RateMyCop.com

In our society today the media bombards us with a constant stream of attacks on the police. Sometimes these attacks are warranted. There are times when those the public has entrusted with the privilege of enforcing the law step over the line. However, I have found this is by far the exception and not the majority.
I work with a group of honorable men and women who take pride and integrity in doing their profession. We are scrutinized over and over by the public and by our own rules and regulations. There is oversight by departments of professional standards or internal affairs departments who investigate citizen complaints.
Some talk about a thin blue line. This is when officers reportedly look out for other officers and would not “tell” or “report” another officer for doing wrong. Some of the complaints investigated by internal affairs come internally from other employees. This only shows the overall desire from within to keep our profession clean and reputable.

Recently on the internet a website was started for the public to chime in on their opinion of officers. The website, RateMyCop.com, used public records requests to a growing number of police and sheriff departments to gather the names of all their employees. This site will let you post your dealings with an officer and rate their performance, attitude and ability to perform their job.
There are a lot of officers out there who are upset over this type of site. It does not bother me for someone to be able to post their opinion. The website goes to great length to protect the personal information of the officer. Any information they publish is a matter of public record. They ensure there is no spam and a user is limited in the number of times they can rate a cop. I am sure if you check, there are officers listed from a city or town near you.

In the end consider some of the following.... don’t be upset because the officer didn’t perform to your liking. If they were professional and respectful then it is acceptable. Remember, officers are people just like you and can have both good days and bad. There are ways to report officer’s behavior. This website will let you speak your mind, but nothing happens to the officer from your post. For any disciplinary action to be taken you need to report it to their agency.

Police Confidential Informants... good or bad?

Police departments all across the country are being attacked by groups who believe the war on drugs should stop. They are criticizing the way undercover detectives use “confidential informants” to apprehend people who sell and buy drugs. They do not believe police should use informants to do this. There recently was an informant murdered when she did not follow instructions in Tallahassee Fl during a drug bust. I learned about this on Good Morning America. (The video is posted on my blog) Here is a link: http://policefaq.blogspot.com/2008/07/blog-post.html
They are talking about how the girl should have been trained and Brian Ross (ABC investigative reporter for 20/20) is arguing with the chief of police. If she was trained she would not be an informant but a police officer, duh….
The drug world is tricky. It is surrounded with money, distrust, guns and violence. Those who are in this world are cautious (paranoid) of being caught and going to jail. This caution leads to difficulty for police to infiltrate the “trusted” circles. Here is where police informants come in. They are in these circles and able to go and do things police detectives cannot. The informant becomes an invaluable tool. Most are working off their own charges and benefit from aiding police. (Even more than the police benefit… I mean, the police aren’t going to jail at the end of the day but the informant might)
There are some who believe all drugs should be made legal. Some police even believe this. Remember this though; police officers have sworn to uphold the constitution of the United States and the laws of their state, county or city. As long as drugs are against the law the police are going to wage the war on drugs. This war is not fair and sometimes people get hurt. They can suffer from addiction, loss of family/friends, loss of freedom or tragically their life.

Bad Drivers....Everywhere!

I recently was promoted to Detective. After about 12 years on patrol and training new officers I am now riding a desk. There are a lot of changes coming with this promotion. For one, I lost my marked patrol car. You would be surprised how attached I became to my marked car. If you didn’t know a “marked” patrol car is one you picture in your mind when you think “police car”. It has the letters along the side, usually all white with stencils and decals and the red/blue lights on top.
Driving a marked car for so many years had it benefits. You get used to seeing people spot you and putting on their seatbelts, moving out of your way for you to pass and this is one of my favorites....“slamming” on their brakes when you come around the corner.
There was another benefit to having the marked car at my house when I was off duty. No one in the neighborhood would think of messing with my house. Kids would walk on the other side of the street to avoid getting near my yard. Now that the marked car is gone….things are starting to change.
No longer do people move over to get out of my way, no longer do they put on their seatbelts when they spot me and now it seems as though people break traffic laws at an alarming rate. I am genuinely startled at how people drive around without a police car in sight.
Please take care to look out for the unmarked police cars. Pay attention to your driving habits. (Even when there are no police in sight)

Good Morning America

Tallahassee Police 7-25-08