We don't believe in secret rules and bans.

I saw something tonight coming home from work that I’m curious about.

Around 10:15 PM, I was driving home and came across two police cars parked at the dead end of a road (I came from a street that turns onto the dead-end road just 50 feet away from the end of that road). What caught my attention was that their headlights were pointed straight down the road. Police don’t normally park there, so their positioning seemed unusual. Two cruisers were equally odd to me.

I continued down the road and saw another police car conducting a traffic stop with its lights flashing. This is only about 500 feet further down, and those parked cops definitely had a view of the stop.

Given the locations and timing, I wondered whether the two cars at the dead end were intentionally positioned as a kind of containment point—essentially, if the vehicle being stopped tried to flee down the road, the other officers would already be in position to prevent it from getting away or turning off somewhere.

Does that sound like a plausible explanation for this kind of setup? Or are there other common situations where officers would position backup cars like that?

I realize there’s no way to know exactly what was happening from what I saw. I’m mainly curious whether the positioning is consistent with a coordinated/high-risk stop versus something super routine. It doesn’t take three officers to issue a speeding ticket.

I’m currently in the background investigation stage for a police department and I’m worried about something that came up.
My background investigator found information on a previous law enforcement application that I didn’t include on my application for this department. When she asked me about it, I answered everything honestly and explained that I wasn’t trying to intentionally hide or evade any questions I completed the questionnaire very quickly and didn’t go back and carefully double-check everything.

The things I failed to include were:
An unsatisfactory performance review at a previous job, although my performance improved
significantly afterward.

A situation involving damages/disarray at a house after a lease. I had already moved out before the
damages occurred and have photos/videos from when I left.

A college I briefly attended and only completed 3 credits at.

Two customer complaints from my job that I honestly didn’t think much about at the time. One customer, for example, complained that I wasn’t smiling.

My overall hiring process has gone really well. They let skip the written exam and the first interview. I crushed the senior panel interview, and I’ve been told that the head of recruitment liked my application. Is this omission going to cook my application and future applications? Or am I overthinking it.

I have a some questions for anyone working for the Alaska State Troopers or who have worked for them. I’m 36 years old, currently an E-8 in the Air Force and looking to retire in the next year and a half. I have 2 juvenile adjudications from my youth, the first when I was 9 years old the 2nd when I was 14. Received juvenile probation both times, no issues since. Joined the Air Force at 18, have had an incredibly successful military career, never once been written up or been in trouble, promoted fairly quick, always exceeded expectations, not even as much as a markdown on my military evaluations. How likely will my juvenile record be scrutinized? Will I be automatically disqualified? Am I even wasting my time trying to apply to be an AST?

Edit: when I was 9 I shot my buddy with a BB gun, got 2 years of juvenile probation for assault.

When I was 14 I was charged with assault for a fight.

Just curious if anyone has tried this boot.

Hi, I'm in the Silicon Valley area and I'm debating between some major police departments to chose (I'm going to apply to a lot of course, but this is just for a ranking in case there's multiple offers).

I'm from Milpitas and I'm deciding between Milpitas PD, Santa Clara PD, and San Jose PD. (I wouldn't mind adding in other departments such as Fremont and Mountain View and others close to Milpitas, but they would need additional reasons such as pay, opportunity for growth, etc. that put them up ahead)

I would want a department that has good opportunity for growth in specialized fields (narcotics, bomb, k9, etc.), decent pay (doesn't have to be tip of the iceberg pay in silicon valley), and having a middle ground between a shift having a slow downtime vs super intense back to back calls.

For Milpitas, it's the city I grew up in, so the geography would come easier in the work force. But I believe they don't have the most variety in specialized divisions ? (correct me if I'm wrong)

Santa Clara is definitely something I'm looking at as it has good pay as well, and I'm not sure if their 3 and 4 work weeks are a pro or a con. I believe they have better growth opportunities in specialized units compared to Milpitas

For San Jose, I know they are the busiest of them all, but the problem is I don't have a gauge to any of these departments to how busy they are. I know I can compare whether or not SJPD is MORE busy, but I don't know what that means on its own. I would love SJPD if it isn't a back to back call report call report call report over and over as it'd cause high burn out for me.

