Imagine you’re on the run from the law in Honolulu. Your getaway driver chose something common yet powerful enough to challenge all the Ford Explorer Hybrids police departments loved. Let’s say it’s a later Dodge Charger R/T with a 5.7 Hemi. You think you’re speeding away scot-free when up behind you comes a New Edge Mustang Mach 1 with flashing blue roof lights. Oh, yes, it’s the cops alright, and you’ve now found yourself on the wrong side of a “Bullitt” reboot.
This scenario is entirely plausible because it’s not odd to see personal vehicles being used as patrol cars in Honolulu. Now, this is interesting because, on the surface, it might seem this policy is in response to absurdly long fleet-replenishment backorders. In 2021, the HPD ordered over 100 new vehicles, but still hadn’t received a single one after a three-year wait. Hawaii News Now quoted Dustin DeRollo, the spokesman for the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, as saying, “Without police cars, our officers cannot be out patrolling our neighborhoods.”
In the meantime, the department’s Police Subsidized Vehicles guidelines under Policy Number 4.14 have been in place since July 2015, long before the backorder delays. This policy isn’t even unique to Honolulu, as Hawaii Police Department officers on the Big Island have used open-bed pickups as subsidized police vehicles since 2023. So, HPD officers certainly can patrol neighborhoods without police cars, unless you want to asterisk this and say that, technically, subsidized personal vehicles only become police cars once the department pops some blue lights on it.
The Rules For Turning Daily Drivers Into Law Enforcement Vehicles
The Honolulu Police Department’s Police Subsidized Vehicles web page goes over the stipulations required for an officer to use a personal car for police purposes. You can also check out the PDF of the policy to see the full Approved Vehicles list. Want to use a 400-hp Ford Explorer ST? You got it. No Toyota Camry XSEs with a V6, though! What about a Nissan Maxima SV? Totally fine, unless it has a rear window power sunshade, then it’s off limits. Your Dodge Charger R/T would be rad, though, and it’s on the approved list! Oh, wait, it’s a Scat Pack with the 392? Sorry, no 6.4s or 6.2 Hellcats allowed…