The Pinehurst Police Department has the distinct honor of owning the ugliest vehicle in law enforcement.

Law and Order Magazine recently recognized the department's old pickup truck with its "ugly vehicle" award in its 2009 Police Vehicle Design Contest.

The department actually submitted the truck for consideration. It also submitted entries for "best motorcycle," "best off-road vehicle," and best vehicle for a municipal department with 10 to 50 officers in the eastern United States.

Capt. Floyd Thomas didn't think the truck was the ugliest police vehicle out there, but he isn't complaining about the recognition. He thought that the motorcycle had the the best chance of winning.

"The good thing about it is," Thomas said, "since it got selected as the ugliest vehicle, we will get three patrol cars done with fancy new decals."

The results were featured in the magazine's August edition.

Three of the department's police cars will get the graphic makeover from the Grafix Shoppe, a Minnesota company that specializes in decal kits for public safety vehicles. Thomas said the makeovers won't cost the village any money, and the department plans to keep its blue and white paint scheme.

The pickup truck is a 1983 Chevrolet that the department acquired used in 2001 through the Governor's Crime Commission. It may not look pretty, but it has four-wheel drive, which makes it a valuable asset in severe weather.

Most of the time, it is used to tow the department's speed and checkpoint trailers.

According to the magazine, the award is given to the vehicle that shows "no creativity, bizarre graphics, no police authority, and/or has no appeal to the public. This vehicle begs the question, 'What were you thinking?'"

The truck faced tough competition from other ugly vehicles owned by departments in Ohio, Missouri, Florida, Washington and Colorado.

Judges' comments were included with each award, and some were a few sentences long. The comments for the Pinehurst truck were a little more to the point.

"This truck is old and just plain ugly," the judge wrote.

Contact John Krahnert III at 693-2473 or by e-mail at jkrahnert@thepilot.com