You’re not on duty right now, right?
Had to inject some MP into the informative MPSIMS thread.
I am of two minds on this topic: in the first place, I thoroughly believe that every citizen has a right to protect themselves. However, after all these years on the job I doubt many can be trusted with a slingshot. 
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If I contacted someone who was packing, I would definitely want them to tell me about it. An observant officer will probably realize you have the gun anyway, so it’s best to be up front about it. Just make sure your hands are in view and away from your body, then tell the officer that you want him to know that you have a gun and where it is concealed. At his request show your license, and everything should be fine.
my questions deal with child molesters. What do you think causes it ? Is their a profile of a child molester? Are they true pedophiles or was it more of situational crime. Of the child molesters you dealt with how many of the offenders were juvenile themselves ?
Far better minds than mine are working on that first question. I doubt they will ever have a complete answer. My experience, however, is that most child molesters were molested themselves. That doesn’t mean, of course, that all victims of sexual abuse will become child molesters.
Of the child molesters that I have dealt with, only a few seemed to be pedophiles. The difference is that pedophiles are primarily sexually attracted to children, and most of the molesters I’ve arrested have appeared to have normal adult sexual desires, but acted impulsively when the opportunity arose with a vulnerable child. Not all molesters are pedophiles, nor are all pedophiles molesters (some may have the desire, but never act on it).
There is no set profile for a child molester. They really do come in all shapes and sizes. The youngest I’ve dealt with was 10, the oldest was 75.
Thanks for opening this thread and helping educate us about the police, Badge. Would someone also mind posting a link to the other thread? The search engine won’t allow me to search for 3-letter words like “ask” and “cop”.
Badge: question for you. How do you deal with the situation where a close friend or family member has done something illegal, and you find out about it?
I realize this will depend on the offense - I’m guessing you’d probably ignore your wife recording TV shows without copyright permission, but would feel obliged to report/arrest your brother-in-law if he’d murdered 20 people. But what about the in-between cases? e.g. smoking pot, “white-collar” type offenses (insurance fraud…), drinking and driving…? These are just examples, I’m trying to get a feel for how you deal with what must be a tricky ethical situation.
What is the registration process for becoming a cop? How long does that take?
And another one, in my mostly white suburban neighborhood, why do most cops come across as such… jerks… to kids? I know of course, that many in my generation are little snots who don’t know when to shut up and feel they are justified for it, but in my experience I have tried to be as cooperative and polite as possible, only to have everything I’ve said thrown back at me with an insult.
Badge, definitely a slanted question… but based on observations (truly, I have both family and friends who are cops and once - never again! - dated a cop) what is it about the psychological profile of a cop that drives him/her to ‘cheat’ on their spouse or significant other?
I have a narrow sampling (11 of a dozen or so public servants) I realize, but isn’t this a disproportionate ratio for the police department?
I did ask someone I knew WHY this ‘syndrome’ occured, and he listed several factors: odd hours, preserving the ‘innocence’ of the family so the problems get taken to the girfriend/boyfriend on the side, sense of isolation that some cops develop (see earlier Q&A regarding the other symptoms including suspicion, anger, etc.). Is this complete bunkum or have you noticed the same?
My family & friends in service explained this as establishing boundaries; that older teens are less likely to realize (or care about) long-term consequences for their actions and therefore they ‘head it off at the pass’ so to speak.
But I’d be interested in what Badge has to say about it, too!
And Badge, another question - what would you LIKE to see Joe Public teaching their kids about police? My elementary-aged child has no fear and quite a bit of trust because of the family/friend association - but I’ve heard and seen several of her friends react with trepidation if not downright fear at the sight of an officer in uniform.
1: Why do pretty, chesty women often brag about getting out of speeding tickets by unbuttoning a few blouse buttons and flirting or crying. Are policemen really such pushovers for these women?
2: Are there any policemen with huge bellies like you used to see in decades past or are there fitness requirements even for veterans nowadays.
Just as an anecdote, I’ve seen Chicago cops (on the street) recently who have bellies; I don’t know, however, if they still manage/have to pass fitness tests even with the extra weight. Then I see the Chicago cops who are bike (-riding) cops, especially along the lakefront here… :eek: Those guys are seriously buff.
Thanks for answering my question about people who waive their rights. I’m glad you are also amazed by it – I feel less like I’m missing some crucial strategy.
I did have a question about something that someone else said :
Isn’t it still true that in some states, you’re supposed to get out of the car? Ok, obviously not charge the officer’s vehicle, but still. I live in fear that I will be driving in a strange (strange to me, that is) state, and not know the correct thing to do.
