A good rule of thumb to follow is not to mess with the police. Those who do have opted for fast getaway cars to evade the police, but that strategy is futile. The police are no longer driving only the traditional Ford Crown Victoria rides. Law enforcers have appealed to the state to introduce fast vehicles so that the police can apprehend the bad guys. Numerous countries across the globe heard the police's plea and provided the concession. These days, the police are patrolling the neighborhoods in some of the most elegant vehicles that even the average citizen cannot afford. After all, it makes sense that the police should have a faster car than the bandits.

Conversely, some countries have not changed their tune about the vehicles that it supplies to the police. Those regions believe that the police should drive reliable vehicles that are affordable. The problem with that strategy is that the police are sacrificing speed in favor of reliability. To find out which places have upgraded their fleet to performance vehicles and which are stuck in the dinosaur era, we scoured the globe and found the best and worst police cars that are patrolling the roads.

20 Best: Bugatti Veyron

If you thought that a Dodge Charger and a Formula 1 would make a cool cop car, then you haven't been to the UAE. When you visit Dubai, don't be surprised to see the police rolling around in a Bugatti Veyron. They enjoyed parading their wealth and donated a Bugatti Veyron to show their generosity and spending power.

The Veyron costs $1.5 million and reaches 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds. The car has a W16 engine that is capable of pumping out 1000 horsepower. Don't bother trying to get away from the Dubai police.

19 Worst: Blinky

Thank goodness that the police are not using Blinky to catch convicts. The car is a semi-retired Metropolitan Toronto Police Car that has taught kids about traffic safety for decades. The car came onto the road in the 1950s, as educators and law enforcers teamed up to educate children by using cars with faces.

The police use Blinky to parade the streets as a talking vehicle that educates children about the law, as well as traffic safety. Although the eccentric face on the front of the vehicle appeals to children and gets their attention, the car will not intimidate anyone.

18 Best: Mercedes Benz SLS AMG

It seems that the police in the UAE have a point to prove. Not only have they chosen one of the best sportscars as a patrol vehicle, but they modified it to make the car faster. The Dubai police lowered the suspension and fitted a massive spoiler to propel the Mercedes Benz SLS AMG to higher speeds.

The car's base price is $270,000, though the vehicle is no longer in production. The V-8 engine pumps out 580 horsepower and propels the car to reach 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds. The massive engine allows the police to get only 13 mpg in the city and 19 mpg on the highway.

17 Worst: Smart ForTwo

Using the Smart ForTwo car as a police vehicle is anything but smart. It seems that the New York Police Department is adamant on keeping the vehicle to patrol the neighborhoods.

The car has a 1-liter engine that is capable of pumping out 80 horsepower and needs more than 9 seconds to reach 0 to 60 mph.

The only perk of using the Smart ForTwo as a patrol car is the fuel efficiency. The car can offer an average combined fuel consumption of 55 mpg. Although the police will not be spending too much money at the gas station, they also won't catch up to any hooligan in the Smart ForTwo.

16 Best: Lamborghini Huracan

Italy is the home to some of the best supercars in the world. While Ferraris and Maseratis roam Milan and Rome, so do Lamborghinis. To show appreciation for the police's service, the car manufacturer donated a Lamborghini Huracan LP-610-4, according to Motor 1. The car has a 5.2-liter V10 engine that is capable of pumping out 602 horsepower, allowing the vehicle to reach 0 to 60 mph in 2.3 seconds.

That was not the first donation that Lamborghini made to the police, as they also gave the law enforcers a Lamborghini Gallardo in 2008.

15 Worst: Three Wheel Scooter

I thought that the Smart ForTwo car was the worst choice in vehicles that the New York Police Department (NYPD) made until I saw the three-wheel scooter. Apart from the unpleasant aesthetics, the three-wheel scooter has only three wheels, as the name implies. How can the NYPD catch bad guys with this jalopy, especially when they need to turn tight corners?

