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Now ye're talking - to a US police officer

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Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 1,681 ✭✭✭Standman


    Do you find that people you meet in your personal life get a bit more uptight when they find out you're a cop? Anyone in your life that suspiciously went AWOL when you became one?


  • Registered Users Posts: 8,446 ✭✭✭Corvo Attano


    You said earlier that you dont think youd be able to work in AGS because of attitudes and behavious that have been trained into you, and a different way of dealing with things due to the presence of factors like guns.

    Do you think a member of AGS that has been in the force for a significant amount of time would be able to adapt to the American way of policing or would it be too different going the other way too?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3 Boards.ie: Greg


    Late to the Party, sorry if this has been asked?

    You ever worked a "big case" and caught the perp?

    any cool details about it? i.e stakeouts, under cover stuff, surveillance




  • Have you dealt with a criminal where they were released due to lack of hard evidence. Explain a sample one from more than 20 years ago so that shouldn't upset current affairs.


  • Registered Users Posts: 682 ✭✭✭small town girl


    Really interesting topic, thanks so much for your considered replies and (it would appear) fairly balanced perspective.

    From the outset of the forum, there have been recurring questions about racism and violence/killings by officers. Are you surprised that this is a trending perspective on an Irish site? Is it similar/better/worse than attitudes in the US?

    I cringe at the 'thank you for your service' line, but I very much respect public service and people who put their lives on the line - so, wishing you a very happy and healthy retirement.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 353 ✭✭Moghead


    Thanks for the AMA, very interesting. I have a few questions if you don't mind.

    You said that the sheriff in your area is an elected official with zero law enforcement experience. Would she have a team of experienced advisors helping her to make decisions? Would she be on big money? Is she just a politician looking to climb the career ladder? If she isn't up to the job can she be fired? I think it's terrible that someone with zero qualifications in your field can end up running the PD in your area. You could theoretically end up with a random moron or head-the-ball running the department and spending the budget.


  • Registered Users Posts: 711 ✭✭✭Dual wheels


    Do you watch blue bloods and if so how accurate is it? There seems to be an awful lot of coincidences to me


  • Company Representative Posts: 189 Verified rep I'm a US police officer, AMA


    I’ll do my best, I’m answering from personal observation and professional readings but I’m not a social scientist, so take it for what it’s worth.
    It’s a complicated subject, which like any other knotty social problem does not lend to a simple fix. Race and policing is inherently associated with the history of race and civil rights in the US. It’s only as recent as the 1960‘s when the police were used to oppress minorities, that will take generations alone to unravel.

    Does US LE have a race problem, in some instances yes, and in some no. Given the size of the country, the population and blistering variety of agencies, it will vary. I’m fortunate to work for a mid-sized reasonably progressive agency, I’m lucky and it suits my personality. Some places ARE worse than others and it’s a scale, from mild to wretched. As a general stroke, I don’t think you’d see a lot of overt racism, no chief is going to say “lets get out there and crack some minority skulls”. It’s more insidious. I have some limited exposure to other agencies from schools & conferences. What bothers me are the comments like “well, if you work XXX beat in my town, you know what “they” are like” or “well a lot of XXX live in this part of town, so you have to approach things differently here”. It’s frustrating in the 21st century to hear this, we can, as a profession, do better.

    Police chiefs are under enormous pressure to “do more about crime” (just like the Gardai) and never-ending budget pressures. This leads to a focus on stats and results, arrests, tickets, road deaths, clearance rates, etc. In effect, the mayor has put the chief on a quota for want of a better way of saying it. We measure the crime rate by reported crimes and compare it to last year. We don’t adjust for the economy, shifts in population, changes in ethnic make up of the jurisdiction, etc. Its conflating measures of performance for measures of effectiveness. But then, how do you measure an effective police force? Public sentiment, surveys? so it gets murky. The chief is under pressure to get results, it trickles down to the man & woman on the beat. If a minority, due to all the social issues I mentioned above, is disproportionally affected by high crime, there is more police attention, more arrests and more opportunity (sadly) for a fatal encounter at worst or prison at best. You see where this can go wrong. Getting “collars” or clearing cases leads to shoddy work and a willingness to get results at all costs by turning a blind eye to oppressive policing and excessive force.

    I mentioned earlier the closed nature of policing, the blue wall of silence. It can be powerful. As humans we tend to want to conform and policing reinforces that. We wear a uniform, have grooming, standards, our own vernacular, codes and traditions and it’s a subculture hidden from the outside. This led to a culture of no desire outside scrutiny or accountability. If someone got a few digs, well they probably deserved it anyhow, the “if they weren’t guilty, why did they run” mentality. Lack of any real accountability or oversight fosters this mentality.

    By virtue of the unique status of the police, the courts and juries have tended to be very lenient when it comes to holding officers accountable, even in cases which from what is available in the public domain seem to be clearly an overuse of force. Look at the Freddie Grey case in Baltimore, most of the officers were acquitted. (NOTE: I’m always cautious about making this statement, I wasn’t in the trial and haven’t seen the actual evidence, and as I mention about the videos earlier, it’s not always as cut and dried as we might think). I’m using it as an illustration only.

    So why so many fatal minority encounters? All of the above is a powerful recipe for disaster. I’ve not even remotely scratched the surface on this complex, multi-layered issue, but the above is my best short on a short forum like this.


  • Company Representative Posts: 189 Verified rep I'm a US police officer, AMA


    What can we do as a profession about this?

    Another question which doesn’t lend itself to a simple answer, remember “culture eats strategy for breakfast”. Writing a policy or requiring more sensitive training is not going to quickly change people’s way of thinking.
    If I could make changes (some of which are unrealistic due to US laws, etc., but bear with me)

    Size of departments: Change this construct of “everyone needs a police department” and consolidate into larger agencies. This allows more oversight, uniform hiring, training & professional standards. A larger agency can provide a more coherent career path and get rid of some of the petty fiefdoms. They’ll pay more therefore attract a better type of officer. Our hiring standards could focus more on education at the university level, policing is ever more complex, we need people who have advanced critical thinking skills.

    Executive leadership: Offer more training & education for chiefs. At this level, these people should have graduate degrees in the social sciences, public policy, management, etc. Help them help themselves and their mayors, etc. At a point above lieutenant, there should be a strong focus on education, mentorship & leadership. When you hit that point in the organization, your experience 15 years ago on patrol is not as important as understanding complex problems, budgets, management & leadership. Allow more lateral movement between agencies. Right now, we’re all stuck in our stovepipes and career plans, pensions, benefits are almost never interchangeable between departments. Staying in your one place can encourage groupthink and the “this is the way we’ve always done it in XXX PD”. The UK is a good model where officers can move between forces without having to start at the bottom again, broadens the experience base and promoted more lateral thinking.

