Considering how often you read about people using a badge to get the leg up on a victim in a mugging or house entry, is there an established thing you can do to assure that the person is police. I guess if they’re at my door I’d call 911 to see if they’re real, but on the street?
In the UK, police carry warrant cards with them, which I believe contains an ID which you can check. Do US police carry IDs? You could ask to see their ID, which shouldn’t be a problem as long as you’re polite.
Of course, how many people know what a police ID card looks like; makes it much easier for a criminal to fake that too.
I’ve never dealt with just ONE cop on the street before, so I guess I’d be suspicious only if there was no backup presence whatsoever or attempt to call for assistance.
How hard is it to spot the squad car, motorcycle, bike or horse? I should imagine those vehicles are immensely more difficult to fake.
sigh…come on folks…this is not than uncommon a crime. plain clothes police in regular car and people do not know what badges are…hence the problem. is there any requirement that the police use other means to identify themselves if asked? how do you know if you’re resisting an assaliant or the police.
Ask politely for ID. If someone has a real looking cop badge and a real looking ID, and they’re still a mugger - what can you do? You can’t ask him for fingerprints and a blood sample. 
Just trust your instincts, I think thats all you can do.
If an officer knocks on your door, you can get the badge number and call it in to make sure they are kosher before you open the door.
That technique would be terribly time-consuming in the middle of a mugging.
If the police officer points a gun at you and asks for your money…
I’m amazed by the criminal mind and any new scam that comes along. Like this one:
I have no idea if the students came up with this caper on their own or picked it up from their drama teacher. But in my book, they get an A for creativity and an F for presentation.
I believe you can always request a uniformed officer in a marked car for whatever you need. If the un-uniformed cop in an unmarked car denies your request, RUN!!
How about suggesting that the two of you head to the nearest police station or substation, and handle your business there?
The NYC case cited/sited above is exactly what got me thinking of this. That and Mystic River.
Who gives their PIN number to the cops? I guess the same people who hand over their password and credit card # to the “AOL technician” who IMs them.
Or, people who believe they’re dealing with that scariest of things, a pack of bad cops.
Gamaliel, a john who is knowingly giving it away in what he thinks is a bribe to avoid prosecution for solicitation. These people were “caught” in the crime of soliciting a prostitute, and gave away money and other valuables because they believed by doing so they would escape prosecution.
The guy who raped me told me he was a cop. I was foolish and believed him, and by the time it was obvious he wasn’t it was too late.
The others are right, but it’s also possible that they didn’t realize they weren’t cops until they were in cuffs. By then, your ATM number might be the ticket to freedom. Not sure how the theives know the ATM PIN number works…guess one can go and check while the others sit on you.
Really? I think it is a rather uncommon crime, and it just gets a lot of press because a) they can do stories on how to protect yourself and b) it ties into the fundamental distrust of authority.
Well, not real common, but I hear about it a couple times a year, I’d say.
The only reason the tranny muggers story was “newsworthy” is the “ha ha” twist of the perps being transgendered, combined with the connection to the already contentious Harvey Milk school. Otherwise it would never have moved past the police beat.
It has nothing to do with either “protecting yourself” (who cares if johns get mugged by fake prostitutes, they’re johns, they get what they deserve and self-respecting people wouldn’t be doing that anyway) or “distrust of authority.”
Here in rural North Carolina there was a fellow who got a police blue light or ‘bubble gum machine’. He would pull unsuspecting women over on lonely roads at night and assault them. Until he was caught women were told to drive to the nearest police station or well lit area with lots of people around before stopping. Eventually he was caught by a police woman in an unmarked car.