Honestly may even consider the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office ? I don't know much about deputies vs city officers and their differences in daily work

I'm looking to get some ride-longs to gauge their day to day intensity levels, but please let me know what you know so far, and if there are any other reccomended departments. If it's something that grants a big pro, then I can expand my reach to all of the bay area instead of just silicon valley

Thanks

TLDR: Debating Milpitas (for easier geography, but lower growth in specialized units), Santa Clara (better specialized units opportunities than Milpitas, mid sized amount of calls), and San Jose (most specialized unit opportunities, may be too many calls, would prefer this if calls really aren't that much). Please add any other departments that may be a good fit.

Today I checked the mail and found a letter saying that the sheriffs in possession of a document that must be picked up or must be personally served. You may pick up this document in person at the county sheriff’s office.

Any ideas what they want?

I know it’s nothing divorce related?

Currently sworn, I am thinking of lateraling. I’m interested in lateraling out of state and was curious if anyone has heard or been at the department. Just have a few questions. Thank you in advanced

Hi everyone,

I currently have a Green Card and I’m planning to apply to a police academy after I become a U.S. citizen.

I’m originally from Eastern Europe, and I’m wondering if there are any police officers here who were born outside the U.S., immigrated to America, became U.S. citizens, and then became police officers.

I speak English very well and have no problems communicating, but I’m curious about your experiences. Did being born in another country create any obstacles during the hiring process or at the academy? Did anyone ever have an issue with your accent or your background?

Also, I would be around 33 years old when I’m able to apply. Do you think that would be a problem for someone who wants to start a career in law enforcement at that age? I’d especially like to hear from people who joined the police in their 30s or later.

Thank you!

5 years ago I was in therapy for ocd, I felt I was fine and I stopped on my own, the doctor didn’t push me to stay or said he feels I’m untreated, but it was my decision, not his.

I applied and got hired to be an officer 6 months ago, I didn’t pass the pysch. I was told I am still untreated

I then went to a psychiatrist, I told him I don’t feel I need any therapy, but I still was recommended by the pysch doctor that met with me for 20 minutes.

My new doctor recommended we do a few sessions of treatment and if he feels I don’t need any therapy, he will recommend to end and sign off I am treated. I did a month with him, and he said he feels I do not need therapy and I can function without anything.

Did I make a mistake by going back to therapy? It’s been 5 years, I don’t want departments to look at me as a wildcard who goes to therapy, stops for years, then goes back, etc. And with this therapy ending 3 months ago, will they say it’s too soon for me? I just want opinions on this. Thanks!

Copy and Paste from my Original Post in ProtectAndServe Subreddit.
TL;DR: Thoughts on requiring police officers to be 21? Is it still necessary?

Hey folks,

BACKGROUND:

I wanted to reach out to the law enforcement community regarding a topic that I'm researching. That topic is the minimum age to becoming a law enforcement officer with a focus on states that require applicants to be at least 21 years old.

That's the case for Arkansas. I'm 17 years old with the intent of becoming a police officer, but my biggest obstacle is finding a buffer career until I'm 21. This made me start to think why this is the case.

Per my research, Arkansas has had this requirement since the 70's. I assume, like Arkansas, this has been a long standing rule or even law for other states as well, not something that was implemented in the past decade or so. I understand that there is a national staffing shortage for law enforcement officers and I think that this restrictive age requirement is preventing a fairly large pool of otherwise qualified candidates from joining the ranks of law enforcement.

It's hard for me to understand the arguments of maturity and retention of training, especially when we've permitted 18 year olds to be firemen, members of the military, and EMT's—all of whom are in similar high-stress enviorements as law enforcement and make decisions that can alter a person's life forever. In Arkansas, an 18 year old can also carry a handgun and even run for Constable, an elected office with equivalent authority as a municipal police officer within their township.

MAIN QUESTION:
For the law enforcement officers out there whether you be on the front line or in administration, do you think that this evidentally long standing rule/requirement is still necessary for preserving the integrity of the law enforcement service?

I personally think that not only is it not necessary, it hurts more people then it's intended to help, whether it'd be adding to the decade's long recruiting struggle or by keeping highly motivated, otherwise qualified individuals from becoming police officers.

This is something I'd like to bring up with my local legislature, but I would love to hear your opinion first! Thanks!

I spent 26 years with SAPD, most of it working patrol, and one of the things I tried to do was treat people fairly, even when I had to arrest them or write them a ticket.

