Rock knocker
Veteran Member
Right.
There was rampant graft at all levels of all police departments through the seventies, when the primary standard was "white".
Illinois cop that committed suicide...
- Thread starter 300UGUY
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Right.
There was rampant graft at all levels of all police departments through the seventies, when the primary standard was "white".
Looking4new
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And not a job I would want.
/pine
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In America today you can't get a job without being subjected to substance screening and lie detection or voice stress analysis tests...(but you can get free food and cell phones without any such measures).
Most vetting processes for LEOs is the same as above in most places...yet in all walks...both in the public and private sectors cronyism and nepotism are common...
...As previously stated...as long as the human race is involved there will always be opportunists who take advantage and abuse liberties and power...(and much worse).
IMO America is quickly becoming no better than some of the third world countries around the globe that came up (making fun of) in editorial cartoons I grew up seeing...
Kenneth in Texas
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Sure they did, usually they in many instances cover up things for each other.
OP
300UGUY
Super Member
bumperm
Veteran Member
Maybe not.
It is true that many officers will use "discretion" when pulling over a fellow officer for speeding etc. This would be the same sort of discretion that I used many times when on motorcycles to give someone a warning instead of a ticket. In fact, there was pressure to write tags, not a quota per se, but there was an understanding that you should average a certain number of tickets. So even though I enjoyed riding, I asked to get off motors. I felt badly giving some people tickets when I would have preferred to give them a warning - you can tell when a warning is all that's needed to do the job, and when a ticket is the better option.
Back to dealing with other cops. Sure there's camaraderie, team spirit, sometimes a subdued "us against them" mentality, thin blue line, always help another cop in need, it is a brotherhood. BUT, and this is important, you don't turn your back on criminal activity, ever. And you don't cut a drunk cop loose to drive home, and you do contact your Sargent or his if he's on a different department. You can't condone a DUI cop hurting or killing someone - no way would I let them drive off.
How would you eliminate "professional courtesy" between one cop and another? I don't think it could easily be done, frankly. Just as two friends on an assembly line would treat and great each other, there is a defference that comes with the territory. It's a tough job, I lost friends, one a rookie who I'd cut loose a year and a half before (I was a training officer), there's a very natural tendency to stick together. When I left the department to devote all my time to a company I founded, what I missed most was the camaraderie. My wife didn't at all miss worrying about me every time I drove off to work.
oldnslo
Super Member
A couple of years ago in Dixon, Illinois, another small town, there was a person caught that had embezzeled an estimated $52 million over 20 some odd years. She was caught because they brought in a temp worker who noticed some odd entries in the books.
KennyG
Elite Member
You are going to find a number of dishonest/incompetent police officers out there simply because there are so many and police organizations tend to protect their own. We now have about 1 million police officers in the US and every time one of them screws up, it's all over the news. 99% are probably excellent but it's a tough time to be a cop.
bumperm
Veteran Member
When I joined OPD, it was considered a very good PD, excellent academy that other PD's sent their hires to. In the 10 years I was a LEO, I never once was offered a bribe, nor did I see any political BS at the street level, nor hear of organized corruption anywhere. Before I left, though, there was a cop arrested for burglarizing houses under construction (stealing kitchen cabinets out of a garage) and the aforementioned Porsche car theft ring.
A few years after I got on in '71, being white was almost an impediment to being hired. They change hiring standards from the written being weighted 60%, to the oral being weighted 60% in an effort to get the PD racial balance to more closely reflect that of the community. They dramatically increased minority hiring, I had white friends who I though well qualified that didn't stand a chance. I will say that most of the minority hires worked out well, made good cops. Unfortunately more than a few did not. Didn't much keep track what happened after the 70's.
bumperm
Veteran Member
That's true. I think it goes hand in hand with the breakdown in the strength of the family. There has been a huge decline in respect for authority. Too, this may exacerbated by all the corruption we hear about so often in our government . . . this breeds distrust and contempt for authority at all levels, I guess.
Step grandson just got on Fairfield, CA PD. Just an excellent kid in all respects (even if he's not a blood relative . . . I wish that he were!). I worry about him too. With the kind of crap we have going on, walk up and assassinate type shootings and all, even if you are careful there are significant risks.
I'm a Vietnam vet (USN 63 - 70), on Veterans Day I reflect on the good military people I've known, those who gave their lives for us, and those who serve now. We need Law Enforcement Officer Day too.
