# Since when are all the cops younger than me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 4, 2018, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787 "2018-04-04T06:57:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787/1 "2018-04-04T06:57:19Z")
tuesday 04/03/2018 23:32 Sunday afternoon was when I first noticed how young cops are. There were a lot of them haunting around the St. Stupid’s Day Parade and the party/rally thing they have afterwards in the public playground, and we (we was Wolf and me) marched and got high and were Stupid, and i was having fun noticing things. Law dogs, for instance. This last sunday which was April Fools’ which was Easter which is my 3rd-favorite Patti Smith Group album, which was Eostara. It almost looked like an April Fools’ visual i’d had tricked on me, how many, if not indeed most, if not indeed nearly all the police personnel on view looked like they were in their twenties, mid thirties maxi. Whenever I see a uniformed law dog now, I quick-count their appearance for their years, and the police are young. They even get younger. Seriously. Ever since last Sunday afternoon, whenever I twig to the close presence of a police person, the second or third thing I check out about them is what age they present as (yes, perhaps there’s been some _slight_ confirmation bias). My observations indicate that cops are all younger than me now. And these heavily armed young people expect to be taken seriously. \*Cops are all younger than me.\*_When did that happen?_ On further reflection it connects with something else about cops i noticed quite some time ago–that is, it has been a long time since a policeman i was having an interaction with, had called me “son”. Since that was always an obnoxious experience\*, I’m glad my eligibility for it seems to have passed by quietly without my notice. \*take my word for it: if you are a man, and a police officer in pursuit of his prerogative, who is not your actual father, calls you “son”, you’ve been insulted. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787/2 "2018-04-04T07:04:58Z")
It is one of the rites of passage, young man: the point at which police officers start to look as though they’re about 16. But it gets worse. Eventually, you realise they’ve started calling you “sir” (at least here in the UK); and one day, you realise you’re taking it for granted that they damn well _should_ call you “sir”. (PS: There’s a comparable, but infinitely more depressing, index of the descent into irrelevance as you realise that every single political personality controllng the destiny of your country is also younger than you - or, as Tom Lehrer once put it, “When Mozart was my age, he’d been dead for ten years”) ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787/3 "2018-04-04T07:22:06Z")
> [@DLuxN8R-13](#): > > \*Cops are all younger than me.\*_When did that happen?_ when you got old. seriously. See, back in the '80s when I got in to hockey, I watched as many games as I could, had all of the shit like NHL Topps cards and sticker books, and viewed those guys as nothing short of gods. then about a month or so ago a few of us went to a Red Wings game. afterward, we stopped at a bar across the street from the arena, and a little bit later a handful of people from the team walked in. Among them was one of their better players. As we walked past while leaving, the thought struck me- “wow, I’m old enough to be this guy’s _dad._” ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787/4 "2018-04-04T07:25:22Z")
Haven’t had any interactions with cops for many years now, but yeah, even back THEN I was old enough to (almost) be their grandmother. Now? Just shuddup and get the hell off’ve my lawn. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787/5 "2018-04-04T07:49:33Z")
Remember the police get pensions after 20 or 30 years of service. > **[Still on Patrol After Two Decades, Valued but Rare (Published 2011)](https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/14/nyregion/most-police-officers-retire-after-20-years-or-move-up-the-ranks.html)** > > Officer Peter J. Figoski, 47, who was killed on Monday, had been on the force for 22 years. A relative handful of police officers remain on patrol assignments in their 40s. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787/6 "2018-04-04T13:50:25Z")
Time marches on! I was struck a few years back to realize that JFK had been younger at his death than I am now. My dad said it was a strange experience the first time he voted for a President younger than he was. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787/7 "2018-04-04T14:04:41Z")
For the past decade or so, my doctors and dentists have all been younger than I am! In recent years, even before I retired, my bosses were younger than I was. And I voted for a president who was not only younger than I, but younger then 3 of my younger sibs! My office mate is young enough to by my grandson (technically - I’m 42 years older than he is.) Yep, the world is full of babies… ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787/8 "2018-04-04T15:53:01Z")
DateOfYourBith + AverageCopAge +/- AFewYears ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787/9 "2018-04-04T18:51:33Z")
> [@Frodo](#): > > DateOfYourBith + AverageCopAge +/- AFewYears = ? ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787/10 "2018-04-04T18:56:04Z")
Similar experience: I’ve never been a big consumer of porn, but in the military it was all over. I recall being a bit stunned when I realized I was the same age or even older than some of the women. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787/11 "2018-04-04T19:02:22Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > = ? when are all the cops younger than you = DateOfYourBith + AverageCopAge +/- AFewYears ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787/12 "2018-04-04T19:06:09Z")
Only works in small towns but, “I went to school with your parents, officer” is a real ice breaker where I live. ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787/13 "2018-04-04T19:36:13Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > It is one of the rites of passage, young man: the point at which police officers start to look as though they’re about 16. > > But it gets worse. > > Eventually, you realise they’ve started calling you “sir” That’s still difficult territory for me. There’s a way that policers can use “sir” and those sort of externally courteous terms, to express a put down or patronizing/dismissive attitude, especially if the target is poor…or weird…or \*just fucked up. \* Honestly, I’m not sure what I’d do if a cop called me “Sir” in a sincere, respectful manner because it has happened maybe twice in my life. > [@](#): > > (at least here in the UK); and one day, you realise you’re taking it for granted that they damn well _should_ call you “sir”. Now _that_ would scare the living crap out of me. ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787/14 "2018-04-04T19:47:57Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > when you got old. > > seriously. Oi and urgh. My partner has a similar hit on it–we’re less visible now that we’re visibly older and grayer. Because, obviously, we ain’t young Black or Latin guys out doing serious felonies and fatalities. Thus the cops see us as harmless, caucasian old farts who, as far as crime is concerned, are well past our pull-by dates. It is a plausible scenario, and a rather damned depressing one as well. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787/15 "2018-04-04T20:21:23Z")
Assuming you are under 92, [they aren’t](http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/hialeah/article75934597.html)all younger (article is 2 years old, can’t find any indication he has died or retired): > [@](#): > > Hialeah celebrates as ‘oldest active police officer in America’ turns 90 ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2018, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787/16 "2018-04-04T20:39:47Z")
> [@DLuxN8R-13](#): > > … and we (we was Wolf and me) marched and got high and were Stupid, and i was having fun noticing things. You’re \*still \*high, aren’t you? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787/17 "2018-04-05T00:11:22Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > You’re \*still \*high, aren’t you? 😛 I sure hope so; something must’ve gone terribly wrong otherwise.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787/18 "2018-04-05T15:31:45Z")
> [@DLuxN8R-13](#): > > That’s still difficult territory for me. There’s a way that policers can use “sir” and those sort of externally courteous terms, to express a put down or patronizing/dismissive attitude, especially if the target is poor…or weird…or \*just fucked up. \* > > Honestly, I’m not sure what I’d do if a cop called me “Sir” in a sincere, respectful manner because it has happened maybe twice in my life… “For once maybe someone will call me ‘sir’ without adding ‘you’re making a scene.’” - Homer Simpson ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787/19 "2018-04-05T15:43:00Z")
My come to Jesus moment was when I realized my son’s teacher was young enough to be my daughter. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2018, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787/20 "2018-04-06T02:22:02Z")
You think cops look to be in their 20s or 30s? **I** think they look like they should be in Junior High. As in, I want to ask them “does your mama know where you are? Is she ok with you being out here carrying a gun?” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/since-when-are-all-the-cops-younger-than-me/811787.md?page=2)