    We have to have more outside accountability. This starts with the body cams, car cams & better civilian oversight. I like the idea of a chief being accountable to a forum of community leaders, not just the mayor & council. This group could include civil rights leaders, community leaders, etc. Stop investigating our own, we seem to have proven to willing to hide wrong or overlook bad cops. State could investigate the locals or city A investigates city B; you get the point. As a profession, and this will be the hard part, we have to own the fact we need to do better and admit we have problems to one degree or another. We serve the community and protect. Our role should be of that of the sheepdog, herding, watching and occasionally taking on the wolves going after the herd. We’re not warriors or defenders…those are soldiers, we’re cops. Bad behavior should be rooted out and not tolerated. Whistleblowers should be rewarded & defended as good, honest people who exposed crime or corruption, not vilified for breaking the code of silence. Our training on use of force needs so much more emphasis on interpersonal skills, communication, de-escalation, risk management, etc. We get very little of this, it’s more OJT with little structure or substance. More community engagement, our community leaders & activists need to be riding along with us, getting to know us and us them. It would help enormously for them to see what we have to deal with and understand our perspective too.

    If I could make another seismic change, it would be to shift the focus of the criminal justice system from the Victorina era model of punishment as a deterrent. It simply doesn’t work, look at the incarceration rates. If the threat of prison was a deterrent, then there would be no crime. We should focus more on rehab, integration and figuring out what brought the actor to this place. Was its substance abuse, lack of skills & education, whatever. As I said before, I like the Swedish model, not 100%, but better than what we are doing.
    Crime should be looked at as a “whole of government” problem. There is a counter insurer theory where a whole of govt. approach is used to understand and solve an insurgency. It’s been used to varying degrees of effectiveness, but I suggest it could be a model for our police. Our police should d be linked into our social services, education, city services, housing to address issues as a whole, not just through the lens of the police. A beat cop should be quickly able to refer someone to social services for a substance abuse problem and not just arrest them (assuming there is no clearly illegal behavior), we’re not the solution to homelessness or alcoholism.


  • Company Representative Posts: 189 Verified rep I'm a US police officer, AMA


    Is the race card played too much? Are there some who complain more than others, sure.

    Are some minorities quick to draw attention to any form of sanction, yes, but the law is the law and should be enforced equally.

    FWIW, I thought I’d show you a general example of a few shifts’ worth of activity:

    Day 1:
    Straight to help a traffic unit with a RTA, directing traffic, getting two tow trucks sorted, nothing major, more paperwork than anything else.
    On to a burglary of a garage. Take report, tried to get a few fingerprints, pictures, details of tools stolen, owner info.
    Another RTA, this one took a bit longer, car off a small bridge, had to close the road & wait for a bigger two truck. Injury accident, so a trip to the hospital once the cars were towed to determine nature of injuries. All minor injuries, so a less complex report.
    Got an abandoned car towed, it had been flagged up a week ago, it was abandoned on a side street, got caught up on report writing while waiting on tow truck.
    Dispatched to a reported man in the street threating the neighbors with a rifle, legged it all the way over there with a few other units (Priority 1 call of course). Turned out to be two neighbours who argue all the time and neighbor 1 called us as he saw neighbor 2 loading his lawfully owned hunting rifle in the boot of his car. Another officer had to deal with that report 😊 No arrests or anything, just stupidity.
    Off to a report of graffiti on a wall. Needless to say, “artists” gone, but took pictures, short report, ho hum.
    Next a caller complaining about cars racing on his street. Go talk to him, listen, let him say his piece, tell him we’ll keep an eye on it, off we go.
    Domestic disturbance between two teenage brothers, three of us get there, separate the warring parties, sort through all the stories. One arrest (the 17-year-old, he’d lacerated his little brother), paramedics sort that, make the drive to central booking, get the subject all booked in, write report. Go home 2 hours after my shift ended, at least there is a bit of OT for that.

    Day 2
    Quiet start, just patrolling for a bit, checking a few places with a history of burglaries, etc. Talked to a few of the locals who were out & about.
    Off to the school speed zone, wrote a handful of traffic tickets for speeding at the school. Usual complaints about not “fighting real crime”.
    Sent to a shop where the owner was complaining about a man begging on the street. Spent about half an hour trying to get her to understand he’s not breaking the law regardless of the fact she doesn’t like it outside her shop. He was a bit rough looking but, not doing anything illegal. At least it didn’t generate a report.
    Minor traffic accident, usual drill, paperwork & tow trucks, minor injuries.
    Burglary of a tool van, usual drill, fingerprints, photos and report writing.
    Alarm call at a house, front door open, made entry, cleared the house with partner, no evidence of forced entry, homeowner forgot to close front door & it triggered alarm. short report.
    Priority 1 response to a stabbing. Victim still alive, got there after the medics & three other officers, helped secure scene, found a blood trail possibly from assailant. Dogs & Heli responded, searched around but never found assailant. Short report to add to the primary responding officers report. Waited for CID & turned it over to them and the crime scene techs.
    Two more traffic tickets for running stop signs right in front of me, really???? Yes, in front of a marked cop car.
    Flagged down for a reported road rage incident, man threatening a female motorist, she had a number plate number, stopped him a block away. Detained him, another officer got her side of the story, ended up being a “mutual argument” as they knew each other to one extent or another. Couldn’t really link the alleged event to a violation, sent them both on their way. Short report 😊 Got off shift on time though, always a win.
    So, their ya have it, another day of life in the big city……….

    Gang, I'll be off the net for the weekend to spend time with the fam, I'll pick this back up on Monday or Tuesday. I will answer the questions, just a short break, normal service will be resumed shortly. Be safe out there....


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  • Business & Finance Moderators, Entertainment Moderators Posts: 32,387 Mod ✭✭✭✭DeVore


    Eh.. this is what you consider to be normal?? that all sounds exhausting and, if I'm honest, kinda mental :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 11,286 ✭✭✭✭Collie D


    DeVore wrote: »
    Eh.. this is what you consider to be normal?? that all sounds exhausting and, if I'm honest, kinda mental :)

    It’s excellent reading for the likes of us though.

    Enjoy your weekend off, Officer.


  • Company Representative Posts: 189 Verified rep I'm a US police officer, AMA


    Have you ever squatted TJ Hooker style and pointed your fireman at an assailant, double handed and shouted:

    " FREEZE POLICE, DONT MOVE A MUSCLE, PUT YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEAD “?


