Police - What are they really here for?

The Coffee Shop
1

Alright, I’ve gotta get this off my chest. I’ve been feeling more and more like police in the city of seattle serve no purpose beyond collecting money for the city/state. My feelings were validated last week. First, on monday, I get pulled over for expired tabs (had no idea, and just moved so apperently missed the reminder for them), ticketed, and sent to go pay the $100 to be registered. Two days later while swimming in Lake WA my car was broken into and my wallet, keys, and other personal effects were stolen. The thief(ves) broke the window and snagged as much as they could out of my front seat. I called the police on the spot with a friend’s cell. Their response? “We’ll call you in an hour or two to file a report, but we only call twice so make sure you’re at that number.” No squad car came out? They couldn’t waste the gas to take a perusal of the situation? They couldn’t even make a report when I called??? So far of course nothing’s been done even though the perps took my credit card to 3 different gas stations before I could cancel it. There are at least 5 cameras in each station. I’m guessing we could get in ID of ONE OF THEM???

Do any other people in or out of seattle feel like police aren’t there to serve and protect? They’re there to eat and collect.

2

When I lived in Atlanta, it was the same thing. I had my wallet stolen while I was at work. Yes, one of my coworkers stole my wallet and proceeded to go on a shopping spree during lunch. The police didn’t do a damn thing even though there were about 5 stores with security cameras. I even called the stores themselves and got responses such as “our tapes are copied over every 24 hours” or “the timestamps on the security cameras are off so it’s completely random” or “we don’t always have the cameras on”. Basically, I got the impression from the police and the stores where my cards were used that I was SOL and to cancel my cards and get new ones and that is all that I could do.

Basically, I can’t offer anything except that the same thing happened to me in a different city.

3

It’s not just Seattle but pretty much everywhere. I’ve had very nearly the exact same experience. We were at a bar in the not so great part of town for a dart league match. My wife’s car was broken into and pretty much trashed. They actually crammed a crowbar thru the dash to pry out the factory stock radio, was a mess.

Not only did the cops not come out, but wouldn’t even take a report until the following day as “No one is here to do that now”.

I’ve often wondered why it is possible to have 6-8 cops on an overpass looking for “Speeders” or 3-4 doing “Safety checks” both of which are revenue generators, but no one can come out and check out break in to your car.

I do somewhat understand however, as they know the odds of actually catching the perpetrators is slim to none as they either can’t or won’t use the resources to follow up on anything they get from the scene. Honestly they aren’t going to do a CSI on every car break in. OTOH I would think that if you have the resources to pull someone over and put your hands in their pockets, you SHOULD have the time to send a squad car out and at least provide some semblance of reassurance.

Just like every other governmental system, the police department has room for improvement. In my life I’ve had some very good experiences with them and some very bad. Sadly more bad than good.

~Matt

4

They are here to protect us of course, which is why there is absolutely no need for anyone to own a handgun for self-defense, because the police will keep us safe! ( insert irony font here)

5

Sorry to hear you got ripped off. Not all police are useless in this situation. My car was broken into while I was at the gym. Same story, grabbed my checkbooks and other goodies (not my wallet because for some unknown reason, I had left it at home).

Called the police, they sent a car over, substation a couple of minutes away. They took a report, gave me the report number and told me to start calling banks. They also went into the club to review the video. Turns out I had actually seen the perp. (one of those “which one of these does not belong” kinda things.) The 24Hour Fitness manager, however, would not let me see the video so that I could identify the bad guy. Seems 24 Hour Fitness has a privacy policy that precludes allowing memebers to view the video, of the damn parking lot!, but they assured me that they wanted to help me.(What a crock.)

A couple of days later, I received a call from a detective as follow up.

The rest of the story: The police had been staking out the club because there had been a string of breakins but the stake out ended about 1 hour before I was hit.

6

Between the need for public income and a moronic war on drugs the cops are swamped. I myself despise the police. Most of the ones I have met are little dicks wanting to feel like men. I know that is terrible to say but true. The diffrcene between real cops and tv cops is amazing.

Last year I was out in my front yard at 3 am letting my dog take a whiz. Some cops stopped and hassled me about it. Asking me why I was out so late. Is this my house. Telling me it was unusaul that people would take there dogs out in the front yard. I was nice because they have all the power but I wanted to tell them it’s none of their fucking buisness when I sleep, where on my own land my dog pisses. If they honestly thought I was a theif then they need to go back to police school. It just seems to me that a bad robber move is to stand in front of your target house smoking a cigar, talking on a cell phone and playing with a dog right in front of the house.

