# Police Details **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 24, 2021, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-details/949439 "2021-08-24T13:37:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-details/949439/1 "2021-08-24T13:37:10Z")
I’m having a stone wall built, and the city is making us get a police detail because the bobcat will be on the sidewalk. Mass is (I believe) the only state that does not allow civilian flaggers. It’s been an issue here for years, because you have to pay police overtime for something that almost everywhere else costs $12/hour. It’s obnoxious. SO, the IHMO: All the cop does is look at his phone all day. I really want to go out there and say “Hey, I’m not paying you to look at your phone. If your presence is so damn important, then pay the fuck attention.” I know that would be a bad thing to do. But boy, it pisses me off. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-details/949439/2 "2021-08-24T13:40:41Z")
Dont blame the cop. He didnt pass the law that makes him be there. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-details/949439/3 "2021-08-24T13:41:20Z")
The cops have fought changes tooth and nail. They get paid overtime for this. ETA: To be clear, my contractor pays this. Not the city. That means I pay it. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-details/949439/4 "2021-08-24T13:43:58Z")
And? Its up to the Legislature and the Governor to change bad laws. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-details/949439/5 "2021-08-24T13:45:39Z")
So you don’t think that when a powerful labor bloc fights changes that are popular with the public, and convinces the legislature to keep their perks, they have any culpability for the consequences? Because I do. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-details/949439/6 "2021-08-24T13:49:21Z")
Its annoying I understand but lobbying is legal. I also understand your frustration with the system. But the individual cop who is doing the flagging has no say in the way the system works so its useless to be angry at him/her. Taking some pics of the lounging cop and posting them strategically on social media might get the ball rolling in changing the law. ---
**Author:** ![mjmartin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-details/949439/7 "2021-08-24T14:00:24Z")
In Massachusetts, taking that picture and posting on social media is a good way to have a lot more police presence in your life. It may not be the individual cop’s sole fault, but he is part of the system that lobbied for it (Police Union) and benefits from the system that milks the state, towns, businesses and individuals. Holding members accountable for the actions of the organization they choose to be a part of is 100% legitimate, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-details/949439/8 "2021-08-24T14:13:24Z")
And anyway, this ignores the original point, that I have to pay for a service, ostensibly for public safety, and the officer isn’t paying any attention. So what am I paying for? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-details/949439/9 "2021-08-24T14:15:22Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > So what am I paying for? Avoiding the possibility of the fine associated with getting caught not following the law. ETA: I had a deck put on a home I used to own. I asked the guy about getting a permit. He told me he did a couple decks a week and had only pulled a couple of permits in the past few years. He said my home wasn’t visible from the road and there was zero risk in doing the job without a permit. He was correct. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-details/949439/10 "2021-08-24T14:32:36Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > So what am I paying for? “That’s a lovely home you’ve got there. It’d be a shame if anything were to happen to it.” Sigh. Isn’t their rate \>$50/hr, too ? I’m with you. Yet another racket in an endless series of rackets. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-details/949439/11 "2021-08-24T14:59:17Z")
I’ve seen stories griping about the cost of “paid duty” officers in Toronto (mininum rate for one officer as of 2019 was $73/hour with a minimum of 3 hours). E.g. > **[High demand for paid-duty officers is putting a strain on Toronto police and...](https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/07/07/high-demand-for-paid-duty-officers-is-putting-a-strain-on-toronto-police-and-event-organizers.html)** > > A limited supply and greater demand for paid duty Toronto police officers to work public events is straining the limits of both the police service and event organizers, according to a city report. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-details/949439/12 "2021-08-24T15:18:48Z")
Whenever I’m driving thru construx on an interstate in any one of my or the neighboring states there’s always _one_ cop car out there with all of the construx vehicles. Half the time, that’s the first vehicle you come to. While I think the red & blues are more noticeable than the yellows I’m always amazed at the stupidity of putting a cop sitting in a regular car at the back of the line while the vehicle in front of him/her is usually a large, unoccupied truck, complete with a deployed [scorpion](https://www.traffixdevices.com/products/attenuators/scorpion2-tma#models), which is specifically designed to absorb impact & mitigate injuries. Shouldn’t that truck be first in line to protect the cop, too? As others have stated, I’m not upset with the guy in the car who was assigned that detail but the policies that waste my taxpayer dollars to have someone sit there & do what always appears to be nothing after about ¼ mile of cones & lane closed directional arrows, or even better, on the other side of a virtually immovable concrete Jersey barrier. ---
**Author:** ![mjmartin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-details/949439/13 "2021-08-24T15:29:05Z")
You (and we) are paying for nothing. And paying twice. State and local government employee pensions are based on their 3 highest years of income. For police this includes overtime and detail pay. An officer that works 40 hours for a town, then does another 20 hours of overtime for details, ends up increasing his pay by 75%, and increasing his pension for his lifetime. All for a job that in 45+ states they hire a 20 year old at $15/hour. And that’s just the ones that do it legally, unlike the multiple state police that are now serving time for straight up theft of the system. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-details/949439/14 "2021-08-24T15:49:19Z")
I hear you OP. Detail cops do a much worse job at a much higher cost. And I can’t find a cite (this happened before the internet) but one time when the legislature tried to change the law, one of the higher ups in the police union said something like “Officers depend on this extra income. If they don’t have it anymore, they’ll be tempted to go on the take to make it up.” ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-details/949439/15 "2021-08-24T15:53:20Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > one of the higher ups in the police union said something like “Officers depend on this extra income. If they don’t have it anymore, they’ll be tempted to go on the take to make it up.” This used to be called extortion. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-details/949439/16 "2021-08-24T16:44:52Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > > [@OldOlds](#): > > > > So what am I paying for? > > Avoiding the possibility of the fine associated with getting caught not following the law. > > ETA: I had a deck put on a home I used to own. I asked the guy about getting a permit. He told me he did a couple decks a week and had only pulled a couple of permits in the past few years. He said my home wasn’t visible from the road and there was zero risk in doing the job without a permit. He was correct. Yeah, I think decks like this are one of the most common things people do without getting a permit, even though in most jurisdictions it is technically required. Most people I’ve known to build or remodel decks have not pulled permits, and I’ve never personally known of a single one of them to face consequences. Now am I telling anyone that they may not get in trouble? No. I’m sure there are towns out there with busy bodies who find this stuff out and go after people, just not any I’ve lived in. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2021, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-details/949439/17 "2021-08-24T18:39:53Z")
Where I live, there are rules about sheds and proximity to property lines. However, a shed under 144 square feet doesn’t require a permit. One day the building inspector was next door, and pointed out my shed is too close to the property line. I said “But I thought I didn’t need a permit for a shed?” “You don’t.” “So, what are you telling me?” “Nothing.” I always found that exchange odd. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2021, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/police-details/949439/18 "2021-08-26T03:31:14Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > . Half the time, that’s the first vehicle you come to “Protected by the uniform” While being a police officer is less dangerous than being a construction worker (and much safer than deck hand or lumberjack), in my state there are still enough names to fill a memorial wall. And most of those are traffic accidents. But when I come around a blind corner on a wet night – it’s a policeman standing in the traffic lane.