    No, we are trained to always shout “POLICE” when you draw your weapon as to clearly identify you are a cop. If the subject strops moving then you give instructions. Most cops actually do this very poorly. Five cops with guns drawn shouting at someone is scary & confusing to the subject.

    Is the U.S. justice system much harsher than most European countries or even the Irish? I get that feeling. You guys have mandatory minimum sentencing for some crimes as well as the three strikes law.

    I think it is harsher and unnecessarily so. Three strikes is a stupid idea as per my earlier posts. From the outside, Irish judges do seem to have some weird ideas about this “donation to the poor-box” in lieu of a sentence and I always chuckle when I read reports of how “the defendant showed remorse despite his previous convictions for the same offence”. It kind of reminds me of The Shawshank Redemption, where Morgan Freemans character says “hell, we’re all innocent in here, just ask us”. I don’t recall a defendant who ever wasn’t remorseful.

    I always think of the Norwegian shooter, Brevik. Had he done his deeds in the States, he'd be looking at 77 consecutive life sentences. He's only getting 21 years.

    Yeah, given the crimes he committed, 21 years is a bit lax IMHO, although I thought I read their system does allow for his sentence to be extended through their court system.

    Do you think your system in America is better than the European system or not?

    I’m more a fan of the Scandinavian systems, the results are in the data on recidivism rates.

    Also, a side question, how serious is prescription forgery? I did it a few times by the Gardai here cautioned me. In America though, I heard it's a felony and can land you jail time, even worse than stealing a bag of Doritos.

    It depends on things like the type & amount of the controlled substance (legal speak for drugs) IE: was it one prescription for an antibiotic or was it for three months’ worth of morphine? However, it is generally a felony of one degree or another and felonies come with jail time. There is a lot of focus on opioids here, it’s a huge problem, I wouldn’t even remotely think about it, the courts have been pretty strict about prescription forgery due to the opioid epidemic
    .
    What's your opinion on the Mohamed Noor/Justine Diamond shooting & subsequent sentencing?

    Again, all I know is whats reported, I haven’t seen the evidence. From what I can gather, she surprised the officer and he made a bad decision. We’ll never know what was in his mind. Bear in mind this occurred not too long after the NYPD officer was ambushed & killed (IIRC) and a year after the five Dallas officers were killed in the mass shooting. As cops, we were pretty much on edge in the wake of those shootings. From what I can gather, Diamond walked dup to their cruiser in a dark alley and surprised him, Noor reacted by shooting. He wasn’t convicted of murder; it was some degree of manslaughter (or their state equivalent). All things considered, bearing in mind I only know the reporting, I would submit that was a fair sentence. Now before everyone gets all excited about me saying that and he not getting life, bear in mind, the law splits hairs like nuclear science. To charge someone with murder, there has to be an establishment of “culpable mental state” and “premeditation”. There is also the “totality of the circumstances” and an exhaustive review of the events right up to pulling the trigger. American courts use the “reasonable man/woman on the street” standard when viewing actions. This case would of course consider he’s a trained cop and can be held to a higher standard (like we have higher expectations from a doctor than say a Scout with a first aid badge). So, without knowing more, I think it was a tragedy and seems reasonably like consistent sentencing.

    Does the death penalty and the potential for a criminal to be executed have any bearing on how you would conduct an investigation?

    No, we do our job. It’s not like I’m going to be extra diligent or less diligent because it’s a death penalty case. Our job is to gather evidence, facts and draw reasonable conclusions. It then gets presented to the District Attorney (equivalent to the DPP in Ireland) for trial. The DA will be the one to raise/lower the charges and take it to court and they also deal with plea bargains. It is frustrating for the detectives I know who put a huge effort into a case though and see the DA cop a plea or go for a slam dunk on a lesser charge.

    Do you find that people you meet in your personal life get a bit more uptight when they find out you're a cop? Anyone in your life that suspiciously went AWOL when you became one?


    For the most part not really but I know it does happen. I know some of the younger single lads/lasses in the dating world have met people who are turned off by it. Oddly, it seems that single female cops talk about more single blokes are put off by them being a cop, than the other way around. I guess some mon can’t handle a strong woman with a gun & badge 😊

    You said earlier that you don’t think you’d be able to work in AGS because of attitudes and behaviors that have been trained into you, and a different way of dealing with things due to the presence of factors like guns. Do you think a member of AGS that has been in the force for a significant amount of time would be able to adapt to the American way of policing or would it be too different going the other way too?

    I suppose it comes down to the individual. I mean policing is policing, its more how you go about it. Laws & policies can be learned, so I think it would work. And I’m not saying I couldn’t join AGS (apart from my advancing years 😊 ) When I watch them at work my mind is saying things like “don’t stand in front of doors like that” or “FFS, look at his bloody hands, gain control of him” because of how we work over here. I don’t know aft 20 odd years if I could unwind that.

    You ever worked a "big case" and caught the perp? Any cool details about it? i.e. stakeouts, under cover stuff, surveillance.

    I’ve done the front part of some homicides, initial call, initial report but it all gets handed off to the detectives. I’ve assisted CID in some plain clothes stuff, surveillance type of thing. It’s interesting but tedious, sitting in a van watching a house for hours while keeping quiet & vigilant is strangely underwhelming. Spent a day following a suspect with them once, again interesting and frustrating losing them in traffic while trying not to be spotted. FWIW, it takes about six cars to effectively tail someone so you don’t get made. It was a human trafficking case and these people weren’t stupid. More and more, due to technology, surveillance is done electronically. Easier, cheaper & safer to plant cameras around their house/flat & watch on a laptop.

    You said that the sheriff in your area is an elected official with zero law enforcement experience. Would she have a team of experienced advisors helping her to make decisions? Would she be on big money? Is she just a politician looking to climb the career ladder? If she isn't up to the job can she be fired? I think it's terrible that someone with zero qualifications in your field can end up running the PD in your area. You could theoretically end up with a random moron or head-the-ball running the department and spending the budget.

    Yes, the senior staff remain the same for the most part. Probably like a new minister in the govt. who has senior civil servants to advise him/her. Salaries cay by county, she is on $150K/ year. For comparison, our entry level trainee is on $40K on an incremental scale with steps every two years. Our sheriff ran as on a anti ICE/pro immigrant “I’m not a XXX party” (not naming party to keep this apolitical as best we can) which was long on talk and short on substance, so yes, just like in any democracy, you can indeed have a random “head the ball” running the show. Ladies & gentlemen, I present the Healy-Rae deputies…. you get my point. (not taking a side there either, for illustrative purpose only)

    Do you watch blue bloods and if so, how accurate is it? There seems to be an awful lot of coincidences to me.

