The Missouri State Highway Patrol is adding “ghost graphics” to 20 of its vehicles to give them an almost invisible presence during the day for situations where stealth is needed.
Ghost graphics are reflective, color-matched brand markings that blend in with the car during the day but reflect at night. Law enforcement agencies across the country have adopted the graphics in the last several years to give themselves an advantage.
“These stealth vehicles help us monitor aggressive & dangerous driving more effectively,” according to an announcement posted on the Highway Patrol’s Facebook site in May.
The Highway Patrol is marking nine vehicles with ghost graphics so each of the regional troops in Missouri can receive at least one. The remaining 11 are to be assigned to “areas where we are having the highest (number of) incidents and a large number of complaints” related to dangerous driving, Highway Patrol Lt. Eric Brown said.
Brown noted that the cars are likely to be sent to areas where the most complaints occur, which is likely to mean urban areas like St. Louis, Kansas City and Columbia.
One of the 20 new "ghost graphic" vehicles added to the Missouri State Highway Patrol fleet. Courtesy of Rachel Hays/Missouri State Highway Patrol
The Highway Patrol rolled out 10 of the cars before Memorial Day and plans to dispatch the next 10 before July 4.
The cars are an attempt to curb activity like street racing, reckless driving and driving while intoxicated, Brown said. Many of these activities are difficult to catch and deter in a traditional patrol car.
“When those vehicles are that easily visible, people change their behavior,” he said.
Other states have also adopted ghost graphics for police cars in recent years, including Nevada, Florida, Texas and North Carolina.
“When they’re out there, they’re actually doing a great job getting these reckless drivers off the road because people don’t notice them right away,” said Steve Haggstrom, a public information officer with the Nevada State Police Highway Patrol.
Nevada now has six cars with ghost graphics in their fleet and has dispatched them since 2018.
The use of unmarked and undercover police cars, even for part of the day, however, has generated considerable debate about the purpose and use of ghost graphic-marked vehicles.
Critics say undercover police cars are more about issuing tickets than ensuring public safety, and some drivers contend that they are uncomfortable complying with someone sitting in an unmarked car.
The cars have also raised concerns about transparency in law enforcement and the possibility of encouraging police impersonators.
Brown addressed another concern, that ghost graphics could make it difficult for people to identify patrol cars during an emergency. He noted that cell phones and easy access to 911 have made finding a patrol car during an emergency less necessary.
“In today’s day and age, with the technology that we have and cell phones... That’s not something that occurs much anymore,” Brown said.
Responding to some of the concerns over ghost graphics, Haggstrom said the Nevada Highway Patrol has worked to make the public fully aware of the vehicles with ghost graphics, and patrol duties have continued without any change in law enforcement.
“There’s no trickery,” Haggstrom said. “We’re still doing the same enforcement, but we’re able to get those reckless drivers that are actually trying to look for us to avoid the law and continue what they’re doing.”
Brown said the cars with ghost graphics don’t cost much more than branding a typical patrol vehicle, and the car models already in use by the Highway Patrol remain the same.
“(The cars are) a tool that we can use to try and help keep Missouri’s highways safer, reduce the number of traffic crashes, and just make Missouri a safer place to live and visit as well,” Brown said.
