Suggestions for cops?

[Hasdrubal]

There have been several threads here lately about cops in one form or another, usually involving either speeding tickets or gross professional misconduct (some of the beating videos). I've started a new thread here to ask a question- what would the folks here on Prime like to see cops doing? That might sound sarcastic, depending on how your past experiences with the law have been, but it's not intended that way.

I'm a cop in Washington, but I haven't even been out of the Academy for a year (11 months so far). I don't pretend to know everything, but I'm glad to work for a department that seems to get rid of its bad apples and sometimes to even discourage its officers from running traffic if there's more important things going on. However, as in the military and probably many other jobs, a lot of what we do is because we've always done it that way. I like to think we're pretty good about changing when we need to, but sometimes an outside perspective can help point out the need.

This forum has a pretty level headed bunch of people, so I put it to the group- any ideas for patrol officers to go out and get real bad guys instead of running traffic? Just keep in mind that criminals aren't all stupid, and patrol cars arent' too sneaky.

BTW, I've written one speeding ticket in my year on the street, and zero tickets for just an equipment violation.

 

[DocL]

You are asking a very difficult question. I'm sure that suggestions that I may have may not be within your capability due to the different state that you and I reside in. However that being said, the one suggestion that I have for you, is for you to know and understand the laws applying to citizens legally carrying firearms. I know in Florida a lot of the leo's are unaware of many of the laws regarding concealed carry and some citizens have had their 2nd Amendment right's vilolated.

 

[Dhalsim]

Whoa......Where is the popcorn? I'll be watching this thread.

Here is my contribution.

Treat citizens with respect and fight "real" crime.......

Dont stand by and watch your fellow LEOs violate other people's rights and say/do nothing. They are a cancer on any department and on our society.

 

[ChopsJazz]

It's a thankless job, and I admire and thank you for doing it.

My recommendations? Treat people with respect.

 

[pvmike]

Yeah, move down here because we need more cops like you.

 

[SilverStone05]

I'd simply ask that they lose the attitude and treat civilians with the same respect they demand from us.

 

[steveny]

what would the folks here on Prime like to see cops doing?

LISTENING

I'm a landlord. I have heard every excuse in the book for everything that could possibly happen from a broken window to why the rent is late. I still listen. I still proceed with whatever I am going to do but I take into account what has been said to me. 99% of the time I am being lied to but there is that 1% of the time I am wrong. Knowing that I could be wrong makes it important to listen 100% of the time. I also find out a lot more information by being compassionate and listening 100% of the time.


Not everyone is a scumbag or a law breaker. I feel most policemen think everyone is breaking the law, if that is true then everyone includes everyone 100% of the time.

Don't speed with the emergency lights off in the cruiser. Don't talk on the cell phone with the cruiser in motion. Set an example. Abide by the laws that you uphold. Be someone that you would want to look up to. No one is perfect. We all make mistakes that includes me and police officers.

Don't be rude until someone is rude to you. I fully understand the need to keep the upper hand. As a landlord I have to do this all the time. I will be taken advantage of if I allow a tenant to escalate the situation to the point I lose the upper hand. That doesn't mean I have to come off right out of the gate with the upper hand.

I was pulled over last month for window tint. I pulled as far over as I could to make sure the officer would not have to be in traffic when he walked up to my truck. I shut the truck off and put the keys on the dash in plain view and placed my hands on the wheel in plain view. The officer came to the window with an immediate attitude. He asked me why I was pulled over. I told him I thought it might be because I hesitated at the last stop light where I made a right on red. I wasn't sure if I could go right on red and there was a sign (long to read sign) about the times you could turn right on red and I wanted to read the sign and then I checked to see if it was within the time frame I could go right on red. Then I turned. He said well there was that and your windows are tinted too dark. OK that is a lie. He didn't pull me over for hesitating at the light. Now IMO the guy is lying to me. That is a direct insult of my intelligence. To this point I have not lied to him and now he is lying to me AND insulting my intelligence. Anyways I let him know about my wifes condition and that the windows need to be tinted because of headaches she gets when in direct sunlight and that I have a prescription in my glove box. He asks for the license and registration and insurance card. I get them and drop one on the floor. I hand him the prescription and ask if I can get the other off the floor. Don't want him to think I am grabbing the floor without him knowing. So he says to grab it. I explain to him my wifes condition and he says Anyone can get a prescription. I say OK but thinking yeah sure anyone who goes through brain surgery. Not much compassion on his part and now he has proved he is a liar and is now accusing me of being one, he said it in a way that accused me of stealing the prescription. I think its pretty universal that someone who is lying thinks everyone else is too.

