Best cop spotting apps?

[Lillith]

I drive a lot and travel very frequently by car. I’d rather avoid cops at all costs if possible. What are the best apps for finding them. Waze has the best one I’ve used so far. Radarbot is ok but doesn’t work well in my part of VA. I already know about avoidance driving so to speak and am fairly decent at spotting their cars.

 

[MacnGs]

Just get a cop radio

 

[James Meadowlark]

I was going to recommend a radar detector, but I see that you live in the Commonwealth of Virginia, so I know it's against the law there. I saved up cash like crazy and bought a Valentine 1 a few years back- Super expensive, but I wanted high-end quality, and while I had buyer's remorse right after I ordered because of the cost, I can say it has paid for itself MANY times over since I have a heavy foot. I drive a lot for work all around Florida/SE USA, so I figured it was worth it in time saved, and it has been for sure, but a high up front investment.

I use the waze myself, but the issue with those apps is that they depend on input from drivers to a large degree- Which is great if you're on a heavily traveled road like an interstate where there are a lot of drivers/users, but it sucks if you're off on some county road somewhere that has light traffic- Just the economy of scale, but you already know that... Haven't tried radarbot, but I may check it out as well..

Given the VA laws against RD, you're probably going to have to just do your best to follow the rules in traffic on the less traveled paths. Good luck!

 

[LonestarCountryBoy]

I was thinking the same thing as above. (A Radar Detector.) They are illegal in Virginia I know, but there is ways around that.

Currently I use an Escort Max 360c. (Look it up) $600.00, but it lets me know about nearly every single cop. It even points me in the direction his car is coming from. 9 times out of 10, if I'm on the interstate, and there's a cop ahead, I know about him 1-2 miles in advance.

With that said, they are illegal in Virginia, but I know of a few that are stealth and undetectable, yet still have great range. However, they are expensive.

https://www.radarbusters.com/Stealth-Radar-Detectors-s/2387.htm

I know as of right now, on the stealth market, Uniden is at the top of the game. However, they haven't developed a model yet with directional arrows that show where the cops are at, like mine though.

I love mine and swear by it.

 

[fallingseastar]

The app - Wayze can have updated information depending on the popularity of use in the area.

 

[valentine]

I recommend a CB radio. Tune to channel 19.
Truckers are always calling out cops and other issues on the freeway.

 

[Groundmagnet]

Another option is getting a BaoFeng UV-5R. They are like 30 bucks on amazon and get all of the rr, police, and even aviation frequencies. I know the older ones allowed you to transmit on the frequencies as well, not sure about the newer ones. It is against FCC rules to transmit though.

 

[valentine]

Runs in a browser and has an app:
https://www.broadcastify.com/listen/

Others apps:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-police-scanner-apps/

If you want a dedicated device for monitoring....

Smaller public organizations can be listened to using scanners and cheap HAM radios (like the Baofeng)
Municipal Radio Frequency Wiki lists known frequencies:
http://www.radioreference.com/

If you're attempting to monitor a really big municipality - chances are they're using a digital system your average Ham/UHF radio won't be able to track. There's a base frequency and multiple sub frequencies that a call will be transfered to.

You'll need a Software Defined Radio (SDR) for that.
https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-19-Police-Radio-Scanner/