Free Police Siren Sound Effect
The police siren sound effect: a US police car wailing down a city street, plus the whoop whoop and the fast yelp. Somebody's in trouble, and it might be you.
Updated · Tested by the Facecam team
Police siren
3.9 s · MP3 · 39 KB
Play it into your mic
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4 police siren sound effects to download
Main take3.9 s · 39 KB
The police siren sound effect: a US police car wailing down a city street, plus the whoop whoop and the fast yelp. Somebody's in trouble, and it might be you.
Whoop whoop1.5 s · 15 KB
Two short whoops, for a joke arrest in chat.
Passing by4.0 s · 40 KB
A siren passing and fading into the distance.
Yelp3.0 s · 30 KB
The fast, rapid yelp pattern.
Where it fits
- A friend admits a crime against food in voice chat.
- Getaway moments in driving and heist game streams.
- "Call the police": edits of something illegally good.
- Open-world game clips, the second the cops show up.
How we made it
“An American police car siren wailing as the car passes by, outdoors on a city street”
The variations
- Whoop whoop
- “A police car siren quick whoop whoop, two short bursts”
- Passing by
- “A police siren passing by and fading into the distance”
- Yelp
- “A police siren fast yelp pattern, rapid wailing”
- Loudness
- -16.5 LUFS
- Peak
- -4.6 dBFS
Play it in Discord, OBS or Zoom
Press Use these sounds in calls, then pick Facecam Virtual Mic as your mic. Step by step: Discord, OBS and Zoom. For games, the Facecam desktop app.
- Short enough for Discord's own soundboard (5.2 s max): Server Settings → Soundboard.
More about this sound
About our version
Ours is 3.9 seconds: a US-style wail with a little doppler as the car passes. It's generated, and outdoors-sounding, so it doesn't feel like it's in the room.
The other takes are the other siren modes: Whoop whoop (two short bursts, the "pull over" sound), Yelp (the fast warble) and Passing by, a wail that fades into the distance.
Every take is short enough for Discord's own soundboard if you want it there too.
Wail, yelp and whoop: the siren modes
- Wail: the long rise and fall. The everyday siren, and the one most people picture.
- Yelp: the same sweep, much faster. Used in traffic and at intersections, where a quick warble cuts through.
- Whoop: one or two short bursts, to get one driver's attention.
- The pitch drop as a car passes isn't the siren changing: it's the doppler effect.
Questions
Why does a siren sound lower after it passes?
The doppler effect. The siren plays the same note the whole time, but the car's movement squeezes the sound waves ahead of it (higher) and stretches them behind it (lower). Passing by has that drop built in.
Can I get the whoop whoop on its own?
Yes: Whoop whoop is one of the takes on this page, 1.5 seconds, with its own download.
Will it confuse people listening?
It sounds outdoors and distant, which is why it's funny, not alarming. Lower the pad if anyone is nervous about sirens.
Is there a cop voice to go with it?
Try the megaphone or radio voice presets for a dispatcher or a cop on a bullhorn.
Is this a cop siren?
Yes, a US cop siren: the wail on the main take, with the whoop whoop and the fast yelp as alternates.
