Police Officer

Police Officer

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.

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Last Answer on October 29, 2014

Best Rated

Would a Detective wear street clothes to a crime scene or would he/she wear full blue police uniform?

Also, would a detective wear street clothes at the office (Police Station) or wear a full blue police uniform?

Thanks in advance

Asked by edwurd about 12 years ago

Except in unusual circumstances (police funeral, working a disaster, etc.) a detective never wears a uniform.  They typically wear business attire.

I went to pray over the homes that burnt down last summer and there was a no trespassing sign but the gate was open so I drove 20 feet past the sign and turned around but the sign said I will be fined and my picture was taken. What will happen?

Asked by Mikayla almost 12 years ago

No idea.

are plastic knuckle iphone cases legal

Asked by willie over 12 years ago

That depends on your jurisdiction.  You should contact the local prosecutors office and ask them.

I have a video message saved on my phone of a ex friend threatening to hurt me. If I go to the police to submit a report would my phone be taken away ?

Asked by girl22 over 11 years ago

The video is evidence. They will need to seize the phone at least long enough to take the video from the phone.

If you're involved in a police chase and you feel it's appropriate to call in a police helicopter: 1) How do you determine this? 2) Is this up to a supervisor? 3) Are choppers usually available to assist officers on the ground? Thanks.

Asked by Harrison almost 12 years ago

The availablility and use of helicopters vary widely from area to area.  Some departments have access to helicopters in a relatively short amount of time, while other departments never have access to their assistance.

At my former agency, I worked in a very urban area with dozens of cities and counties in the immediate area.  We had access to a helicopter that was operated by the sheriff's department, and was normally only up during the evening hours.  It was available during other parts of the day, but would often take some time to get up and to you.

For a vehicle or foot pursuit, we would generally want the assistance of the helicopter, and most often they would be enroute to us before we even asked.  They monitored our radio channels and would start our way if they could be of assistance.  If we had to call for one, that would be cleared through a supervisor.

In the police force, how do you value the following: experience (time), education, and someone's natural ability to do the job?

Asked by Josbtr almost 12 years ago

I value them all.  If you are asking me to arbitrarily rank them in order of importance, I cannot.  What duty is the officer trying to perform?  Every task is different and requires varying degrees of each of the above.  Also time in grade does not equate to experience.  Also, experiences vary widely.  Are the experiences in roles as a trainer, investigator, narcotics officer, or what?  A highly educated homicide investigator with ten years of violent crime investigations may get his butt kicked the first night he rotates back to patrol and goes to a bar disturbance, while the two-year officer with nothing more than a high school diploma saves him.  There is no neat way of quantifying police officers.  

When police officers graduate the academy, do they go through a period where they are always with a more experienced officer, or are they trained enough to start off on their own?

Asked by Jacob almost 12 years ago

New officers go through a period of on the job training called Field Training.  Experienced officers with specialized training take new officers and teach them how to employ the things they learned at the academy in the real world.  This is also a time when the new officer is closely watched in an effort to determine if they are a good officer/person or if they should be terminated because they are unfit for the job.