    Never really seen it, but it’s TV so….

    Eh. this is what you consider to be normal?? that all sounds exhausting and, if I'm honest, kind of mental.

    TBH, this is routine, nothing special. Not trying to be a martyr for the cause, but this is our job, its what we do, I work in a busy area and we are always short officers. My agency is 30% short of patrol staff right now. My paramedic friends will say the same sort of thing….” only three RTA’s and one heart attack today, it was grand”. Day 3 was quieter, a few alarm calls, one RTA a few traffic stops. It’s who we are and it’s what we do. Last week it rained a lot and all I did all day was go from RTA to RTA. There are random days where you are just patrolling, simple call here & there, those are most enjoyable let me tell ya. I like just cruising the area and chatting to people as best we can.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6 Hardacre


    Very interesting, thank you.


  • Registered Users Posts: 176 ✭✭Larry Bee


    Thanks for taking the time to do this, it's been fascinating. Here's one or two off the top of my head.

    Have you come across any of "The Undocumented" Irish in your professional capacity? If so, what happens?

    How do you break bad news to someone who has lost a loved one? Can you remember the first time? Has it got easier since then?

    Have you ever been involved in a high-speed car chase? If so, what was it like?

    What advice would you have for someone who has been arrested or questioned by a cop? Should you waive your right to silence or answer questions without legal advice?

    Similarly, should people consent to searches when asked? Does it annoy you when people insist on exercising their rights?

    What in your opinion, is the quality of the free legal aid provided?

    What are the dumbest criminals you've come across? After so long serving you must have a few good stories....

    I probably shouldn't ask the same question about the dumbest cops...

    You obviously meet a lot of very stressed out/angry/drunk/mentally unstable/weird people; how do you go about calming people down and defusing a situtation? When yourself and herself don't see eye to eye, what are you like to argue with?

    I know this will vary but how do you make an arrest that's not at the scene of a crime? Do you go to someone's place of employment? If they are working alone in a shop what happens? Their house? If they are looking after kids what happens?

    Does alcohol cause as much problems on America as it does here? The legal age for alcohol in America is 21 and it is much more strictly inforced than here. Does that make much of a difference?

    What's the worst mistake you've made on the job?

    And conversely, what's the best thing you've done? What gives you most satisfaction?

    Would you like to come back to Ireland when you retire?

    Thanks, John


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 9,586 ✭✭✭ Adriana Disgusting Herb


    ^ 'One or two' questions (about x15 lol), regarding the (LarryBee) question about 'alchohol' would there not be a much bigger mind altering issue.
    i.e. That of 'big Pharma' pushing those oxy (OxyContin-odene) painkiller things. Think there is some legal cases pending/on-going about corporate oversupply/pushing.

    Often these openly over-prescribed (11m) powerful oxys get mixed, mashed and resold via street urchins causing huge social problems.
    Then there is blue 'Mexican oxy' entering across the (unsecure) SW border, causing further issues and higher fatalaties. aka the 'fentanyl crisis'.

    What's your view on this 'opiod epidemic', which has actually reduced the live expectancy of the entire country. Simply corporate greed gone wrong? (Nothing learned from the sub-prime housing crash).
    Wonder if any Boris brexit deal should be aware of one the side-effects of pure capatalism when selling off his NHS.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,367 ✭✭✭Deep Thought


    are you going to miss it when you Retire ?

    The narrower a man’s mind, the broader his statements.



  • Company Representative Posts: 189 Verified rep I'm a US police officer, AMA


    Thanks for taking the time to do this, it's been fascinating. Here's one or two off the top of my head.

    Have you come across any of "The Undocumented" Irish in your professional capacity? If so, what happens?


    Never knowingly met an undocumented Irish, but have come across loads of undocumented from the various Southern Americas. Nothing really happens outside of our normal job. Only federal immigration officers can enforce immigration laws, so even knowing they are undocumented, I can’t officially sanction them for that. We can detain someone and request Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), however our agency has a policy of non-cooperation (politics of the immigration debate) with ICE absent a warrant or felony arrest. We don’t check anyone’s immigration status even when making an arrest. When someone is booked in, post arrest, if that comes to light, we are legally bound to report the matter to ICE. If ICE comes & gets them, it’s on them, but if they make bail, our agency won’t detain them for ICE without a warrant as such detentions are legally dodgy. The “ICE raids” that make the news are more theater than substance, with carefully crafted video of agents making arrests. In reality, ICE doesn’t have a lot of manpower to do “mass raids”. Some local agencies will cooperate with them and allow temporary deputization of local officers as ICE agents (say for a weekend) to keep it legal, but it’s hit & miss with that. Different story close to the border where there are a large number of Border Patrol & ICE agents close by, but I’m not near there.

    How do you break bad news to someone who has lost a loved one? Can you remember the first time? Has it got easier since then?

    As officers in our agency, we don’t do notifications, our Victim Services Team (VST) does. VST are civilians, most of whom are trained social workers or counsellors and they handle this sort of thing. Interestingly they are trained to be very clear and use words like "I'm sorry to tell you but, your husband has died as a result of a car accident" or whatever the case may be. It seems callous, however, VST has learned, in times of crisis, to be very clear so people understand their loved one is dead. It seems callous from the outside, but, people will hang onto terms like "he's passed" or "he's move on or gone away". It seemed rude at first, but makes sense when it was explained to me. We have a few of them per shift 24/7 in plain cars who respond to do notifications or assist with either crime victims or their families. I’ve had to help, we’ll send an officer with them if the address or family has a criminal history, it’s not fun and I wouldn’t want their job, but they are a huge asset and keeps us available for other calls.

    Have you ever been involved in a high-speed car chase? If so, what was it like?
    Yeah, done my share of pursuits.


    Honestly, in the middle of it you are just so focused on driving, other cars, keeping up with the suspect, talking on the radio and not getting into a crash I don’t even think about it. Its draining as you really have to be switched on, biggest danger is Joe Public 99% of who are clueless, inept drivers.

    What advice would you have for someone who has been arrested or questioned by a cop? Should you waive your right to silence or answer questions without legal advice?

