Just Say No to Ads on Police Cars
by Wes Hasden

Chattanooga Times/Chattanooga Free Press, November 12, 2002


In a society where newborns wear clothing decorated with a commercial logo and an entire sport is a walking and moving billboard, it would seem there's no place left to put advertising. But one company in Charlotte, N.C., has found a way to place advertising where it has never before been placed. The fruit of its labor will be coming to the Tennessee Valley soon.

Government Acquisitions LLC will provide police cruisers to law $1 per car as long as the vehicle can be emblazoned with ads. At first glimpse, it seems to be a good idea. After all, big cities, rural counties and small towns pressed for cash can obtain much-needed police cruisers in return for providing a new vehicle (no pun intended) for advertising.

It's a dandy concept, and its appeal is obvious. Bledsoe County already has signed up. It will get 10 new Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors $1 each. Sheriff Bob Swafford is excited; he'll soon have vehicles without putting a dent in his budget or in the wallets of Bledsoe County taxpayers. Still, the notion of advertising-sponsored police cruisers is bad public policy.

Some government officials properly understand that private enterprise and public safety don't always mix. Chattanooga police have no plans to take $300,000 for 15 top-of-the-line police cars. Chuck Ziegler, chief of police in Athens, Tenn., said his city rejected the idea of logo-laden cars a couple of years ago.

Still, the Charlotte company says it is "working with 250 towns, cities and counties all across the United States" to provide "sponsored" vehicles for a buck. It's a bargain that should die aborning.

Police cars have a specific and important role in society and they should be easily identifiable. Flashing lights and standard decals that provide departmental identification are all that are needed.

Anything more will cause confusion. That's especially true for children taught to look for help from the police and other law enforcement officials, and for adults made wary by the increasing incidence of police impostors stopping motorists on the nation's roads.

Also, police cars decked out with pizza delivery or beer company logos or painted with some firm's garish corporate colors surely will make those who ride in them the butt of undeserved jokes. In the long run, the rolling ads will cause the police to lose a considerable amount of hard-earned civic respect and moral authority. That's a poor bargain, and hardly worth the money it saves.

The loss of respect and authority is reason enough for public officials to say no to the monetary blandishments of the Charlotte company. There is a place for major corporate advertising on cars -- watch a NASCAR race to see it done to perfection -- but it is not on police vehicles.