Queen's Baton Relay in Thurso (14435485360)

A police bus, also known as a police van is a

minibus A minibus, microbus, minicoach, or commuter (in Zimbabwe) is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, th ...

, full-sized

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

used by

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

forces for a variety of reasons. Depending on the use, police buses might have markings or a livery indicating its ownership by the police, and also have appropriate

equipment Equipment most commonly refers to a set of tools or other objects commonly used to achieve a particular objective. Different job Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and ...

fitted. Police buses can be ordinary buses with minor or no modification, have some degree of protection for

riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

duties, or be fully fitted

armoured bus An armoured bus or armored bus is a type of bus which provides increased protection for passengers, usually against small arms and improvised explosive devices. The bus can be a stock commercial bus with retro-fitted vehicle armour as well as b ...

es. Seated buses are used by police forces for transporting large numbers of officers to a needed area, such as for crowd control at sports events and demonstrations, or to facilitate large scale deployments for more serious riot control, such as the

UK miners' strike (1984–1985) UK miners' strike may refer to: *UK miners' strike (1893) *South Wales miners' strike (1910) * National coal strike of 1912 *UK miners' strike (1921) *UK miners' strike (1953) *UK miners' strike (1969), a widespread unofficial strike *UK miners' st ...

. These may be hired vehicles, or vehicles retained by the police force for the purpose. Police buses are also used at some large events as static temporary holding and processing areas, where detained people can be processed, and held until onward transport in another vehicle is possible. Police buses may also serve as

prisoner transport vehicle A prisoner transport vehicle, informally known as a "Sweat Box" amongst British prisoners, is a specially designed or retrofitted vehicle, usually a van or bus, used to transport prisoners from one secure area, such as a prison or courthouse, to ...

s where the police force has responsibility for this. One example of this type of bus is the MCI D4000ISTV The police may also use buses converted by a

bus manufacturer Bus manufacturing, a sector of the automotive industry, manufactures buses and coaches. History Bus manufacturing had its earliest origins in carriage building. Other bus manufacturers had their origins in truck manufacturing. Historically, ch ...

or other specialist company (from a new or retired

school bus A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...

-style body), to serve more specific purposes. This can be as an incident control room or mobile

command post Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...

, or even as small mobile police stations for public events. The

Toronto Police Service The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police ser ...

, for instance, has used retired transit buses for their fleet. Other roles for converted police buses can include being used in public information or awareness campaigns, or as mobile

recruitment Recruitment is the overall process of identifying, sourcing, screening, shortlisting, and interviewing candidates for jobs (either permanent or temporary) within an organization. Recruitment also is the processes involved in choosing individual ...

displays.

Gallery

File:Mumbai Police Bus.JPG, A police bus used by the

Mumbai Police The Mumbai Police (Marathi: मुंबई पोलीस, IAST: ''Mumbaī Pulīs'', formerly ''Bombay Police'') is the police department of the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of Maharashtra Police and has the primary responsibiliti ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. File:Autobus Véhixel CRS Strasbourg.jpg, A Vehixel police bus used by the

Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité The Compagnies républicaines de sécurité (, ''Republican Security Corps''), abbreviated CRS, are the general reserve of the French National Police. They are primarily involved in general security missions but the task for which they are be ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. File:Ordnungsdienstbus.jpg, A Mercedes-Benz LK police bus used by the Zurich City Police Department in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. File:Městská policie hl. m. Prahy, propagační autobus (01).jpg, A police bus used by the Prague Municipal Police in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. File:Polizei Reisebus 01.jpg, A Setra S 213 RL police bus in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. File:Police bus PAZ-3205.jpg, A

PAZ-3205 PAZ-3205 is a common Soviet midibus model made by the Pavlovo Bus Factory. It is common in Russia and other Eastern European countries as both a low-intensity route public bus and as a hearse. Model 3205 was launched on December 1, 1989, replac ...

police bus in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. File:PNP Regional Office 48 Police Bus.jpg, A

Toyota Coaster The is a single-decker minibus produced by Toyota Motor Corporation. It was introduced in 1969, with the second generation introduced in 1982, followed by the third generation in 1993 and the fourth generation in late 2016. In Japan, the Coa ...

police bus used by the

Philippine National Police The Philippine National Police ( fil, Pambansang Pulisya ng Pilipinas, acronymed as PNP) is the armed national police force in the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Current ...

Tagaytay Tagaytay, officially the City of Tagaytay ( fil, Lungsod ng Tagaytay), is a 2nd class component city in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 85,330 people. It is one of the country's most po ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. File:Protection_and_Crowds_Control_Division_Transport_vehicle.jpg, Police bus carry Riot Police by

Metropolitan Police Bureau Metropolitan Police Bureau () is a unit in the Royal Thai Police, and is responsible for maintaining security in Bangkok - the capital of Thailand. There are a total of 14 divisions (command units) and 2 direct divisions which report directly to t ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. File:Osaka Prefectural Police Isuzu Erga Mio LR290J3.jpg, Japanese Police bus大型輸送車（いすゞ）

References

External links

{{buses

Bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...

Buses by type

Gallery

See also

References

External links