So that goes back to my original thought, listen. You can find out way more by just listening than lying or being forceful. You will never beat the truth out of anyone.

I have seen how law enforcement has changed members of my family who have become policemen. They are now bitter and mean. It can't be an easy job I'm sure.

Lastly, BE SAFE. With the perception the general public has of police officers it's rare that someone would ask what does the public think I should do as an officer. That in and of itself speaks volumes about who you are as a person and also says not only are you good at your job but also want to excel. I would love to see a world were there is more respect between the public and the police and vise versa. When violence is someones last tool of control they really have lost control.

 

[ediddynsx]

It's a thankless job, and I admire and thank you for doing it.

My recommendations? Treat people with respect.

I agree and treat people with respect, smile, and show the community that you are with them and not against them. I think the departments should focus on training the cadets to be more people oriented. Throw down the hammer on the criminals and lowlifes, but treat the good citizen's with respect when you do T-stop's and ped stops....and also to learn more about cultural diversity.

Glad you made it out of FTO and good luck in the many years to come. Hope you can make a difference on how people view police officers and maybe one day if you become sgt, lt, capt, chief then you can implement some changes that will make officers not feared by the community, but embraced.

As steveny said listen too.....I know that the world will look jaded to you since all your calls are going to be 415, 5150, dv, shootings, 459, or whatevers.....also what most people know is that the department is what makes an officer an a-hole too......they treat their own officers worse than they do the criminals sometimes.....LASD is a great example of how they eat their own officers and treat them like sh!t. On top of that all the politics that go on in the department.

Good luck man hope you can be one of the guys who can make a good change to the department.

 

[steveny]

Yeah, move down here because we need more cops like you.

Man it's crazy out by you. Last time I was out there I saw a group of people pulled over and everyone was on the curb in hand cuffs. When the police were done the people were given a ticket and let go, but it was crazy how they were taken out of the car and cuffed and set on the curb for a minor traffic stop.

 

[pvmike]

Man it's crazy out by you. Last time I was out there I saw a group of people pulled over and everyone was on the curb in hand cuffs. When the police were done the people were given a ticket and let go, but it was crazy how they were taken out of the car and cuffed and set on the curb for a minor traffic stop.

And imagine, we only cruised the nice parts of LA and OC...

 

[steveny]

And imagine, we only cruised the nice parts of LA and OC...

Yeah this winter we need to go to the seedy areas.
:biggrin:

 

[Dhalsim]

Here is my contribution.

Treat citizens with respect and fight "real" crime.......

It's a thankless job, and I admire and thank you for doing it.

My recommendations? Treat people with respect.

Hey get your own recommendation! :smile:

Anyway it seems the respect issue is a commoon theme here.

 

[NSXrunner]

The issue here is that cops are human. They can't all be robots and treat every situation identically. I for one totally accept that they are human, and being human, some will be clowns, some will not be. I have had experiences with both kinds. No such thing as perfect. What do I expect the cops to do? The best they can, because that's all I can ask. If some people get punched in the face, so be it. That's what, 1 person in 260 million? Pretty good ratio overall IMO. Seeing that video posted on another thread for example, yeah it was excessive, but I still blame the lady. Shut your hole, and listen to what the cop has to say. Don't yell and push him around because you think you are better than him. You are just giving them an excuse to put you down. Especially if they are a cop that fall under the clown category.

2 cents.

 

[Swift]

Like others before me, all I ask is you keep an open mind and treat others with respect and obey your own laws.

Its sad enough I know cops in the force who were close to being drug dealers and others who I know did drugs and barely made it out of H.S. So be one of the few that sets an example for the rest of the force, maybe one day you will make Chief!

 

[flaminio]

+1 for the treat people with respect comment.

For those doing traffic, my advice would be to stop bugging people for minor transgressions, and focus on serious offenders. Focus more on safety than on the letter of the law. There's a world of difference between someone driving an NSX on I-280 at 80 mph on a Sunday afternoon versus someone driving a Ford Explorer on US 101 at 80 mph during Friday afternoon rush hour. Yet to many cops these are the same offenses -- 15mph over the speed limit.

 

[Vega$ NSX]

Adam Carolla made a great analogy. In life we all have bosses; they are the people who pay our salaries. When we work for a company, then the boss pays your salary. Even if you own your own business, then your customer who buys your products or service pays your salary, which makes them your boss.

Cops and politicians need to remember that the tax paying citizen pays for their salary. Therefore, in a way, we are your boss. Now, you would never go to your boss and yell at him or hit him in the face. You should fear your boss and treat them with respect, because after all, they are your boss. Government employees who are funded by tax dollars need to remember who is paying their salaries and who they are there to serve and protect. Not their own agency or special interests; they are “hired” by the tax paying public no different than if I hired a body guard to protect me.

