Non-military armoured vehicles (or paramilitary armoured vehicles if used by a

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

) are

armoured vehicles Military vehicles are commonly armoured (or armored; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) to withstand the impact of Fragmentation (weaponry), shrapnel, bullets, Shell (projectile), shells, Rocke ...

used outside professional

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

. While primarily invented and used for defense/internal conflicts from an equally well armed organized force, armour technology has found a number of other uses outside of this

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

context.

Internal security forces

Several

sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...

states employ a standing security force, akin to a military force but separate from the official military. These official forces are often equipped with armoured cars, although often fitted with less lethal armaments, such as

water cannon A water cannon is a device that shoots a high-velocity stream of water. Typically, a water cannon can deliver a large volume of water, often over dozens of meters. They are used in firefighting, large vehicle washing, riot control, and mining. ...

. In countries that employ a territorial reserve force, only mobilized in times of war for civil defense, these forces may also be equipped with armoured cars. As the main heavy armaments may be out of the country or with the main army, the civil defense force may only have these military specification armoured cars as their best defense. In

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

the

National Gendarmerie The National Gendarmerie ( ) is one of two national law enforcement forces of France, along with the National Police (France), National Police. The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Minister ...

is amongst other vehicles equipped with 70 Berliets. The United Kingdom police, particularly the

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it ...

(PSNI), has a great number of police role armoured vehicles based upon a range of base platforms including the

Land Rover Defender The Land Rover Defender (introduced as the Land Rover One Ten, joined in 1984 by the Land Rover Ninety, plus the extra-length Land Rover One Two Seven in 1985) is a series of British off-road cars and pick-up truck, pickup trucks. They have f ...

and the OVIK Crossway. The internal security situation in Northern Ireland demands that the police operate up to 450 armoured vehicles which are optimised for public order duties. The PSNI uses OVIK PANGOLIN armoured public order vehicles.

Rebel forces

In times of civil war or rebellion, factions or opposition groups without sufficient access to military armour, may convert civilian vehicles into fighting vehicles, adding improvised vehicle armour. Mexican drug cartels used armed trucks with improvised vehicle armour to fight both

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

and rival cartels called '' narco tanks'' or ''Monstrou''.

Construction equipment

Bulldozers, excavators, and other equipment are sometimes armoured to protect operators from debris.

Fire engines

Fire engine A fire engine or fire truck (also spelled firetruck) is a vehicle, usually a specially designed or modified truck, that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to ...

s used in

HAZMAT Hazmat, HazMat or HAZMAT may refer to: * Dangerous goods, hazardous materials and items * Hazmat suit * Hazmat diving * Hazmat (comics) is a Marvel Comics character * ''HazMat'' (film), a 2013 horror film See also * Hazmat Modine Hazmat Mo ...

and airport firefighting are sometimes armoured to protect firefighters from explosions.

Emergency services

Several domestic

police forces The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citize ...

possess armoured vehicles. These may exist as part of specific response units, such as

SWAT A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...

. Other forces in specific trouble spots, such as

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

South Africa, or Northern Ireland at the height of

The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

, may routinely patrol in armoured vehicles. In

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

, the

Emergency medical services Emergency medical services (EMS), also known as ambulance services, pre-hospital care or paramedic services, are emergency services that provide urgent pre-hospital treatment and stabilisation for serious illness and injuries and transport to d ...

also have armoured

ambulances An ambulance is a medically-equipped vehicle used to transport patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to ...

for the protection of patients and crew. In Germany, the ''Sonderwagen'' or Specialwagon is used for riot-control. An armoured 6x6 vehicle, the Sonderwagen emblazoned with ''POLIZEI'' demonstrates the additional paramilitary capability of the Bundespolizei, which has arrest powers like the U.S. FBI but paramilitary capability like the U.S. National Guard.

Prisoner transport

Lightly armoured vans and buses may also be used as

Prisoner transport vehicle A prisoner transport vehicle, informally known as a "Sweat Box" or “Court Bus” amongst British prisoners, is a specially designed or retrofitted vehicle, usually a van or bus, used to transport prisoners from one secure area, such as a priso ...

s, as protection against attempts to break the prisoners out of custody.

Buses

In some cases,

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

es may also be fitted with armour. These can also be used by the regular military, but are still serving their main purpose of transporting people.

Valuables

Armoured cars often find use in transporting valuable commodities, usually

currency A currency is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general definition is that a currency is a ''system of money'' in common use within a specific envi ...

, in order to provide a defence against

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person o ...

VIP transport

Several VIPs such as businessmen, politicians and diplomats may choose to be transported, or provided with an armoured passenger car, as a protection against kidnap or assassination.

Tornado chasing

In the field of

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

study, a vehicle has been specially modified to be able to drive into the heart of tornados to take measurements while protecting the occupants from debris.

Gallery

File:Nash Bearcat.jpg, Lenco BearCat Armoured Rescue Vehicle Metropolitan Nashville Police SWAT. File:Armored-car-Manila.jpg, Armored van in Manila. File:Armored-truck.jpg, Prosegur armored truck in Barcelona. File:Saxony State Police Survivor R (2).jpg, A '' Sonderwagen 5'' of the Special Operational Unit (SEK) of the

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

State Police State police, provincial police or regional police are a type of sub-national territorial police force found in nations organized as federations, typically in North America, South Asia, and Oceania. These forces typically have jurisdiction o ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

File:Dzik2 P1010026 2.jpg, Polish Dzik-2 in the colors of the Polish Military Police. File:POL 2004 Warsaw europejski szczyt gospodarczy 01.jpg, Polish Police in Warsaw -

BTR-60 The BTR-60 is the first vehicle in a series of Soviet Union, Soviet eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers (APCs). It was developed in the late 1950s as a replacement for the BTR-152 and was seen in public for the first time in 1961. BTR (vehi ...

PB. File:MDA Armoured Ambulance.jpg, Israeli EMS armored MICU ambulance for when EMS crews may be shot at. File:Tornado intercept vehicle.jpg, An armored Ford F-450 called a TIV that is used to intercept

es. File:2006 Mercedes-Benz Vario (W 670) 818 D van, Linfox Armaguard (2008-10-09) 01.jpg, Mercedes-Benz Vario. File:CSK181.jpg, A

People's Armed Police ) , abbreviation = PAP ("People's Armed Police") CAPF ("Chinese Armed Police Force"), formerly abbreviated''Wujing'' ( zh , s = 武警 , p = Wǔjǐng , l = Armed Police , labels = no ), or WJ as on vehicle license plates , patch ...

CSK-181

References

{{Reflist, 30em Paramilitary vehicles