Special Criminal Investigation is an arcade driving game by Taito. Released in 1989, Special Criminal Investigation is good clean driving fun. There is no innovation here, but boy is it fun. Take control of a Nissan 300ZX and go out in search of criminals. Graphics are remniscent of Out Run (but are a bit better).
This game was available in at least three (thats right count them up, three), different dedicated cabinets, plus it was also sold as a conversion kit for Chase H.Q.. I couldn't find a whole lot of information on the variants, but klov.com shows dedicated standup and sitdown versions, and I have a standup one at home in a dedicated cabinet that is totally different from the one on klov. Finally, I have seen the conversion kit one at an auction, so we are dealing with at least 4 versions total.
The sitdown version is a strange plastic monstrosity with a huge monitor. This may have been a Japan only release, as the cabinet looks very similar to the popular Japanese cabinet style (Japanese cabinets tend to be lower, with bigger monitors). The standup versions are all very solid wooden affairs, covered with full painted sideart (very few games still used painted sideart in the late eighties). All versions use Happ Controls force feedback steering wheels (the ones that can spin all the way around), a high low shifter (different versions had this on different sides), and a single pedal.
I bought this game for $100 in the hopes of repairing it. No such luck. The PCB inside is not normal JAMMA (even though klov.com claims it is), and it seems that half the wiring harness was missing. I ended up selling all the internals on eBay (for more than $100), and I still have the cabinet sitting in my basement in perfect condition. I plan to make a MAME cabinet out of it eventually, one just for driving games. | 
