The Vice City Police Department (VCPD), also known as the City of Vice Police, is the primary law enforcement agency of Vice City, Florida, appearing in both Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories.
Description[]
As Vice City is meant to mimic the city of Miami, the VCPD can easily be assumed to be based on the Miami-Dade Police Department.
At a three-star wanted level, the VCPD will begin to set up roadblocks and deploy Spike Strips. The VCPD Chief Commissioner in 1984 is called McGinley, as referenced by Vice News Network. It is unknown if he still holds the position in 1986.
Structure[]
| Name | Unit in the department | Known Year of Service |
|---|---|---|
| McGinley | Commissioner | 1984 |
| Colin Allcars | Motorcycle Unit | 1984 |
| T.J. Sucker | Patrol Unit | 1984 |
| Bob | Bureau of Investigation | 1986 |
| Bruce | Bureau of Investigation | 1986 |
| Officer Butts | Vice Unit | 1984 |
| Officer Cracker | Vice Unit | 1984 |
| The Specialist | SWAT Team | 1984 |
| Jackson | Radio Control | 1986 |
| Jones | Patrol Unit | 1986 |
| Miller | Patrol Unit | 1986 |
| P. Rowe | Chief Security | 1986 |
| Pulaski | Sergeant | 1986 |
Divisions[]
Special Weapons and Tactics[]
Additionally, the police department also houses a S.W.A.T. team, which appears at the four-star wanted level. These highly trained officers travel in fours in the fast and durable Enforcer, wielding SMGs. At a four-star wanted level, they will replace the police cruisers in roadblocks, while still appearing alongside the cruisers on the streets. When the player stays in one place at a four-star wanted level, S.W.A.T. officers will rappel down from the police helicopters. They are lethal to a player on-foot, even with armor, and can destroy a car in a matter of seconds. The Enforcer in GTA Vice City sports a green and white body color, while the GTA Vice City Stories rendition is black and white. The S.W.A.T. team is based in the Downtown Police Station in 1984 and Vice Point Police Station in 1986.
Vice Squad[]
The VCPD also houses Vice City's Vice Squad, which appears at a three-star wanted level. Vice Squad members drive VCPD Cheetahs and are armed with Uzis and always travel in pairs. They are apparently headquartered at the Little Havana station, as a VCPD Cheetah can be found in the back in VC (not in original PS2 version), but in GTA Vice City the Cheetah is only found while pursuing the player at a three-star wanted level. The Vice Squad members always arrive as two casually dressed unaided officers. These officers are meant to emulate Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs and various other characters from the 1980s television show Miami Vice, a drama focusing on undercover vice officers in Miami who disguise themselves as drug dealers in an attempt to access the underground crime scene in Miami.
Vice City Bureau of Investigation[]
There is another branch of the VCPD named the Vice City Bureau of Investigation (VCBI), who are investigating Vice City's criminal underworld and the events that unfold during GTA Vice City. As seen through the window of their office, the VCBI is located somewhere along Ocean Drive in Vice City.
Stations[]
There are police stations in each of four locations throughout Vice City: Little Havana, Downtown, Vice Point and Washington Beach.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City[]
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories[]
Equipment[]
Uniforms[]
VCPD officers wear uniforms consisting of a dark tan shirt, brown pants, and gray shoes. They commonly travel alone in their cruisers but travel in pairs when pursuing a player with a two-star wanted level or above. They are also seen walking a foot beat, often pursuing fleeing criminals. In GTA Vice City Stories, they wear sunglasses, both regular and motor officers.
Vehicles[]
The VCPD's car of choice circa the 1980s are green and white Police/VCPD Cruisers that can be obtained from every police station, although they are occasionally locked (there are two at every station in GTA Vice City, and one at every station in GTA Vice City Stories). The police car is very fast and light, prone to easy flipping and launching off the ground. However, it is extremely durable, making the VCPD a force to be reckoned with, except for under heavy gunfire. Before GTA Vice City was released, the livery[1] of the VCPD's vehicles more closely resembled that of the Miami Beach Police Department. In the final release, the VCPD sport the color scheme based on the green and white livery used by the Metro-Dade County Police Department up to the 1990s, with the door writing being carried over from the pre-release livery. In GTA Vice City Stories, officers also travel in VCPD WinterGreens but do not chase the player at a two-star wanted level. They are all black with red lights and one can always be found at every police station (except Washington Beach).
Police officers of the Marine Unit patrol the waters around Vice City in Predators and will shoot the player using the Predator's machine guns if the player enters the waterways with a two-star wanted level. They are white on top and blue on the bottom, and can be found below the Links Bridge in Leaf Links in GTA Vice City, but in GTA Vice City Stories they can only be found patrolling the waters.
At the Downtown station in both games and Washington Beach station in GTA Vice City Stories, a Police Maverick is stationed on the roof. These helicopters are deployed at a three-star wanted level and will shoot the player from the air using its machine gun under the fuselage. The helicopter is mainly green in GTA Vice City, but in GTA Vice City Stories, it is mainly tan.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City[]
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories[]
Weapons[]
The standard weapon of the VCPD in all of the GTA III era games is the pistol. In some missions, they use different weapons: for example, some officers carry Micro Uzi in No Escape?.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City[]
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories[]
Prominent Mission Appearances[]
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City[]
- Treacherous Swine
- Sir, Yes Sir!
- Shakedown
- Cop Land
- Juju Scramble
- Cannon Fodder
- Naval Engagement
- Messing with the Man
- Martha's Mug Shot
- No Escape?
- The Driver
- The Job
- Spilling the Beans
- Boomshine Saigon
- Check Out at the Check In
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories[]
- Fear the Repo
- Nice Package
- The Audition
- Money for Nothing
- Caught as an Act
- From Zero to Hero
- The Mugshot Longshot
- High Wire
- Turn on, Tune in, Bug out
- Kill Phil: Part 2
- The Exchange
- Over the Top
Gallery[]
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City[]
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories[]
Trivia[]
- The police car from the Rockstar game Manhunt uses the Vice City police car model. [2]
- Before GTA Vice City was released, there were going to be black officers as a second pedestrian, since they can be seen in some pre-release screenshots. In GTA Vice City Stories there are unused quotes for a 3rd officer, besides the usual motorcop/cop. [3]
- Even though Vice City is based on Miami, its police force seem to be based on Miami-Dade County's police department, members of which wear tan uniforms and use white-teal service vehicles, while Miami's police wears dark blue uniforms and uses black-and-white service vehicles.
