Police car warning lights usage?

No. That'd be the kind of thing you'd avoid.

I'm guessing that they are less worried with scaring off the felon, and more with not alerting the felon to the fact that they are coming, so that the person isn't pressured into doing something like retaliating against the caller or anyone else in the house: killing them to dispose of witnesses, or to get revenge, disposing of evidence, taking hostages, burning the place down, etc. Coming up with no lights or sirens, once the police are nearby, seems more prudent.

All I know about this is what I've seen on the news and on 'Cops', so take this with a giant grain of salt, but I gather the police take interrupted, or not responding, 911 calls very seriously. There are stories on the news that police have called to interrupted or non-responding calls, only to find that it's a child playing with the phone, or a butt-dial, or someone realizing that there wasn't an emergency. But, as the PSAs remind us, they have to check, just on the off-chance that someone is in danger and unable to contact them - whether the burglar has taken the phone, the father has locked the child in it's room, or someone has had a medical emergency.

Lunatique said:

My question is, when the police car arrives at the address, would they be using the warning lights atop their car? Red or blue or both? Flashing or simply on?

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What Cornflake said. Unless they are idiots (not entirely impossible), they would arrive quietly. With the caveat that the call didn't indicate an immediate emergency. The context of the call will matter.

Aside from that, as far as I know in the U.S., police cars do not have a choice between red or blue flashing lights. All police cars use both, whenever they use lights.

caw

What Frimble and the crow said -- context matters. If someone calmly calls and says 'you're looking for Bob and he's at X address' and hangs up, it's likely someone busting their family member or friend as the result of some dispute. The person may or may not have told the wanted person they were going to or did bust them, so it's iffy, and likely a domestic dispute regardless (so dangerous to begin with to respond to, because it's unpredictable and with high emotion), but not the same as, 'the guy I just saw on tv who broke out of prison is in my living room; they said he's armed and -- *click*' that's a giant emergency people are rolling lots of very quiet cars and swat to, to surround the hell out of that location.

Most cars can choose light colours, btw, and do -- like, blue is for standing, like at a traffic stop, red is for moving like 'get out of the way,' etc. They can go alone or in various combos. The NYPD recently put LED bars under the light bar that can have text -- like 'MOVE OVER' or 'CAUTION VEHICLE STOPPED AHEAD' if they're behind a stopped car or whatever.

Responding to, and investigating 911 calls are typically the responsibility of the marked patrol unit assigned to that beat/patrol sector. If that unit is tied up on another call, a nearby unit or a roaming supervisor (patrol sergeant) might be so tasked by the dispatcher. As pointed out, context matters; the circumstances surrounding the 911 call will tend to dictate the urgency of the response. LE agencies typically have written policies regarding use of emergency equipment (lights & sirens) with an emphasis on public safety.

Generally speaking, if the perpetrator is supposedly on the scene, responders will use common sense and curtail the emergency equipment as they get close--the better to catch `em.

Keep in mind that calls get "stacked" (evaluated as to priority); the greater the potential threat to life & limb, the sooner a unit (or multiple units) will be dispatched to respond. All 911 calls will be addressed, although response/investigation may be prioritized.

In the US, state law usually dictates the color of emergency lights, although individual first-responder agencies typically have some discretion within the law (red, blue, white, etc., and/or various combinations thereof).

Lunatique said:

My question is, when the police car arrives at the address, would they be using the warning lights atop their car?

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Anything is possible. It depends on the individual. They may have local procedures which the individual may or may not follow. I would find it believable one individual might arrive silently without lights and quietly investigate. I would also find it believable that another individual might park near the place and suddenly turn on lights and siren to see if someone runs away. I could also see a pair of partners doing a combination where one quietly watches the back door while the other blares the siren and lights at the front of the house

Again, that would likely depend on the individual. We don't have a national police force so there are no universal regulations. There might be guidelines but that's not a guarantee that any individual will do anything in particular. You can probably have almost any scenario be believable in terms of that character's diligence or lack thereof. If you have a particular setting as in not a fictitious location, then you might contact a police department there and ask them.

A few years ago here some yahoo decided to cut down some trees and our phone line a half mile or so away got yanked, not completely, but just enough that we could call out but not receive calls. After a couple of weeks of basically enjoying not getting phone salesmen calling I got an angry email from a relative, "Why have you blocked my phone!?"

My wife tried calling the house phone from her cell and, "Oh, let's notify the phone company."

It took the phone company a couple days to figure out the issue and during that time one day our dogs started barking. They bark a lot. We're in the middle of nowhere where nobody complains about dogs barking because the closest neighbor is a half mile away, and they have dogs that bark, so no biggie. I was watching a movie and after about 30 minutes or so of the dogs still barking I thought, "There's probably a lamb stuck in the fence again." So I went outside and there's a deputy with his car parked sideways on my driveway (that's to block any rapid escape of someone fleeing in a car)

I called to the dogs, "That's ok. Thank you for letting me know." They sat quietly just watching

"Um, can I help you?" I asked.

He went on to explain that they had 2 hang up phone calls from our address to 911 that morning. Asked who lived here, where are they etc. He apparently either had had this happen before or believed me that it's the phone company trying to fix the lines. He never rang the doorbell, never clanged the clapper. If he ever got more than 5 feet away from his car I never saw it. He left and never did ask to enter the house and never called my wife at work to verify her whereabouts. He mostly just seemed annoyed.

Lunatique said:

Thanks for the answers--they're very helpful.

One more question: If they knock on the door of the address and no one answers, do they just leave? An anonymous phone call like that is probable cause to investigate, but how far can they go? Break in and search the address?

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The term probable cause is rather significant in the law, meaning sufficient reason(s), as perceived by a reasonable person, to believe a crime is being, or has been committed. It is the basic standard that must be met for the issuance of a court order/warrant (search/arrest/etc.). Investigations may commence upon reasonable suspicion, which typically refers to circumstances that do not rise to the level of probable cause. Your example of an anonymous phone call may be deemed reasonable suspicion and merit further inquiry (keep context in mind). Non response to LE knocking on the door is not grounds for forcible entry, absent exigent circumstances (that's another lecture worthy discussion . . .).

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/probable_cause

http://www.taylorlawco.com/blog/reasonable-suspicion-and-probable-cause-what-s-the-difference.cfm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exigent_circumstance

Unless you're writing a police procedural or legal thriller, I'd recommend keeping things simple.

A patrol unit responding to a (likely) non-emergency 911 hang-up call will attempt to knock & talk. If there's no response at the door, and the building appears secure, the dispatcher will be so notified. There may or may not be a report generated by the responding officers; there will be a digital record of the radio transmissions. Absent instructions to the contrary, the unit will clear from the scene (depart), go back into service, and resume routine patrol, taking the next call as directed.

Keep in mind the nature of the call and felon come into play. If the felon is attempting a criminal act, lights and siren are called for. If it's just a tip, the police may assemble the SWAT team (or their version of it) or call in US Marshals to apprehend the felon on a warrant. Or anything in between, details in the 911 call can determine the action.

Jeff