    Well I never give legal advice as I’m not a lawyer, so I’ll say the following, and I can only speak in general terms for Texas laws. (WHICH MAY NOT BE CONSIDERED LEGAL ADVICE, CONSULT AN ATTORNEY!!!): bear in mind, the law splits hairs like scientists split atoms and specific words have meanings. So, in the US, once you are arrested (as opposed to detained), you have the right of silence and an attorney (made famous in the Miranda case). In any scenario, your best bet is to avail of your rights and consult an attorney who can give you better legal advice. As opposed to the all the movies & TV, 99% of the time we NEVER give the Miranda warning at an arrest and there is no legal requirement to do so. The Miranda warning is only given if I want to question someone post arrest. If I question them without the Miranda warning, then anything they say can’t be used. Most Miranda warnings are given by detectives who bring someone in for questioning. It’s read to the suspect, they read it and the whole interview is recorded. I would never advise anyone to waive their rights without talking to a lawyer no matter how annoyed the cops get.

    Now, if you are being questioned on a scene or during the initial encounter, bear in mind, if you are not arrested, things are different. In TX, under state law, you are required to identify yourself to a cop if detained or arrested. And a cop doesn’t have to declare “you are detained”, so know that. And as with most things, context matters, if you don’t feel comfortable, then just be polite, show your ID (or insurance if driving, etc.), and make your best decision. If you say nothing, you can’t talk yourself into trouble, can you? It will most likely piss of some cops, but they need to get over it. If you look at some of the civil rights websites, they offer guidelines for police encounters. I want to stress, being polite and courteous will get you way further than antagonizing the cops. A polite, “thank you officer, I prefer to say nothing more at this point based on my understanding of the circumstances” goes wayyyyy further than shouting about the constitution, civil rights and demands for badge numbers. Likewise, a polite “thank you officer, can I get your business card or name & ID please so I may record this encounter” goes better than being an asshole about it.

    Similarly, should people consent to searches when asked? Does it annoy you when people insist on exercising their rights?

    Again, I’ll say this, don’t waive your rights without talking to a lawyer as the above, this is not legal advice. Now, searching, here’s some legal hair splitting for ya. Under case law (Terry vs. Ohio), an officer can frisk a person and the area of a vehicle under the immediate control of a person to ensure the safety of the officer and the public. So, I can reasonably pat you down to confirm you don’t have a weapon to ensure mine and the publics safety. A frisk is not a search. Think of how an airport screener can pat you to check something they see. That is not a search and is legally permissible. Now in the course of my frisk, if I either find something unlawful or develop further probable cause (PC), then things can change. I pat what may be a gun or knife, then, depending on the circumstances, I may have PC to do a further search of your person or things.

    Does it annoy me, not so much they are exercising their rights as in how they do it? Exercise your rights, but don’t be a dick about it. I might talk around it a bit and see if I can develop some probable cause, but if you say no, then I have to have solid ground to go past that. Is frustrating, sometimes, but it’s the law, so there ya have it. Will some officers go down the “why, what have you got to hide?” road, yes, but that is bad policing.

    There is a whole movement of some sort or another who make a point of recording encounters on their phones (there are apparently even apps for it). I don’t really care; I try and record as much as possible anyhow and we’re getting body cams anyhow. Just don’t get in the way or be an ass about it. YouTube is full of these, some of which are all about baiting officers or shaping the video as if there were officer malfeasance afoot. We’re in a public place, fill your boots recording, just be smart about it. And if you record bad policing, well that officer deserves what they get.

    What in your opinion, is the quality of the free legal aid provided?

    Pretty crap here in the US IMHO. Public defenders are overworked, under paid & under resourced. Many of them are new attorneys getting started with little trial experience. Our public defenders average 50 cases/attorney, no way that can be quality work. Granted most of these are the ho hum stuff of the legal system, so they don’t require a great deal of work. Relatively straightforward cases of assault, procession, etc. with ample evidence, so it’s more of a paperwork drill reviewing reports, evidence and keeping the police straight than anything else. Hardly the stuff of courtroom drama. Incidentally, about 75% of the criminal cases in the US never go to full trial, most of them are plea bargains to a lesser charge or sentence FWIW. Within that %, a lot of them are slam dunks, and in some cases, as a defendant, it’s a safer bet to not roll the dice in front a jury. My attorney friends all say, if offered a deal, odds are it’s better than you’ll get in front of a jury.

    What are the dumbest criminals you've come across? After so long serving you must have a few good stories....

    The ones who just won’t shut up and talk themselves into jail. If you have warrants and are wanted, then stay away from the cops!!! In one case, it was a minor RTA. Driver fled the scene, minor injuries, bunch of apparently stolen car stereo’s in the car. Routine paper drill, waiting in the shade on a tow truck. Then, incredulously (it was early in my career), watch an individual matching the description of the driver stroll up to the car and ask the tow truck driver “do you mind if I grab my stereos from the back before you tow it?”. I was standing 20 feet away beside a marked cop car….

    I probably shouldn't ask the same question about the dumbest cops...

    Personally, I have seen cops just do stupid things, never anything like planting evidence or the likes, more just plain arsehole cops who piss people off. You know, the rude arrogant, self-serving pinhead who thinks he/she is “Johnny law” and has an aggressive attitude. They issue really BS tickets (where a warning would have been fine) or borderline harass people. They make it hard for the rest of us.

    You obviously meet a lot of very stressed out/angry/drunk/mentally unstable/weird people; how do you go about calming people down and defusing a situation? When yourself and herself don't see eye to eye, what are you like to argue with?

    Drunks and high/stoned people are hard to reason with, especially drunks and meth heads. Odds are it’s going to be a fight, I hate dealing with drunks, whatever it is about alcohol but it makes people aggressive and meth heads can be incredibly strong, I’ve seen it take four of us to restrain one speed freak and thy fight all the way to the lock up. Others, a calm voice, no sudden moves and a lot of times you can talk them down to one degree or another. Of course, it only takes one aggressive cop to ruin it, and then the fight is on. Our goal is voluntary compliance for everyone’s safety, we don’t like fighting people despite what the movies show. If we use any level of force (other than just a “grab & cuff”), the subject has to be then seen by the paramedics to document any injuries, I have to do a whole other use of force report and the whole arrest is reviewed by internal affairs and our training division to ensure force was applied proportionally and in accordance with training. As regards herself, we’re pretty stable, we just talk, we get along grand.

    I know this will vary but how do you make an arrest that's not at the scene of a crime? Do you go to someone's place of employment? If they are working alone in a shop what happens? Their house? If they are looking after kids what happens?