7

I’m not a cop basher but I would be very interested in the criteria, training particularly physiologically and communicatively. On one hand I realize that cops are in constant danger and must approach pretty much all situations from the defensive. OTOH it seems that most, at least the ones I’ve had dealings with, are terrible at reading situations and dealing with people.

Seems to me that all to often the control, power, “parent” comes out when a different attitude would do much better.

Again in my dealings with cops I’ve had more bad than good, some out and out unacceptable. But I’d hate to do their job so in most cases I just try and keep that in mind.

~Matt

8

I had a cell phone and stereo stolen out of my car in November (2006). I went down to the police station and filed a report. I downloaded my phone records that same night. The thief had used the cell phone to call two people, who then called him back. I gave that information to the policeman handling my case. He questioned the two people the thief called. One of them was on probation, and possibly could have gone back to jail for not cooperating. As a result, my cell phone was recovered and the thief was caught and charged. The stereo was not recovered.

In this case, I’d say the cops did a pretty good job.

9

**OTOH it seems that most, at least the ones I’ve had dealings with, are terrible at reading situations and dealing with people. **

I’ll say upfront that I have a pro-police bias. As a firefighter I work in tandem with the police all of the time. Most people can hardly imagine what their job is on a day to day basis. Furthermore, I wouldn’t urge people to try and find out either.

That said, I know that some cops can be complete a-------. There are some when they get on scene I know that whatever was going bad is just going to get worse. I also know that when they are on a scene before I get there, that I’m going to have my work cutout for me. These idiots are just good at getting people riled up in an effort to get them to do something stupid so that they can exercise their power over them. Completely moronic.

I’ll share a story. There is this one cop who was on one of our medical scenes. We were trying to convince this old guy that he needed to go to the hospital. We were getting a little frustrated because he was quite adamant, but his family really thought that he needed to go and so did we. It was one of those times that we couldn’t leave the patient there in good conscience. We have every right in these circumstances to use the police to put the patient in protective custody and transport the patient against their will. This usually gets ugly though and we do whatever we can to convince the patient to agree to go with us. I should say…whatever we can within reason. Enter the idiot cop. All of a sudden he grabs his TASER and starts threatening the pt. by saying that if he didn’t agree to go with us, the cop was going to Tase him to change his mind. I was completely stunned. When I got my wits about me, I grabbed the cop by the jacket and threw him out of the room. I told him that he had better never pull a TASER out on one of my patients again and that I was going to report this incident to his Sgt. It was ugly and the cop ended up getting some time off and 6 months behind the radio desk.

By and large, the majority of cops are good people trying to make a difference and serve the people of the community they work in. Unfortunately, it is the idiots out there who thrust themselves front and center into the public eye. So when a civilian says that all cops are a------- based on their experience with cops, I think that this is usually the reason.

Bernie

10

I’ve had several situations that were just plain old uncalled for and a couple that could have and should have been diffused by the cop.

I’m certainly not ripping on cops as there are or where several in the family and have had several good situations as well. It just seems to me that when they are in the situations they are in that they should have a better understanding of how to deal with people…other than a gun or a tazer.

I guess I’m just advocating for a stronger emphasis on that area of training. Maybe less time on the shooting range and more time in a physcology class or something. Certainly better screening is in order.

~Matt

11

I guess I’m just advocating for a stronger emphasis on that area of training. Maybe less time on the shooting range and more time in a physcology class or something. Certainly better screening is in order.

Again, training may handle some of the problems. But by and large, these are issues that can’t be “trained” out. I was reading an article about this the other day. It was based on how much police make as far as salary and benefits. It turns out (according to the article) that you are actually seeing a need for cops right now and they have ahd to relax their standards for hiring in many communities. There are some suburban departments that have been able to “sell” police operating millages to their citizenry and are able to pay much higher rates of pay and then attract better officers. By and large, these officers are the “cream of the crop” from other departments.

Like I said, some of these guys are just complete creeps. They will always be creeps. They LIKE being creeps. They were the kid who used to steal your lunch money growing up. These same guys make sure that they are causing panic and bedlam wherever they go. Unfortunately these are also the same guys who sometimes become cops. It seems that a few bad apples can make the whole bunch seem bad. I truly believe that the vast majority of cops are good guys. Part of what makes them goos is that they do their job by diffusing situations (like you intimated). On my side of the aisle, there are the same sorts. They would rather put someone in restraints and fight with them for 20 minutes on the way to the hospital than talk to the patient and get them to see why they should go to the hospital.

What can you do?