I think sometimes the police and other agencies sometimes forget this and act more like a for-profit corporation than a public service. I think if this dichotomy gets worse, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a new breed of law enforcement agencies that are directly hired and paid for by individual communities to serve very specific areas much like a sup’d up mall cop or campus police force, but with the paying constituents having more control and influence over the actions of the police force.

 

[steveny]

The issue here is that cops are human. They can't all be robots and treat every situation identically.

And don't expect every person to act the same or BE the same when they are pulled over. Like I said above not 100% of the people are criminals. some people are actually just working and trying to get by pay check to pay check.

 

[steveny]

Its sad enough I know cops in the force who were close to being drug dealers

http://www.9wsyr.com/mostpopular/story/Former-Syracuse-cop-arraigned/KHBaj1cRIka17P_3m07O4g.cspx

 

[queenlives]

It's a thankless job, and I admire and thank you for doing it.

My recommendations? Treat people with respect.

+1

also high on my list would be to watch your ass... $hit happens and things can get out of (everyone's) control in the blink of an eye, so keep your wits about you.

 

[Hasdrubal]

Wow, I was expecting a response, but not this much this quick. I actually have made an effort to treat people like human beings- not sure how successful I've been compared to what I wanted to do, but it may be working...

A month ago I went to a hit and run, and after everything was finished, the victim (teacher leaving school) told me I was "sensitive and understanding." I asked her to please not tell any of the guys I work with.

Two weeks ago someone actually tried to hug me on a call- pretty young girl, too. I'm still on probation, though, and ended up telling her I couldn't because I didn't want to get fired.

There are times when we need to get to calls quickly but by policy we can't use lights/sirens. I try not to drive like a jerk, but I've had to go pretty quick through town before.

There's a law here in WA that any exhaust is illegal if it's modified to be louder than stock. I've told several people on traffic stops that they were in violation, but that I wasn't going to write them for it because my car has illegal exhaust. I've never stopped people for that one no matter how loud they are.

One thing to note, though, cities with traffic units (motorcycle cops) have them to do two things. Respond to accidents and write tickets. If you see a cop on a bike, that's his entire job, and I'm not looking to be one of those guys.

 

[HIJACKER]

There are times when we need to get to calls quickly but by policy we can't use lights/sirens. I try not to drive like a jerk, but I've had to go pretty quick through town before.

Agreed, that's a policy here in Fairfax County as well that I learned on one of the ride-a-longs I've done. In very rare cases can LEO's run "code" (lights and sirens). People in my county complains about police running lights and sirens. So by demand, they don't.

They typically only flip them on to cut through an intersection when in a rush to a higher priority call and then turn them off and continue to proceed.

 

[jond]

Just realize 95% of the public loves cops(they don't want a speeding ticket, but regardless).
You're going to deal MOSTLY with the other 5%.

 

[gleibig]

There is a street by my house that they set up on weekly for the sole reason of writing seatbelt violations. Pathetic. Someone is probably selling some kid drugs on the street at the same time, but hey, no revenue to make from that.

 

[EuroBoutique]

Being that I work with many LEO on the equipment side helping develop new technologies, I see a different side of LE. Granted no one likes tickets or paying fines, in general I think most officers are very nice. I've ran into PD in Chicago, Portland and CHP and generally they are just doing their job. Of course a few times I've gotten tickets and sometimes they let me go.

I've always been fascinated by the LE field and think I would make a very good and fair officer but not in this lifetime due to my parents :wink:

Anyways I think it's good you are asking for opinions which shows you care and the only thing we can ask is you do your job fairly. I always ask myself what would I do if I was on the other side of the fence. I think in mose cases you will see that people deserve a break.

Of course many times I wonder where LE is since you see this nut bag doing 90+mph weaving traffic during rushhour in usually a junker. Those are the times I wish I was a police officer to remove those people from the road and make it safer for everyone else. Making good judgement calls is the key.

thank you

 

[VampNSXX]

Cops could stop going after people with a nice car. When I am in the NSX cops always fallow me so I always have to go into a store that I was not going to just to get them off my ass. Cops should not use words like Asshole. I have seen cops call people asshole more than 4 times. One time it was me who they called a asshole. That is why I hate that show Cops because they act all respectfull when in real life they will not say Sir. I am not saying all cops are bad but at least 9 out of 10 cops I have had to deal with were really not nice. I am also tired of people saying they have a hard job but who does not I bust my ass all day also and have to come up with solutions to problems every single day. Plus like my buddy says if they dont like it then they should get another job.