    An arrest such as you describe, we’ll ID the subject positively (license, etc.) and make the arrest. If we can’t find someone right away even after a scene search, a warrant is generated and it gets passed off to the detective handling the case. He/she will then track the subject down and depending on the risk assessment, make a compliant arrest or hand it off to the fugitive team. When we do make an arrest, we’ll give ‘em time to lock up the shop, call someone in (so long as it doesn’t take forever) or make an arrangement. Likewise, at a residence, we’ll let them lock up etc. If there are kids there, we’ll let them make an arrangement with a relative, neighbor, or some other competent person. At a place of work, we’ll usually try (workplace dependent) and get them called up to an office, break room or the likes and make the arrest. Situtation dependent. Only in the direst circumstances would we turn the kids over to social services and that usually is in some sort of neglect or abuse kind of case. Subjects with a history of violence, know gang members, or reported guns relative to the case, the warrant gets served by SWAT. Then it’s the 0400 “wakeup” with the forced entry, etc. to gain the element of surprise.

    Does alcohol cause as much problems on America as it does here? The legal age for alcohol in America is 21 and it is much more strictly enforced than here. Does that make much of a difference?

    Alcohol is a giant pain in the ass, it ruins more lives than people imagine. Drunk driving is a huge problem, domestic violence, and the general aggressiveness which leads to fights. You can’t reason with a drunk. I haven’t studied the numbers on the drinking age and what difference it made, but my sense is it has helped. Again, if it reduced DD accidents by even 10% then it’s a win in my books.

    What's the worst mistake you've made on the job?

    Well I’d like to think I’ve done a decent job, but I’ve made silly human mistakes here and there. Forgot to hand back someone’s car insurance card (had to post it to them later), scraped the car on a narrow driveway, had some reports returned for bad writing. The system has a lot of oversight built into it to filter things. Our reports are reviewed by the SGT before submission, arrests have a review at the booking office and the detectives are not shy about calling your SGT if ya write a bad report, don’t take good pictures or otherwise make their life hard. As a rookie, I did tell a subject he was free to leave an accident scene. He took off, my tutor was less than pleased as she was writing him a ticket….When I was on SWAT, fell into a ditch jumping out of the van during a raid, got slagged off for a while about that all right. It got everyone distracted and we were about to “bang” the door when someone noticed we were at the house next door, not where we were supposed to be…

    And conversely, what's the best thing you've done? What gives you most satisfaction?

    I derive satisfaction from taking a domestic abuser into custody. No pone should have to live in fear in a relationship. It’s a long, detailed report, but worth it in the end when the perp gets time and the survivor is able to start the recovery process. Catching a burglar with the goods is gratifying too, knowing the victim will get their stuff back nice.

    Would you like to come back to Ireland when you retire?


    Wife & I talk about it, we both like it there, but no retirement decisions have been made yet.

    'One or two' questions (about x15 lol), regarding the (LarryBee) question about 'alcohol' would there not be a much bigger mind-altering issue, i.e. That of 'big Pharma' pushing those oxy (OxyContin-odene) painkiller things. Think there is some legal cases pending/on-going about corporate oversupply/pushing.

    Often these openly over-prescribed (11m) powerful oxys get mixed, mashed and resold via street urchins causing huge social problems. Then there is blue 'Mexican oxy' entering across the (unsecure) SW border, causing further issues and higher fatalities. aka the 'fentanyl crisis'.

    What's your view on this 'opioid epidemic', which has actually reduced the live expectancy of the entire country. Simply corporate greed gone wrong? (Nothing learned from the sub-prime housing crash).


    The opioid epidemic is indeed a huge issue, we see it sometimes daily. It an intersection of over prescribing, aggressive marketing by the manufacturers, ease of access online and the usual complexities of addiction. This stuff can be easily ordered online and posted from China to your house FFS!. The sheer volume of this stuff coming into the country through the post, UPS, FedEx, etc. is stunning.

    Most of what we see are the overdoses (sometimes fatal) calls, which are primarily handled by EMS. We’ll do a report, but really there usually isn’t much for us to go by, it’s not like these people want to say a whole lot to us (if they can even speak). Narcotics are busy as hell with it and like all drug cases, they take time and resources. There are some large civil lawsuits in progress centered around the aggressive marketing and over prescribing. A criminal case, especially in over prescribing is actually a difficult one. You have to be able to make a strong medical, then legal case the doctor is overprescribing, need medical expertise to articulate that Mr. XXX doesn’t really have chronic back pain and is just using or selling it on.


  • Company Representative Posts: 189 Verified rep I'm a US police officer, AMA


    are you going to miss it when you Retire ?

    Probably to some extent and will I'm sure miss some of the "bring involved" and knowing what's going on in the area, but I know retirement is coming so I'm mentally preparing for it. I won't miss being late off work or having to go to court or a hearing on my day off (thus ruining family plans) and certainly won't miss the churn of a weird schedule. Interestingly, there is some interesting and disturbing research about the very high rate of suicide for retiring officers. One study reports 60% die at their own hands within 10 years of retirement. A lot of talk about long term, chronic PTSD, alcoholism and so on. I feel pretty good and hope this won't effect me but I also know as the saying goes "if you wrestle with a pig for long enough, you will get some mud on ya"


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,087 ✭✭✭Krombopulos Michael


    Probably to some extent and will I'm sure miss some of the "bring involved" and knowing what's going on in the area, but I know retirement is coming so I'm mentally preparing for it. I won't miss being late off work or having to go to court or a hearing on my day off (thus ruining family plans) and certainly won't miss the churn of a weird schedule. Interestingly, there is some interesting and disturbing research about the very high rate of suicide for retiring officers. One study reports 60% die at their own hands within 10 years of retirement. A lot of talk about long term, chronic PTSD, alcoholism and so on. I feel pretty good and hope this won't effect me but I also know as the saying goes "if you wrestle with a pig for long enough, you will get some mud on ya"

    Is there an "Ex Cop" community after you retire where you can catch up with other retired officers, or is it just a case of the mates you already have.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 8,248 ✭✭✭Gloomtastic!


    Just a quick note to thank you for an excellent and really informative AMA. You really know your business and I'm sure your colleagues appreciate having your experience on board, you'll be missed when you retire.

    I also think you'd be totally wasted working with AGS!

    Good luck to you, and stay safe!


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 16,165 Mod ✭✭✭✭Manic Moran


    I'm in Texas, won't say more beyond that on a public forum. Well done him on LAPD.

    Well, you've given the game away by other info, I know where you are.
    I'm over your direction frequently enough from S.A., I'll buy you a pint if you're up for it. Send me a PM.

    Do you believe there is a difference in mentality and doctrine between rural policing and urban policing in the US, especially given the size of some of the Texas counties? Do you have a preferance for either? As for the differences in policy (eg Rural police seem more likely to support armed citizenry due to response times) how is such a difference accounted for at the State level?

    Since I saw this...
    And how do you view the NRA solution that we need more citizens to be armed to prevent mass shootings?

