chp cruiser in france

[Phil the Frenchy]

Greetings from France,

My name is Philippe and I live in Paris/France.
I am not a cop but a sales rep in police equipment and paramedic bags.
I am also a volunteer with our National First Aid Responder organization named Protection Civile.
CHP is my favorite american police agency. :smile:
I own a 1991 Police Interceptor Crown Vic that I begun to outfit it as a CHP cruiser.
Perharps could you help me in getting informations about CHP in general, everyday work and early '90s CHP Vics ?
A point of view from a CHP officer will be gold for me.

Best regards.

[HwyChaser]

Greetings!!!! Any questions you have, just post them. Everyone on this board would be glad to answer.

[Phil the Frenchy]

Thanks Chaser :smile:

what are differences in work between cities areas and rural areas ? Do you have the same working hours or are there different ?
do officers live in barrack or do you have your own home ?
could someone find me a diagram of the organization of CHP ?
how many days long do you work before days off ?
how many holidays a year do you have ?
how do you like the current Crown Vics ?
could someone find informations about early '90s Crown Vics (pics, equipment, lightbar...) ?

I think it is enough for this time, any help will be appreciated and if anybody needs informations about french police agencies, I'll be glad to reply :smile:

[dw]

Wow, Phil... Lets see...

Here is a link to the Statewide organizational chart: http://www.chp.ca.gov/html/org_chart.html

We work three shifts, generally 0545-1415, 1345-2215, and 2145-0615 hours. Assignment is based upon Departmental seniority at most offices. An officer will be assigned to a shift for one to three months, again, depending on the specific office. (There is a lot of flexibility between different Area offices and field Divisions. What works in the desert might not be best in metropolitan areas, for example.)

During a Cadet's 27 weeks of training at the Academy, they live in dormitory-style housing. Not barracks per se, more like college housing. Once you graduate, you live wherever you want in housing you secure.

As for days off, we work on Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) periods. Basically, in a 28-day period, we have 8 days off. Aside from that, nothing is constant. Some of us may have every Tuesday and Thursday off; some weekends off; some will work 10 days, then have three or four days off -- as long as you have 8 off in 28, that's all that matters. (Again, with more Departmental seniority, you get a better choice of days off.)

We don't get holidays off, nor are we paid extra for working during them. We do get vacation time added to our banks for each of the 14 holidays thoughout the year.

How do we like the Crown Vics? That will depend who you talk to. In my six years on, I have seen significant improvements to the vehicle (now called a Police Interceptor). The '96'es were slow, loose, and sloppy. The newer ones handle much better, although the '01/'02 models handled the best, in my opinion. (They changed the front end and moved to rack-and-pinon steering in '03 -- now they "float" at high speed and the steering is very twitchy with little feedback.) I never drove a Mustang and only a Caprice once or twice. I think for being over 5,000 pounds loaded (last time I went through the scales), the '01/'02's were okay. The new ones leave something to be desired.

[Darth Choke]

http://www.chp.ca.gov/images/orgchart2.gif




For a more simplistic chain of command:



Commissioner
(various levels of Asst and Deputy Chiefs and Commissioners)
Chief
Captain
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Officer

[Phil the Frenchy]

WOW, very interesting replies :smile:
Do officres work by team of two in urban areas ? I know you work alone on highways and rural areas.
What about early '90s Crown Vics ?
I'd like to get pics of officers and cruisers (from '90s to now), there are few on official CHP web site :cry:

And........... HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO EVERYONE :evil:

[Dipmo]

Hey Phil,

Check this website out, lots of pictures here that were taken in the late 90's.

http://www.chp.ca.gov/html/24hours.html

The site is also interesting for applicants such as myself that want to get a glimpse at daily duties.

[HwyChaser]

WOW, very interesting replies :smile:
Do officres work by team of two in urban areas ? I know you work alone on highways and rural areas.
What about early '90s Crown Vics ?
I'd like to get pics of officers and cruisers (from '90s to now), there are few on official CHP web site


Typically the only time we roll with 2 Officers in a unit is during the 2145-0615 hours shift (c shift). Occasionally, if we have an odd number of Officers for the night, we will put 3 in a unit. We refer to this phenomenon as ?Felony car? That?s right, someone has to sit in back, it?s not fun.

[Phil the Frenchy]

Typically the only time we roll with 2 Officers in a unit is during the 2145-0615 hours shift (c shift). Occasionally, if we have an odd number of Officers for the night, we will put 3 in a unit. We refer to this phenomenon as ?Felony car? That?s right, someone has to sit in back, it?s not fun.

Speaking of sitting in back, do you know why some cruisers has a partition cage and some don't ?
I have the same question about lightbars, I heard 80% of your cruisers don't have a lightbar.

[dw]

Phil, I have to ask. You must have a '90 Crown Vic, no? You seem very interested in that particular model year. ;)

I couldn't tell you why some cars have cages and others don't, but it goes with the diversity of our Department. Different Areas, and even different officers have different needs. Some officers prefer cars with a cage, some without. There are pros and cons to both. Same with light bars. 80% is high, but a good portion of our vehicles are "slick tops" in which the lights are internally-mounted. There is a red (now red with flashing blue, LED) in front, located ahead of the rear-view mirror. In the back is an amber stick and red/blue lights (now LED as well). I'd guess they're 30-40% Statewide.

I prefer a slick top with no cage. Unless, of course, it is raining, where most of us want a car with overhead lights (better visibility). When working graveyards (lots of arrests), most will want a caged vehicle. It all depends on the circumstances.

[Zepellin]

Phil,
Go to this website for pics http://www.geocities.com/policecarsite/

[Phil the Frenchy]

Yes DW, I own a '91 CVPI that I want to make a CHP cruiser replica. That car comes from California and according my knowledge, it has been bought by the State for a community in central California.
I red the push bars and other brackets or metal components are made by Folsom prison inmates, did you know that guys ?