User:Skakkle/Plainclothes (police)

Plainclothes police officers work in various police units which are non-uniformed. This is contrasted with patrol police, who are uniformed. Plainclothes police include those working in any permanent unit or other task force performing interdiction & enforcement of firearms, drugs, prostitution, or other categories of crime. There is commonly an undercover element to their normal operations. These units also use unmarked departmental vehicles.

While patrol & plainclothes units both conduct their work "on the street" (roughly equivalent to "in the field" [see field (tactics)]), the nature of their work is different. When plainclothes police perform stops of suspects whether on foot or by vehicle, their "cover" is "dropped", by vocally self-identifying as police, drawing weapons, or by activating lights or sirens. They commonly wear bulletproof vests and display some police designation upon dropping of cover.

Permanent police detectives departments are not uniformed, but are not generally designated "plainclothes" officers. They may sometimes participate in raids or other field operations, but this is not among their core duties.