Police vehicles in Hong Kong are vehicles of the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), vehicles differ considerably depending on the duties of the departments that the vehicle is assigned to. One of the most commonly seen police vehicles in Hong Kong is the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter police van, which is mostly used by district stations and the Emergency Unit, one of the roles expected of it is rapid response to 999 emergency calls with regards to road safety and public safety.
Current vehicles
Most police vehicles in Hong Kong follow the British "jam sandwich" livery and are white, with a blue and red 3M retroreflective stripe around on the sides of the vehicle with wording "警 POLICE 察" in white. Traffic division vehicles are in white, with blue and lime Battenburg markings on the sides of vehicles, and the wording "警 POLICE 察" in lime on a blue background. Armoured personnel carriers specially designed for the Police Tactical Unit, are wholly dark blue and with wording "警 POLICE 察" on a light blue background in white on the sides of the vehicle. During British rule and up until the 1980s Hong Kong Police vehicles were painted dark navy blue, which is only retained by tactical APC today. Most police vehicles in Hong Kong are equipped with both red and blue emergency vehicle lighting. The vehicles which are allocated at the Hong Kong International Airport having an additional yellow emergency vehicle lighting and yellow roof top. All police vehicle are government property and therefore, have a licence plate which starts with "AM".
Since 2008, the Hong Kong Police Force have brought in the use of Battenburg markings for new police vehicles of the regional traffic branches. Traffic police vehicles the HKPF use typically are made by Mercedes Benz, BMW and Honda, making purchases of BMW motorcycles in 2001, Honda motorcycles in 2005, and 235 BMW motorcycles in 2011.
The Hong Kong Police Force also have unmarked police vehicles in order to catch and arrest criminals in act of crime. Such vehicles include the discreet high performance BMW 5 Series 535i Touring car, Infiniti Q70S and the unexpected Toyota Camry (XV 70) 2.5 . The force operates unmarked police vehicles for surveillance to gather evidence of any criminal offence. In addition, for security purposes, armoured cars specially designed for the VIP Protection Unit (Hong Kong) and bulletproof tactical police vehicles specially designed for the Special Duties Unit have no markings also.
The HKPF acquired six "Saber-Toothed Tigers", armoured vehicles to address riots, from the Guangzhou-based car company Huakai Vehicles in 2022.
This is a list of current vehicles (incomplete):
Audi A6 3.0T Avant - patrol car Brammo Enertia Plus LE - electric motorcycle (10 ordered for trials) BMW R900RT - motorcycle BMW 5 series - car BMW 5 series Touring 535i - car Ford Mondeo - car Ford Super Duty - Armoured Personnel Carrier based on Ford F-550 by China Ford Econovan MAXI - van Honda CB250P - motorcycle Honda CB350P - motorcycle Honda VFR800P - motorcycle Honda Stepwgn - car Hyundai Atos - car Hyundai Sonata - car Hyundai Trajet - MPV Infiniti Q70S 3.7 - unmarked car Isuzu Trooper - SUV Isuzu NPR - lorry Isuzu LT132 / LT133 / LT134 - bus Iveco Daily - van Kia Cerato - unmarked car Kia Cerato Land Rover Defender 90 / 110 / three-axle - patrol SUV Land Rover Discovery - patrol SUV Lexus CT200h - patrol car MAN 13.220 HOCL/R / China Kong CK1999 bodywork - bus MAN LE14.224 - truck Mazda 6 - unmarked Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 314D - patrol van Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 518 CDI - patrol van Mercedes-Benz T2 609D / 711D - PTU van Mercedes-Benz Vario 814D / 815D (Trooper) - PTU van Mercedes-Benz SK Series 2527 - truck Mercedes-Benz Actros 1831 - tractor Mercedes-Benz Actros anti riot water cannon Mercedes-Benz Atego - bus Mercedes-Benz Unimog U5000 Armoured Personnel Carrier Mitsubishi Super Exceed - mpv Mitsubishi i MiEV - car Mitsubishi Pajero - SUV Mitsubishi Fuso Canter - lorry Mitsubishi Fuso Rosa - bus Nissan Tiida Latio- car Nissan Cefiro - car Nissan Urvan E24 - van Nissan Urvan E25 - van Nissan UD PKC212 - truck Suzuki Hustler- car Sinotruk howo - anti riot water cannon Toyota Alphard (GGH20) 3.5 – unmarked Full-size MPV Toyota Alphard Hybrid (GGH20) 2.4 Hybrid – unmarked Full-size MPV Toyota Corolla (E160) – car Toyota Camry (XV70) – car Toyota Land Cruiser Prado – SUV Toyota Prius – car Toyota Echo Verso – car Toyota Hiace – van Toyota Coaster – (SWLB) bus Vectrix ZEV - variant of Vectrix Maxi-Scooter, electric motorcycle Volkswagen Caddy - car Volkswagen Passat - car Volkswagen Phaeton - car Volvo S70 - car Audi A6 estate – car Renault Fluence ZE – car
Patrol vehicles
Traffic branch vehicles
Armoured vehicles
Personnel carriers
Retired vehicles Following the Second World War, Hong Kong Police vehicles, with exception of motorcycles were generally painted in "battleship" grey. The livery changed to dark 'navy' blue following the Queen's bestowment of the "Royal"title to the force in recognition of their services during the 1967 Communist disturbances. The Royal Hong Kong Police crest was also displayed on the vehicle. This livery remained standard until the 1990s when white and black/navy blue; black/navy blue with a white roof or white with a red stripe and blue pinstripes came into being.
This is a list of retired vehicles (incomplete): Alvis Saracen APC - tactical APC (all retired)
Bedford TJ (all retired) Mitsubishi Galant - car (all retired) Mitsubishi Lancer - car (all retired) BMW R850RT-P - motorbike (all retired and replaced by BMW R900RT-P) Ford Cortina - car (all retired) Ford Transit Mk.II - van (all retired) Ford Falcon - car (all retired) Ford Granada - car (all retired) Ford Transit - patrol van (all retired) Mazda Familia - car (all Retired) Mazda Capella - car (all Retired) Mazda 626 and 323 - car (all retired) Mazda 929 - car (all retired) Mazda Bongo E2000 - van (all retired) Morris Mini - car (all retired) Ford Telstar - car (all retired) Honda CBX650P - motorbike (all retired) Honda CB750P - motorbike (all retired) Isuzu NPR - lorry (all retired) Isuzu FTR - lorry (all retired) Land Rover Series III - patrol SUV (all retired) Mercedes-Benz T1 207D/310D (all retired) Mitsubishi Fuso Bus (BM chassis) - bus (all retired) Toyota Camry (XV10) - unmarked (all retired) Toyota Dyna - lorry (all retired) Leyland DAF – van (all retired) Yamaha XS 650P - motorbike (all retired)
References
External links
Police Transport and Vessels on the Hong Kong Police Force website