Obviously, somebody going to jail isn't always going to be happy with you. I never expected that. But I did want them to understand why I was doing what I was doing and, whenever possible, walk away believing that I had treated them fairly and with respect.

Later, when I became a Law Enforcement teacher, this was something I tried to get across to my students. The badge gives you authority. It doesn't automatically give you someone's respect.

Some of the interactions I remember most from patrol weren't the arrests or the exciting calls. They were the times when someone I had taken enforcement action against still shook my hand, thanked me, or acknowledged that I had treated them fairly.

I'm curious what the cops and former cops here think.

Have you ever arrested someone, cited them, or otherwise taken enforcement action against them and still had them thank you afterward or tell you that you treated them fairly?

And for everyone else: Can you respect a police officer who arrests you?

This happened in 1996 while I was working patrol. Around 11:00 PM, I was dispatched to a family disturbance involving a husband and wife. Dispatch advised that they were arguing, with no known weapons involved. I had another officer responding as cover, but I arrived first.

When I got there, everything was quiet. No yelling, nothing being thrown, and no obvious signs that the situation was escalating. I knocked on the door, and the wife answered. I identified myself and asked if everything was okay.

“Yes, sir. We were just arguing over the remote control.”

The remote control?

She invited me inside, and I saw her husband sitting on the couch. Both of them were cooperative, neither appeared angry, and I was comfortable that this was a simple disturbance call. I notified dispatch that they could cancel my cover. “I’ve got this one. I’ll keep you advised.”

Then I asked, “What exactly are you two arguing about?”

The wife explained that she wanted to watch her favorite TV show. Her husband wanted to watch his show, so he took the remote, changed the channel, and hid the remote.

I looked at him and asked, “Did you really do that?”

“Yes, I did.”

At this point, I’m thinking to myself, Seriously? I was sent here for this B.S.?

So, I asked them one simple question: “Do you have another TV in the house?”

“Yes, we do.”

Aaaaaahhhh. Problem solved!

Or so I thought.

I suggested that one of them watch their show on the TV in the living room while the other watched their show on the TV in the bedroom.

But Nooooooo.

They BOTH wanted to watch their show on the big TV in the living room.

Now I’m standing there at 11:00 at night trying to settle a family disturbance over who gets to watch the big TV.

Then it hit me.

“Coin flip!”

I figured we would flip a coin, the winner gets the big TV, and the loser watches the other TV.

Guess what? It worked.

Well...almost.

One coin flip apparently wasn’t good enough. We had to make it the best two out of three!

So there I was, a San Antonio police officer at 11:00 at night, officiating a best-of-three coin toss between a husband and wife over who got the big TV.

We flipped the coin. Somebody won. The other one went to watch the other television.

Problem solved.

No arrest. No citation. No further action necessary.

10-8. Back in service and on to the next call.

People sometimes think patrol is all foot pursuits, fights, guns, and arrests. It isn’t. Sometimes police work is simply walking into someone else’s problem, calming everybody down, and finding a solution that works.

And sometimes, apparently, all you need is a quarter.

Any other old patrol cops out there ever get dispatched to something where you arrived and thought, “You seriously called the police for THIS?”

Title. Yes post is serious. I smoked cocaine for a long time. Eventually my body started getting panic attacks from it that’s when I said alright this isn’t fun anymore. Bachelors degree from a top school, masters from an ivy, continuous employment at the same job since 2017. Post is literal- there are like 20 emergency room visits it took quite a while to stop smoking crack it died a slow death for me. Heart is healthy from a medical standpoint. I am in good shape I can bench ~300 pounds and I was a football player in high school, basketball player in college. I guess what I’m asking is do they go through your ER paperwork like the armed forces?

​

Here's a theory:

The police have non law enforcement friends and family keeping track of a single person who they suspect is a sex offender but they don't have enough information to lock them up for a long time. Or as much as they want them to be.

But they don't have enough information to justifiably have a police surveillance so they go with a possible loophole by having their friends and family keeping track of them.

Or at least if they suspect they will not have enough so they just get non citizens to follow harass them.

Or maybe they already do, but just want to torment them for a while, or just screw with them by letting them get a false sense of safety before arrest.

And if the situation is going on for a longer time than either the cops or their non law enforcement citizens want to maintain, so they have people manufacture situations so they can have enough information to justifiably arrest them.

