Is it true that the police Mk2 Cooper S did not use the special body flange finisher as the standard Cooper S?

All Cooper S supplied to NSW Police were stock standard showroom models, except for some bolt-on Special Production Order items.

So no is the answer to your question, no change to the body shell.

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ex-NSW Police 1970 MK II Cooper S
VMCI #43

I would support winabbey's reply regarding the body. I was the 2nd private owner of my SPO41 when I bought it in 1975. The body was 'as left' by both previous owners, including the side finish mouldings - tatty, shrinking and brittle but standard S.

I guess from the above remarks the Mini I had was a police spec car and not a police car.

Is this your current car you are talking about?

The first thing to check if a Mini saw Police service is the holes in the parcel shelf where the ID plate was fixed. All Minis, whether basic sedans, vans or the Cooper S had the plate. Some would be retrimmed by a later owner to avoid seeing the holes in the vinyl but you can feel for the presence of holes in the metal from behind.

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ex-NSW Police 1970 MK II Cooper S
VMCI #43

Hard to tell now it's been sold.