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.