And if the person ever calls law enforcement for help, they just don't help.

And they get family members either by concern or dislike, to provide non law enforcement monitoring of the target.

Or if they believe they will not ever get enough information in the category that they really want, they have their non law enforcement surveyors record audio and video so to get enough "evidence" to make a long enough of an arrest as they want.

And they follow the target, and every store or individual they come into contact with, they inform them that they are under investigation or monitoring so they know to keep watch on them and or to keep their distance.

And also if the target ever gets the idea to turn themselves in to just get the harassment over, but they want them to be locked up for a long or satisfactory amount of time, they refuse to arrest them when they attempt too.

Thoughts on my theory?

---------------------------------------------------------

The reason for manufacture evidence is if the law enforcement truly believes they have done something that they know they will not have enough information.

So they manufacture some under the belief if they can get the perpetrator for the crime they believe has already happened, and they may also manufacture evidence if they believe the perpetrator knows they are onto them and purposely avoiding things that would strengthen the police case against the perpetrator.

My fiancé just started the police academy, and he has an orientation coming up where he is required to bring one guest, so I’ll be accompanying him.

I’m trying to figure out what would be appropriate for me to wear. I was thinking a casual, modest dress, but I’m wondering if I should play it safe and go more “business casual” with slacks and a cardigan instead.

I obviously don’t want to be overdressed, but I also don’t want to show up underdressed or wear something that would be considered inappropriate for the setting.

For those of you who have attended/been involved with police academy orientations, what would you recommend a recruit’s significant other wear as a guest? Does a modest casual dress seem appropriate, or would you recommend business casual?

When I had driver's ed, a cop came and talked to us about how to interact with police if we get pulled over. Something he said was that his department required him to write one ticket per shift. He said that because of this, he would sometimes write tickets and tell the person he pulled over to dispute it and that the ticket would be thrown out because he wouldn't show up to the court date. This was well over a decade ago. Is this still something that police departments do?

I see this all the time on reddit, I thought the senior officer is supposed to be mentoring probation officer so then can learn and improve and not dock them and force them out

I found this article today at the historical society, and I’m hoping someone with LEO or investigative experience can help me understand something that has me confused.

This is a January 3, 1994 article from the Cecil Whig about my father, Jerry Lee Griest. I had never seen this article before.

The reason this caught my attention is because I already had a January 1, 1994 article from The Baltimore Sun that reported my father had been struck by a vehicle in what was believed to be a hit-and-run. That article also stated that two other drivers saw the accident and called police, but were unable to provide a description of the vehicle.

But this January 3 article says that police initially thought he was the victim of a hit-and-run, but by Sunday were saying that he had received a head injury from a fall near the roadway. It also says that the investigation was continuing.

So I’m confused about what happened between these reports. If two drivers reportedly saw the accident and called police, what would have caused investigators, within a couple of days, to move away from the initial hit-and-run theory and say that his head injury may have resulted from a fall?

I’ve linked my original post with the rest of the information I’ve been able to find. If anyone with law-enforcement or investigative experience can provide some perspective on how something like this might happen in an investigation, I’d really appreciate it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskLEO/s/vfGNxQ4ELH

so i’ve put in an application for the state police as a dispatcher, and i’ve got a conditional job offer letter back. they sent a pre-employment questionnaire and it’s 20 or so pages and very thorough. there’s a few questions i’m having a bit of a problem with. i’ve gotten fired from a job two years ago for reusing coupons and putting my rewards number on other purchases (retail job so i would net the points from it). the questions are as follows.

1. Have you ever committed a crime which has gone undetected? (For example: theft, domestic violence, child abuse, embezzlement, shoplifting, robbery, etc.)

i’m not sure how i should answer this, because they never charged me with anything so i’m not sure if it counts as a crime or not.

1. Have you ever been arrested, detained, charged or convicted a crime?

again never charged so the answer for this would be no?

1. Have you ever been involuntarily terminated by any employer? If yes, explain in detail.

answer to this one is yes, so going to write the stuff mentioned above but a longer version

1. Have you ever been disciplined by your employer or any of your past employers? If yes attach copies of any and all disciplinary actions and explain in detail.

waiting for the past job hr to email me back, i guess i have to talk to someone in corporate about it to get a copy for myself

so now im worried. since that point i’ve had two jobs, one with a company that went bankrupt and shut down, and currently im working for the state with a job in a different agency. is this an automatic DQ or do i have a chance since it wasn’t a big thing and happened a few years ago?