Bernie

12

Last year I was out in my front yard at 3 am letting my dog take a whiz. Some cops stopped and hassled me about it. Asking me why I was out so late. Is this my house. Telling me it was unusaul that people would take there dogs out in the front yard. I was nice because they have all the power but I wanted to tell them it’s none of their fucking buisness when I sleep, where on my own land my dog pisses. If they honestly thought I was a theif then they need to go back to police school. It just seems to me that a bad robber move is to stand in front of your target house smoking a cigar, talking on a cell phone

I would have just shot you for talking on a cell phone in the front yard at 3AM. Right’s right.

13

I had may briefcase (with my laptop, PDA, etc.) and a backpack full of bike stuff stolen from a car in Surprise AZ. I didn’t even realize it, there were no signs of forced entry, and the stuff was on the floor and back seat, so I didn’t see that it was missing right away. After backtracking to make sure I hadn’t left it somewhere, I called the cops. They took a report over the phone then and there. I checked on the security camera in the parking lot, I had parked where there was no view of the car. About 4 months later, the police recovered the laptop and eventually traced it down to me (somehow when I called back with the serial number it never got added to the original report). They called Dell with the serial number, who tracked it to my company, then they called security at my company who was able to track it down to me. The cops held it for evidence for a few months, then the guy pleaded guilty and I got it back. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any of the rest of my stuff back. All in all, I was pretty pleased. I figured I would never see any of it again. All of the cops I dealt with were professional and courteous, but honest about the chances of anything ever being recovered.

14

The Police, as a collective niche in society, are there to serve a useful purpose. Unfortunately, the collective is made of individuals, many of whom seem uniquely unsuited to a useful role in society.

15

A few thoughts on Police …

  1. Protect and Serve is a slef-decribed motto. “To Clean Up the Mess” is more like it. They don’t prevent crimes from being committed, they wrap it up after it’s been done.

  2. They do “serve” the important role of breaking up domestic violence situations. I’m sorta tongue-in-cheek, but I wonder how much time the police spend on this “stupid crap”?

  3. Police salaries are low, that results in low talent (relative). Police are overwhelmed, that results in them prioritizing crimes. What’s important to us, may not be all that urgent to them.

  4. Police are busy doing money collecting safety services like making sure everyone driving in the city is wearing their seat belt because so many die by going through the windshield when they have a fender bender at 30mph. (<–sarcasm) The seat belt tickets are just a way of collecting “donations”, I guess. Not a big fan of all the attention that goes into [S}collecting money[/S} seatbelt tickets.

  5. Honestly, if someone breaks into my house and is looking to do damage, I have to somehow get to a phone, call the police, wait like 10 minutes, blah, blah, … wonder why so many are not deterred from crime.

The police, like teachers are overwhelmed by the challenges presented to them (unrealistic expectations given the circumstances), and the best ones don’t work where they’re most needed … in other words, the one’s that need the best, don’t get them.

It’s a tough job for certain, but sometimes I question all of the ticket stuff (seatbelts, speed traps, etc) that seem sometimes to be more about fund acquisition rather than “fighting crime” or “protecting and serving”. I know the other stuff is much more difficult to stop (drugs, etc), and with the low numbers of staff in many communities, it almost seems as if many police units are relgated to “small stuff”. I do appreciate the profession, and it’s one of those “noble” jobs where you’re going to under-paid, over-stressed, and likely put into many situations that are not “enjoyable”.

We are responsible for our own safety and our own peace. It is our decisions to not do “bad stuff” to each other that keeps us protected.

16

Hey slowbern…do you know why God created Police Officers?

So firemen could have heroes! :wink:

Police work is mostly reactionary; this is simply the nature of the job. There is a significant prevention factor involved, but since it is nearly impossible to determine how many crimes were prevented when a patrol car drove by a house at 3 am and Joe shit the ragman decided it was not a good idea to break into the house he was casing or when a habitual criminal is taken off the streets for a petty violation, no one ever discusses it.

Police Officers, as a general rule, do not make a lot of money. Most of the Officers that people interface with are new Officers, Officers who couldn’t get a promotion, or couldn’t move to a higher paying agency. This being the case, it is understandable that those who are still learning the job or those who aren’t necessarily great at the job have the greatest opportunity to piss someone off.

Police Officers are overwhelmed in many communities, but they are also tasked with enforcing different statutes or ordinances by their bosses and by their bosses bosses, who are most often politicians. Do you people really think that the average cop wants to spend their day sitting in a ‘‘speed trap’’ or writing seat belt tickets? If you people really dislike these ordinances so much, take it up with the legislature. After all, the Police do not make the laws.

