IRVINE : Police Patrol Cars Lose Their Stripes

When the city formed its Police Department in 1975, then-Police Chief Leo E. Peart’s idea to add blue and green racing stripes down the hood and trunk of the white patrol cars was thought a nice innovation.

But these are the ‘90s. Racing stripes on police cars went out of fashion when ABC-TV canceled “Starsky and Hutch” in 1979, leaving the duo’s racing-striped Ford Torino to memory.

Besides, Charles S. Brobeck, Irvine’s new police chief, said he thought the city’s patrol cars looked too much like taxis or security guard vehicles.

So when the city prepared this year to replace its fleet of 1990 Ford Crown Victorias with 1992 models, Brobeck ordered a design change that stripped off the stripes.

“You have to remember, the old design was dated to 1975 and hadn’t been tampered with since then,” Police Cmdr. Jim Blaylock said.

“I have to agree with (Brobeck)--the old cars are looking pretty ugly. Not ugly, but dated. Racing stripes went out in the ‘70s.”

The new design that will grace Irvine’s all-white patrol cars will make the vehicles look more like police cars, Brobeck said.

The cars also will be more readily identifiable as Irvine patrol cars, he said, since the old design included the word “Police” but not “Irvine Police.”

The new design features a thick blue stripe on the sides from fender to fender with “Irvine Police” in white letters in the middle.

Although many officers would have preferred a switch to traditional black and white patrol cars, Blaylock said, the move was deemed too expensive.

The city leases its patrol fleet and saves money by ordering all-white cars and simply adding stick-on decals, he said.

If the department used black and white cars, they would be more expensive initially and would also have to be painted before they were returned to the leasing agency, Blaylock said.

Two new cars with the updated design and unadorned hoods and trunks are already on patrol in Irvine.

Several more new cars are being outfitted with electronic equipment and soon will hit the street, Blaylock said.

All of the old cars will be phased out by the end of the year, he said.