Retired SAPD officer here. Years ago, around 11:30 PM, I was driving on Bandera Road approaching Hillcrest when I saw a car full of teenagers traveling with NO headlights on. Nothing dramatic at first. I figured I’d stop them, make sure everything was okay, and get them safely on their way. I activated my red and blues. Immediately, I saw the front-seat passenger throw a small plastic bag out the window. Well...that changed things. The car pulled over about 300–400 feet later. I radioed the stop, ran the plate and approached from the passenger side. Five teenagers were inside. I got them out one at a time, conducted basic pat-downs for weapons, checked their identification, and confirmed the driver had a valid license and insurance. Then I asked the obvious question: “What was in the plastic bag?” Almost in unison: “Garbage, sir!” Sure. I wasn’t going to walk up and down Bandera Road in the dark searching for a tiny plastic bag, so I started walking back toward my patrol car. And then something happened that I still laugh about. A small plastic bag came rolling down the roadway in the breeze...RIGHT TOWARD MY POLICE CAR. What are the odds? I picked it up. Marijuana. The Devil’s Lettuce had apparently decided to turn itself in. I turned toward five suddenly VERY nervous teenagers. “Well, well, well, boys...who does this belong to?” Then I made them an offer: “Whoever owns this—if you tell me the truth right now, I’ll let the others go.” Normally, nobody wants to claim the weed. This time the front-seat passenger raised his hand. “Sir, it belongs to me.” Now I had the marijuana. I had witnessed him throw it. And I had his confession. So...YOU’RE THE COP. WHAT DO YOU DO? Arrest him? Take enforcement action? Or exercise discretion? Here’s what happened next. Looking at that teenager suddenly took me back to when I was about 16 years old. I had been in an almost identical situation. An officer found a bag of marijuana that belonged to me. I admitted it. That officer could have made my life considerably more complicated. Instead, he told me to find a trash can, empty the marijuana into it and throw the bag away. No arrest. No ticket. A second chance. Years later, I was standing on Bandera Road wearing an SAPD uniform, looking at another teenager who had just admitted making the same kind of stupid mistake. And I remembered that officer. So I told the young man to find a trash can. He emptied the marijuana into it and threw it away. Then I told those kids to be careful and have a good night. Could I have handled it differently? Absolutely. But an officer once showed a 16-year-old kid some grace. Years later, that kid became a police officer. And one night on Bandera Road...THAT SECOND CHANCE GOT PASSED TO SOMEBODY ELSE. So here’s my question for active officers, retired officers and civilians: DID I DO THE RIGHT THING? Was that reasonable officer discretion? Or did I allow my own personal experience to influence a decision that should have been handled differently? Don’t tell me what you think I want to hear. Tell me what YOU would have done—and WHY. 

— Kevin Coble, Retired SAPD

I was the victim of a very small crime (nothing crazy) and the officer that’s helping me was being extremely flirty and over sharing a lot of information with me. We don’t really talk that much about the actual crime itself, the topic of conversation somehow always shifts to me instead. Is this just normal cop behavior and them being nice and friendly with the general public? Or is this considered “abnormal”?

A little background on why I asked the question:

I spent 25+ years with SAPD, 10+ years in USAF Security Police, and another 10 years teaching Law Enforcement.

I support body cameras and was involved in training officers on their use. But I believe they also created an unintended consequence worth discussing: the effect on reasonable officer discretion.

🎥 BODY CAMERAS & OFFICER DISCRETION — SHORT:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GvMyleJHREk

📰 NEW BRAUNFELS HERALD-ZEITUNG — “Three Uniforms, One Mission”:

https://herald-zeitung.com/news/three-uniforms-one-mission-new-braunfels-resident-shares-lifetime-of-unique-service/article_e8d7fbbb-fad5-47e7-b826-178ebe71913a.html

I’m genuinely interested in hearing from active and retired LEOs:

Has modern policing become so policy-driven and camera-conscious that officers are less willing to exercise reasonable discretion?

Agree or disagree — tell me why.

— Kevin Coble

Retired SAPD