Although the scooter has garnered a lot of attention from the New York community, it will also frustrate them when the police cannot retrieve their belongings from fleeing culprits. NYPD upgraded the three-wheel scooter to a Smart ForTwo car. The 4-wheels on the Smart ForTwo make the conversion an upgrade.

14 Best: Ford Mustang

Nothing makes the bad guys more scared than when the police flex their muscles. Considering that the Ford Mustang is one of the most prominent muscle cars on the road, the police will exert a lot of intimidation by driving around in that bad boy.

Apart from the engine pumping out 310 horsepower that allows the vehicle to reach 0 to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds, the car also provides great fuel economy, according to Car and Driver.

The police will get 21 mpg on in the city and 31 mpg on the highway. At a base price of $40,000, the police did not hesitate to add the muscle car to its repertoire.

13 Worst: New Orleans Police

The only explanation that we could come up with for the New Orleans Police selecting such a small vehicle that cannot catch up to any car is that crime in New Orleans might not be as bad as in the rest of the United States. The New Orleans Police are patrolling the neighborhoods in a car that can seat two people and will struggle to catch a suspect on a bicycle.

The police can forget about arresting while driving this vehicle, as they will not have a seat for the suspect unless he sits on the passenger's lap. No outlaw will find this little ride intimidating.

12 Best: Rolls Royce Ghost

The British manufacturer has been making one of the most luxurious vehicles for decades. Rolls Royce needs 6 months to assemble one of its vehicles, as it takes every precaution to ensure that every inch of the vehicle is flawless. The British police wanted to make the Rolls Royce Ghost one of their patrol cars and got their wish.

The massive vehicle has a 6.6-liter V12 engine that pumps out 563 horsepower and reaches 0 60 mph in 4.7 seconds. The fuel consumption in the city is 12 mpg and 19 mpg on the highway. The base price is $290,000.

11 Worst: Tractor

Just as you thought police vehicles could not get any slower, the United Kingdom police introduced a tractor. The only place that the British police could use this tractor is on the farm to catch suspects who are also using a tractor. The tractor is so slow that citizens driving regular sedans overtake the vehicle, as they are frustrated at the pace and speed that the police tractor occupies on the road. If the British police needed an off-road vehicle, they could have opted for a large pickup truck such as the Ford F-650. Even felons driving a Smart ForTwo will get away from this tractor.

10 Best: Caparo T1

The British police have taken every measure to ensure that lawbreakers don't stand a chance of getting away from them. To ensure that they obtain high speeds, the British police have added a Caparo T1 to their fleet. The car is a British mid-engine, rear-wheel drive, road legal Formula 1 car that McLaren F1 built.

The V8 engine fitted into the Caparo T1 is capable of pumping out 610 horsepower and reaching 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds.

The British manufacturer sold around 12 units since it started manufacturing the car in 2007, for $300,000 per vehicle.

9 Worst: Electric Armor

Although the car might look like Buckminster Fuller's interpretation of the Popemobile, the car is an idea from Japan. If you thought that the design was eccentric, then the car's name matches the design.

Zijing Qingyuan Armored Spherical Cabin Electric Patrol Vehicle debuted at the Security China show. The designers built the car for the riot police, with intent to allow the police an unobstructed 360-degree view from the armored bubble cockpit. The car has two wipers and a camera on top of the sphere, as well as seating for two and bulletproof glass.

8 Best: Ford F-650

Not all the vehicles that the police add to their fleet need to provide blistering speeds. Some vehicles need to make lawbreakers shiver in their boots. One of those vehicles is the Ford F-650. The massive F-650 medium-duty commercial truck came onto the market in 2000. Although Ford has fitted the pictured truck with a siren and painted it in black and white, the police are still finalizing the addition of the vehicle to their fleet.

Considering the F-650 has an intimidating exterior, the police should make it one of its vehicles as soon as possible.