    The “good guy with a gun” is bollocks peddled by the NRA. Both the FBI and the US DOJ have studied this and debunk the theory. A gun owner is more likely do have their own gun used against them, shoot an innocent or have it fall into a child’s hands than ever shoot a bad guy. Will tighter laws prevent a shooting? hard to say, some will always have them (look at the gangs in Ireland), but if it prevented one mass shooting, I submit then it's a "win".

    It is the position of the TX Dept of the Military that, (rather rarely in US military circles) their soldiers may be armed with their personal concealed firearms when in uniform at their own discretion and with the appropriate civilian CCW permit (In fact, they must be concealed, as only issue firearms may be displayed). Given that we aren't cops, but we do at least know one end of a firearm from the other, would you say it's a liability or a reasonable position?

    Actually, since I mention it, given that the legal and historical definition of "civilian" is "not military", what do you make of the common use of the term "civilian" in police circles to refer to private citizens? I note you're military yourself, do you find yourself having this argument? (My opinion: It increases the perception of an "us vs them" division)

    How good are the Texas Rangers? Can one take on Chuck Norris?

    Have you taken part in "Coffee with a Cop?" or "Beat the Heat" (Drag racing) programs? Any observations?

    BTW, my respect. I considered local law enforcement, but decided I simply don't have the stomach to deal with the sights you are likely to have seen, be it the down-and-out of society or children injured in car accidents etc. I'll wager you've seen far worse than I have, even with my combat tours.




  • Have you worked on a scene where a caterpillar track robot with mounted camera was used to inspect possible booby traps? Were booby traps located? Was the robot damaged? When such robot is damaged, is it repaired, or replaced straight away?


  • Registered Users Posts: 24,647 ✭✭✭✭punisher5112


    Have to say this has been great and a wonderful in debt discussion.

    If I could go back in time it's actually something I would have loved to have done but due to school issues and not passing maths I couldn't join in Ireland and my age is against me now, and been honest it's gone so bad now it seems to me a very hard job compared to the past.

    Stay save and I hope you enjoy your retirement and enjoy all the time with family and friends when the time comes.

    Work can take over one's life so much and not always for the better.

    Thanks very much for doing this AMA.

    Regards punisher5112


  • Company Representative Posts: 189 Verified rep I'm a US police officer, AMA


    Do you believe there is a difference in mentality and doctrine between rural policing and urban policing in the US, especially given the size of some of the Texas counties? Do you have a preference for either? As for the differences in policy (e.g. Rural police seem more likely to support armed citizenry due to response times) how is such a difference accounted for at the State level?

    I don’t think there is any real “police doctrine” like they have in the military. LE in the US doesn’t really have a central body to propose such things. There are “good practices” proposed by the Police Chiefs Assoc. and such like bodies. A large part of what we do is covered by case law findings, which over the years are written into agency policies. The Miranda Warning is a good example, we all use it and it’s in our policy as a result of a supreme court finding. Personal observations on rural cops are they seem to be a bit more laid back compared to their urban counterparts. I don’t know if that is a result of recruiting from a more rural population, lower call volume/activity or just the sort of people who are attracted to that style of agency.

    I prefer the urban policing, but I have no real experience of rural policing. I’m a city lad, so it works for me. There is a difference to be sure between the two, an urban agency will generally have more resources, be it capability or just officers. A rural officer is more likely to be by his/herself, so that is an element to be considered. In talking to rural officers, (at conferences, etc.) it seems crime is crime, the location changes. I can’t say if rural police support “armed citizens” more than urban, I think that depends on the person more than anything as to where they stand on gun laws. In TX, the state passes laws and runs the state agency for LEO training, certification & education but otherwise they don’t account for one style of policing over another. Of course they run the state police and some other statewide LE agencies too, but otherwise policing is determined by the agency.

    It is the position of the TX Dept of the Military that, (rather rarely in US military circles) their soldiers may be armed with their personal concealed firearms when in uniform at their own discretion and with the appropriate civilian CCW permit (In fact, they must be concealed, as only issue firearms may be displayed). Given that we aren't cops, but we do at least know one end of a firearm from the other, would you say it's a liability or a reasonable position?

    I remember this, I think it is the result of a legal decision around the state concealed carry laws, but don’t quote me. I’m fairly confident, a Soldier in uniform not carrying an issued weapon while on duty, would be dropped like a hot rock by the military as regards any legal issues incurred in a shooting. The military are going to take the position of “we said he/she could carry because it’s the law, but we’re not defending him/her”. As a rule, Soldiers are probably more familiar with weapons to some degree than civilians. Having said that, most Soldiers carry rifles and will shoot them once a year in controlled circumstances as opposed to a pistol and stress shooting. IMHO, they’d fall into the category of a slightly more trained person, but not much more. Individuals who have gun permit do assume a significant liability by virtue of contemplating use of deadly force. While I’m sure there are some excellent shooters out there, my observation is the majority are simply untrained. Cops have to qualify twice annually have training in weapons retention, stress shooting, low light shooting and so on. Even with all that training, they don’t always get it right. So, for me, from a practical POV, an armed civilian who lacks the above, is going to assume more liability. But I’m not a lawyer, it’s a personal decision.

    Actually, since I mention it, given that the legal and historical definition of "civilian" is "not military", what do you make of the common use of the term "civilian" in police circles to refer to private citizens? I note you're military yourself, do you find yourself having this argument? (My opinion: It increases the perception of an "us vs them" division)

    I think it’s just a term that became part of the vernacular more than anything else. I also hear the term “citizen” or “member of the public”. It’s generally used along with terms like “subject”, “victim”, “caller” or “perp” to put things in a context. IE “A civilian pointed out the victim had left the scene” sort of thing.

    How good are the Texas Rangers? Can one take on Chuck Norris?

    Ha! Can anyone take on Chuck Morris? The Texas Rangers are the investigative arm of the state police, essentially the Texas FBI. They take on complex state level cases like organized crime, gangs, narcotics, etc. A number of agencies use them to as an outside agency to investigate a police shooting as well. The Rangers certainly have a strong reputation but I’ve never worked directly with them.

    Have you taken part in "Coffee with a Cop?" or "Beat the Heat" (Drag racing) programs? Any observations?

    Done the coffee with a cop thing but not the drag racing program. It’s fine, I like interacting with the public and its useful community outreach. And I like coffee 😊

    Have you worked on a scene where a caterpillar track robot with mounted camera was used to inspect possible booby traps? Were booby traps located? Was the robot damaged? When such robot is damaged, is it repaired, or replaced straight away?