This leads, sort of, to another question. I know various procedures change from state to state, or county to county. It seems like some of them, such as the getting out vs. staying in your vehicle, might make more sense if they were consistant. How much of a say do you have in what goes on – if you think a procedure should be changed (presumably to improve it), what is the mechanism for making that recommendation? Do you participate in groups or organizations that share “best practices” sorts of things? Or are individual departments hesitant to have too much dictated to them?
Also, again from TV, one gets the sense that local police don’t like working with federal agents. Is there automatically friction, or is this one of those things where the exception feeds the stereotype of the cops vs. feds thing?
What happens to all the stuff in the evidence room, once you don’t need it anymore? Not the stuff that you might sell (not you personally), but the weird stuff that has no value? If you kept it forever, it must take up a huge amount of space.
Yes, we most assuredly have the right to have a weapon and protect ourselves. But, in a situation, the wait for official police presence is measured in the hours now. As to my competence with the weapons, please let me assure you, I can place each and every round from my preferred carry, a Sig Pro .40 S&W, into a three inch circle at 30 yards, rapid fire, anytime, any day, anywhere and in any conditon. I average more than 5,000 rounds per week at the range, I do my own customized reloads, and will not pack a weapon I am not accurate with. I can do the same with any other of my weapons, however, the Glock 9 mm lacks power, the S&W .357 revolver is very easy to conceal but it deafens you on the first shot, the .45 is not that bad to conceal but it is heavy, and the Ruger .454 is huge, hard to conceal and deafens you on the first shot, has only five rounds and in addition is expensive to shoot. Why spend $00.75 when you can get away with $00.06? However, for sheer visual and auditory impact, the Ruger .454 is awesome. Dirty Harry would have loved the RUger .454.
I don’t care how observant an officer is, they will never see my weapon unless they go to a pat down and then only if they are very thorough.
I can promise you that I, or any other person that I know that who has a concealed license would immediatlely inform the officer. We would immediately become one of the “bad guys” if we did anything else. Why not iform the officer and avoid the repercussions?
I agree, I don’t think I could hit anything with a slingshot. A rubber band gun would be something else though.
I notice in my state CWP holders come up on the dispatchers screen when they run the plate and they duly notify the officer. I probably know every CWP holder in my county 'cause I like to listen to the scanner.
In my area it would be the odd vehicle that DIDN’T have some type of firearm in it.
I know traffic stuff isn’t your speciality, but is there a system for keeping track of warnings? If you pull over a guy and only planned on giving him a warning, is there something on the computer that would pop up and say he was just warned last week? If so, would that then compel you to write the ticket?
Why would officers here call for so many 28’s, which gives them the name of the registered owner and expiration date on plates. The ratio seems to be around 10 inquiries before making a contact.
If they can read the plate, surely they can see the color of the expiration sticker.
Are they just fishing?
One of our cops get ticketed of couse he’s found innocent…
My question: How do you handle it if you pull someone for suspicion of drunk driving and they claim some kind of medical condition? For example, I have chronic ataxia (from meningitis when I was a kid) which means that I can’t keep my balance with my eyes closed and can barely keep my balance when walking on a line (I can do it with effort, but I wave around like I’m drunk). Since I can still recite the alphabet backwards etc. I don’t worry about it too much (and the worst that would happen anyway is taking a breath test), but I’ve always kind of wondered what the SOP is for that kind of thing.
The advice I’ve heard on that is to turn on your emergency blinkers and slow down to make it clear that you’ve noticed the lights and aren’t trying to get away. And don’t go nuts with how far you go; I read about a girl who got some kind of resisting or evading arrest conviction because she spent ten minutes driving home (through multiple well-lit areas) instead of pulling over.
Aside on concealed carry: I’ve never gotten pulled while packing, but from talking to people who have, most cops are relieved that they’re dealing with someone who went through a background check etc. The only person who was asked to even show his weapon ended up involved in a discussion with the cop about why he chose it (and got out of a speeding ticket in the process).
Question: What’s the strangest reason / alibi / excuse you’ve ever gotten from someone you’ve arrested?
Actually, I’ve dealt with this problem a lot. I work in the same small town where I grew up, so I have arrested quite a few friends and family.
For the most part, I just do my duty as I would with anyone else. Most of the people I know understand I have to do that, and the ones I respect the most usually apologize to me for putting me in that situation. Others, however, feel they deserve special treatment and can’t forgive me when I don’t extend it. Those people quickly leave my life.
If it is someone too close to me, I would ask another officer to handle the situation so there would be no appearance of favoritism.