7 Worst: Fiat 500

The police in Italy should be glad that they have the support of supercar manufacturers such as Lamborghini. If they hadn't, they would be stuck driving slouchy vehicles such as the Fiat 500. Although Fiat is a car manufacturer, the police could have opted for an Alfa if they wanted to promote local products. Not only is the Fiat 500 slow, but Consumer Reports has also listed the new models as one of the least reliable vehicles for the last few years.

The new models are capable of reaching o to 60 mph in 8 seconds, but the pictured jalopy will need more than 10 seconds.

6 Best: Ariel Atom Formula 1

The police are getting smarter to outwit the bad guys. Thieves who thought that getting a sports car as a getaway vehicle would make them impossible to catch should be worried if they are in the United Kingdom.

Instead of opting for a sports car, the police have chosen to catch up to the bad guys in a Formula 1 car. The car boasts a 350 horsepower Honda engine, according to the Independent, which the police will use to crack down on motorcycle riders as an intimidation tool.

The car can reach 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds. Unfortunately, the police are going to use the car only on race tracks, not high-speed pursuits.

5 Worst: Yugo

Malcolm Bricklin was responsible for importing the Yugo from the former Yugoslavia into the United States. The car lasted in the United States from 1982 until 1992 and caused drivers numerous headaches. Besides the subpar exterior, the car was unreliable. To make matters worse, the Yugo was slow.

It had a 0.9-liter engine that was capable of pumping out 45 horsepower and needing more than 20 seconds to reach 0 to 60 mph. The police might catch a fugitive riding on a bicycle but should forget about catching up to robbers in a regular sedan. We can confidently state that the Yugo does not make a good patrol car.

4  Best: Limousine

Even the police have to ride in style. One of the vehicles that the police had chosen to add to its fleet is a limousine. Although the limousine cannot engage in full-pursuit, it will provide an enjoyable ride for the police commissioner. The police have chosen an interesting vehicle that citizens will gawk at and snap pictures of, but the police should not forget that their duty is to patrol the streets, not sip on a drink.

Since you won't see too many police limousines, this vehicle makes an interesting addition to the police's fleet.

3  Worst: AMC Pacer

The Motors Corporation commenced the production of the Pacer in 1975 and kept it in production until 1979 due to lack of demand. Apart from not being the most aesthetically alluring vehicle, the Pacer was the first automobile (US) design using the cab forward concept.

In the May 1976 issue, Car and Driver dubbed the vehicle "The Flying Fishbowl," and car pundits described the car as "the seventies answer to George Jetson's mode of transportation".

Although numerous car experts panned the design, Road and Track magazine described it is as fresh, bold and functional-looking.

2 Best: Dodge Charger

Since the manufacturer from the USA commenced the production of the Charger in 1966, it made the car as a mid-size, a subcompact and settled for full-size platform four-door sedans. The average price of the 2013 model is $30,000 and consists of a 5.7-liter V8 engine. Considering the Charger has a big engine, drivers should not expect good fuel efficiency. The combined fuel consumption is 19 mpg.

The massive engine pumps out 370 horsepower, according to Edmunds, and allows the vehicle to reach 0 to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds.

That is not bad for a car that is five years old.

1 Worst: Ford Crown Victoria

The United States police have used the Ford Crown Victoria as their preferred choice for decades and dubbed it the Police Interceptor. Although the car is reliable, the pictured version leaves thieves scratching their heads. “The police taxi will be utilized at DUI checkpoints and placed on display at various locations and events throughout the city,” Glendale police spokeswoman, Tahnee Lightfoot, said. The car might confuse bystanders, but it contributes to a good cause.

“The goal behind this unique vehicle is to increase public awareness, create discussion about the dangers of impaired driving, and (remind) motorists that they need to make responsible decisions while drinking,” Lightfoot said, according to Daily News.

References: edmunds.com, independent.co.uk & caranddriver.com