17

I’ll toss in a few thoughts.

First, before you bash the police, call your local department, ask them if they offer ride-alongs for citizens. If they do, the go on one, or two. Before you really bash someone, spend a couple days in their shoes. Ya, there are some dickhead police, just like there are dickhead politicians, dickhead teachers, dickhead store managers, dickhead …well. you get the idea. Police walk around everyday with a big target on their back. Attitudes like Tibbs (“I myself despise police”), are pretty common, and if you had a job, where everyone had that attitude towards you, you might just turn into a dickhead as well.

Second, I can imagine in a city like Seattle, that police are very understaffed. I think that if you spent one day with a patrol car, you would realize that all their time is spent responding to one call after another. The fact that they didn’t get to you when you called about your car breaking in isn’t surprising. You would be amazed at how many calls they have to respond to every day.

Third, in response to Tibbs. It’s 3 in the morning. I hate to tell you, but that is unusual. If a dude is standing in my front yard at 3 am and a cop comes by and doesn’t question him, then I am going to be pissed. There are numerous organized gangs, that travel city to city, and one of the ways they scout neighborhoods is to walk around with a dog, talking on a cell phone, acting like they blend in, while what they are really doing is scouting who is home, and who isn’t. They will do this for a week or two and they will determine, using this “just walking the dog” method, to determine when people are gone, and when people aren’t. Then one day, they bring in all their support, including moving vans, and clean out their ‘target’ houses. They can clean out a house in 5 minutes. It is amazing. So, yes, as much as you hate that cop, what he was doing was noticing someone, out at 3 in the morning (again, sorry dude, but this isn’t that normal), doing something he has been trained to notice as suspicious behavior. My guess is, based on the fact that you despise police, that you were probably a dick to him as well. Anyway, the dude was just doing his job.

Traffic cops. Reality is, that people break traffic laws. Police know this. The numbers show this. When a police officer is on traffic duty, either by choice, or by punishment, he basically he has a quota to make. If the numbers show that in 1000 drivers, 10 break the law (I am just guessing here), but say those are correct, then an officer is expected to catch say, 2/10. If he doesn’t, then his superiors KNOW he isn’t doing his job, and he gets hell. Shitty system, but that’s the way it is. So… when you get a ticket, especially if you are breaking the law, then just accept the fact that it isn’t that police officers fault you broke the law, it is yours, and again, he is just doing his job. And yes, not wearing a seatbelt is breaking the law.

Tp TripleThreat. You made a sarcastic remark about not wearing a seatbelt when in a wreck going at 30 mph. Tell you what, why don’t you go out today, find a nice brick wall, and drive into it going 30mph without your seatbelt on, and then come back and tell us all how stupid seatbelts are.

Anyway, sorry if i offended anyone, but police have, for the most part, a thankless job. If you are breaking the law and get caught, whether you are robbing a bank, or not wearing your seatbelt, the last person you want to see is a cop, yet when you are victim of a crime, you get pissed when they aren’t sitting in their squad cars around the corner, ready to respond.

Like I said a the start, call your local police department. Ask if you can go on a ride-along. Do it more than once. Trust me, it isn’t like the show COPS.

That’s it.

18
  1. Police are busy doing money collecting safety services like making sure everyone driving in the city is wearing their seat belt because so many die by going through the windshield when they have a fender bender at 30mph. (<–sarcasm) The seat belt tickets are just a way of collecting “donations”, I guess. Not a big fan of all the attention that goes into
    Here in NJ, if you have the misfortune of forgetting your wallet/purse and are stopped by police, the fine for not having your license/registration/insurance card is north of $500. No kidding.
19

The Police, as a collective niche in society, are there to serve a useful purpose. Unfortunately, the collective is made of individuals, many of whom seem uniquely unsuited to a useful role in society.
It’s interesting that you can describe both Law Enforcement and Sting, Andy & Stewart with the same definition.

20

Do you people really think that the average cop wants to spend their day sitting in a ‘‘speed trap’’ or writing seat belt tickets? If you people really dislike these ordinances so much, take it up with the legislature. After all, the Police do not make the laws.

I doubt that they do, but the fact of the matter is that the legislature will not change the law because speeding tickets and safety stops are revenue generators and getting on a bike and patrolling a neighborhood, getting involved in the community and creating relationships there is not. However the latter has a greater impact on the crimes that matter most to the community. And yes I realize that it would cost more and likely take more police to restart these types of patrols.

~Matt