BlueSheepdog
10 Years Experience
Around the Way, FL
Male, 40
Cheating death and fighting communism: that is how a fellow officer once described our job. It was meant to be funny, but as time went on it seemed all too true.
I spent more than ten years in law enforcement, all of it on the street in uniform patrol. I've been a patrol officer, instructor, sergeant and lieutenant.
Do not report crimes here. Nothing here should be considered legal advice. All opinions are my own.
Patrol officers are assigned to zones or beats. These are specific geographic areas that the officer is responsible for. A non-emergency call in that zone will be held for the zone officer to handle. Emergency calls will typically fall to the officer assigned to that zone, or if he/she is unavailable, the next closest unit.
Certain calls may be held for certain officers. For example, a department with officers who receive specialized training in dealing with the mentally ill may dispatch one of those officers outside of his or her zone to handle an incident that involves someone who is mentally ill.
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Detectives can participate in a warrant service, and frequently do.
A high risk warrant service is usually handled by a SWAT team, which can have detectives on the team. Once the scene is secure, non-SWAT officers/detectives will frequently be responsible for the securing and documenting of evidence.
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If you feel you have been improperly searched by officers, you can contact their agency and file a complaint.
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Most police officers do not shoot another person. Every police officer has to make life-and-death decisions on a regular basis, including if he or she needs to use force to protect another. No one wants to shoot another person, but you have to be willing to do so if it is required to protect yourself or another person.
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Swim Instructor
Is it easier to learn to swim as a child or adult?
Security / Bodyguard
Are you expected to take a bullet that's meant for someone you're guarding?
Dating Website Employee
What are the most common mistakes guys make on out their profiles?
Its possible, but how valuable is that information to the officers? Not terribly valuable probably. The cops either know the names already, or have no way of knowing if the subject being arrested is giving them good info.
A more likely scenario would be the subject provides the officers with very detailed information on the dealers and is given a court date for some time in the future in exchange. Then the officers can determine if the information is good. If so, the officers can appear in court an explain to the judge that the subject was cooperative in an investigation and request favorable treatment of the informant.
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Get good grades, stay physically fit and stay away from drugs/alcohol/trouble. I was in high school too, but all of those things will play a role in your hiring process.
If your local department has an explorer program, check on joining that. It will give you a good amount of experience around police officers and get you some training (plus a foot in the door when you apply for a job.)
Personally, I'd avoid any kind of criminal justice/criminology degree. Stick to some kind of degree that can make you money - business, computer science, etc. Don't waste time and money on an expensive degree or go into debt for it. College debt is a trap.
Can you take college classes while in high school? I know here in Florida, juniors and seniors can often take college classes and get dual credit: high school and college for the one class. I managed to get several of my college classes done for free before I ever left high school that way.
Joining the military (any branch) will help you get hired later and will help pay for advanced education.
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It depends on the laws of the state, but generally attempting to commit a crime is punishable as if you completed the crime itself. Based on your scenario, the only reason why the item was not stolen was the clerk saw the theft taking place and the thief put the item back. The intent to commit a theft existed, and the thief took an action to commit the crime, so in many jurisdictions it would be a criminal act (attempted theft or something similar.)
Consider the guy who runs into the liquor store to rob it. As he begins to demand money, the store clerk pulls out a gun and the robber flees. The robber did not succeed in the crime, but intended to rob the clerk and took some action to commit the crime. Therefore, the attempted robbery could be prosecuted.
I hope that makes sense, and these things vary from state to state depending on the laws of each.
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