velocity stream of water in a pulsing fashion. Each pulse forms a water projectile which is effective against human targets at ranges up to one hundred feet. The water can be treated with a variety of desired additives. The water cannon includes a cannon body on which is operatively mounted a nozzle for discharging the discrete coherent water projectiles. The discharge of the water projectiles is controlled by a main stage valve, which is in turn controlled by a pilot valve. A water supply reservoir and pump are provided for supplying water under pressure to the main stage valve.

When Sir Robert Peel developed his plan for the London Metropolitan Police circa 1829 — which US policing was loosely patterned after — he borrowed heavily from the military in organization and administrative structure, but he wanted there to be a clear distinction between the police and the military. To achieve that, the uniforms of the London Metropolitan police (Bobbies) were blue, in contrast to the red uniform of the day's British military, and Bobbies were forbidden to carry firearms. While the military's mission is predicated on the use of force, Peel's principles of policing emphasize crime prevention, public approval, willing cooperation of the public, and a minimal use of physical force.

Police militarization, a troubling trend that’s been on the rise in America’s police departments over the last 25 years. Militarization is a broad term that refers to using military-style weapons, tactics, training, uniforms, and even heavy equipment by civilian police departments. As US policing evolved it took on a quasi-military orientation, with a hierarchical rank structure supported by distinctive uniforms, insignias, and a tangle of rules that borrowed heavily from the military. The military trappings were embraced even more as the field worked its way out from under the grip of political patronage and focused on crime control as the core mission.

The drift toward militarization had its roots in the 1960s and the responses to the social unrest that swept the nation at the time. The development of Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) teams in reaction to the Watts riots in Los Angeles began a movement in policing that relied more and more on military tactics, training, and equipment. There was unquestionably a need for the SWAT team approach in handling serious violent emergency situations, particularly those involving hostage taking and terrorist related incidents, and that was their primary use from their inception through the 1970s.

However, since the early 1980s the use of SWAT teams has undergone a dramatic expansion: in the number of departments creating SWAT teams and in the mission and sheer number SWAT deployments. The number of departments—both large and small—with SWAT teams has increased by 48 percent from 1985 to 1995. SWAT team use increased as well, with team deployments jumping by 939 percent from 1980 to 1995, reaching about 30,000 deployments. The nature of their use changed as well. Search and arrest warrants related to drug cases accounted for a significant amount of the increase in SWAT deployments. The growing militarization of US policing is threatening community policing.