    SWAT and the Bomb Squad have robots with cameras and so on, much safer than putting an officer in harms way. As I’m not on the Bomb Squad and we didn’t have them when I was on SWAT, I can’t speak to their success rate but I know they are widely used. As for repairs, I suppose they would be repaired if possible and if not, it would be replaced. I know they are expensive.


  • Company Representative Posts: 189 Verified rep I'm a US police officer, AMA


    Is there an "Ex Cop" community after you retire where you can catch up with other retired officers, or is it just a case of the mates you already have.

    Not aware of an actual ex-cop community as such, but there are plenty of associations and such. A lot of the unions have ex-member sections too so that's an option.


  • Company Representative Posts: 189 Verified rep I'm a US police officer, AMA


    Some other thoughts FWIW:

    A question comes up from time to time. "How can we better understand the police?". I offer the following:

    Spend some time with your police, especially if they offer a ride along programme. Many of the US agencies support this and it's a great way to "walk a mile in another mans shoes" as it were. 100% of the riders I've has with me have a whole other appreciation of what we do. They are baffled at the silly things we get called for and learn to appreciate the inherent risks of watching an officer approach a stopped car alone in the dark. And if there is a ride along program, try and do a few shifts, not just the one. You might get the dead shift and think it's always like that.

    As for AGS, I don't think they do ride-alongs, which is a great shame. It's a terrific way to connect the police with the community and vice versa. While AGS is a more community oriented force, I sense they are still very much not overly keen on outside eyes of any kind. Despite that, if it suits ya, reach out and get to know your Gardaí. After all they are your police force, figure out a way to talk to them on the beat or invite a Garda to your community group, scouts, church, club, whatever, ask questions and engage with them. It all helps to build rapport.

    And I know I sound like a commercial, but simple things like keeping serial numbers of your valuables (it's simple, take a bloody picture of the thing), double locking doors, and hiding your things when parked in a car. Your odds of getting things back increase 80% if we have serial numbers, otherwise we can't link it to you. There is no perfect crime prevention, but all these things help. When it comes to your home, an alarm and lights over exterior doors on photo cells are a deterrent. Not perfect, but if the crook sees the well lit house with an alarm, they'll just keep looking for the dark house with no alarm.

    In the US home CCTV is getting popular, it's very cheap as are those doorbells with a webcam. Another consideration if so inclined, just follow your local laws & rules for CCTV. If you drink, don't drive, simple, don't talk on your phone & drive, whatever it is it can wait and wear your effing seatbelt FFS!!! They save lives. All right, speech over, soapbox away.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 9,586 ✭✭✭ Adriana Disgusting Herb


    Interesting about the mention of serial numbers and increase use of CCTV.

    Q. What do you think everyday 'law n' order' will look like in 5-10yrs, i.e. the 'big changes'.

    Guess 10yrs it may well get a bit Orwellian-1984-esq E.g.
    5G-IP-CCTV everywhere: (not low grain dumb tech). Also face/biometrics replace 'all and any other' forms of paper/card ID, even some fiscal transactions.
    Cashless society: Pocket change won't get you a frappuccino (starting to become common in Sweden). It's wireless payment only. As such, bad folks will need a new 'storage of wealth' to barter.
    Serial numbers: Not needed. IOT will take care of that. Every inanimate object will feature a tiny RFID chip. Various purposes, some good (user improvement) and some debatable.
    DUI or mobiles in car: Nope, young drivers are already being steered towards sensory blackbox installation, to record every single action. Otherwise no insurance (or large premium).
    Community interaction: May well see ubiquitous 'push notifications' (tv/radio/mobile) become more commonplace. Or call into an (unmanned) copshop and get talking to a robo-chatbot.
    Wider societal changes due to automation Wave 2&3: So millions of Truck drivers redundant, and mass retail closures. Unless bluecollars learn Python and the like, they could become quickly disgruntled.


  • Company Representative Posts: 189 Verified rep I'm a US police officer, AMA


    Interesting about the mention of serial numbers and increase use of CCTV.

    Q. What do you think everyday 'law n' order' will look like in 5-10yrs, i.e. the 'big changes'.

    Guess 10yrs it may well get a bit Orwellian-1984-esq E.g.
    5G-IP-CCTV everywhere: (not low grain dumb tech). Also face/biometrics replace 'all and any other' forms of paper/card ID, even some fiscal transactions.
    Cashless society: Pocket change won't get you a frappuccino (starting to become common in Sweden). It's wireless payment only. As such, bad folks will need a new 'storage of wealth' to barter.
    Serial numbers: Not needed. IOT will take care of that. Every inanimate object will feature a tiny RFID chip. Various purposes, some good (user improvement) and some debatable.
    DUI or mobiles in car: Nope, young drivers are already being steered towards sensory blackbox installation, to record every single action. Otherwise no insurance (or large premium).
    Community interaction: May well see ubiquitous 'push notifications' (tv/radio/mobile) become more commonplace. Or call into an (unmanned) copshop and get talking to a robo-chatbot.
    Wider societal changes due to automation Wave 2&3: So millions of Truck drivers redundant, and mass retail closures. Unless bluecollars learn Python and the like, they could become quickly disgruntled.

    Well as much as I'd like to, I have no ability to predict the future. I do see tech becoming more a part of LE life, but that will be in parallel to tech in the rest of our life. New tech will spawn other problems and legal challenges. As tech like facial ID improves, it's natural for the police to leverage it. I think it'll be slower than tech moves. Governments are generally slower to react than the private sector, laws have to be written and inevitably challenged in courts and ruled on. I do find irony in a group of people protesting about govt. surveillance and intrusion, who used platforms like FB & Google to arranged and communicate the protest. Right now Google probably knows more about us than the FBI could dream of, and if the FBI want the information, they have to show probable cause, get a warrant etc. Granted we "consensually" sign up for these platforms as opposed to govt. surveillance, but I like the irony. I think despite new, wearable, connected 5G (and eventually 6 & 7G I'm sure), people are still people and there will be crime. We'll move & use information and money differently, like we did with the prevalence of credit cards, so now we fight identity crime & fraud with a drop in cash in transit crimes. It'll be interesting to watch for sure. We already do auto push notifications for disasters, alerts, missing kids and so on, these will be much more tailored I'm sure. You can report a crime via the internet to us for low level, theft if you like. Oddly enough, we've found people want to talk to a cop and not so much file an online report. We'll all be part of it for sure...whether we like it or not.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,087 ✭✭✭Krombopulos Michael


    Have you ever been called to a domestic dispute and it turned out to be someone you know, and what would the protocol be in that situation.

    Also, what has been the best excuse you have heard during a traffic stop.

    Great AMA by the way.


This discussion has been closed.
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