Started out as a part-time police officer while I worked full-time in the I.T. field. I got laid off from my I.T. job and a full-time position opened in the department that I was working for. I applied for it and am now a full-time police officer.
Red and/or blue lights flashing in your review mirror - what do you do? A) Flee or B) pull over to the right side of the road? Option A is now a felony in many states, so I would recommend option B.
In most, if not all, states, you are required to pull over to the right side of the road when an emergency vehicle has its emergency lights and/or siren activated. When this happens to you, do exactly that. Do not wait until you find a place to pull off the road; just pull to the right and stop. If you are a traffic hazard, the officer will instruct you to move to a safer place. Remember, it is possible that the driver of the emergency vehicle is responding to an emergency and just needs you to yield to them.
If you are being pulled over, move to the right and stop. Don't forget to put your vehicle in park. Keep your hands where the officer can see them. If you have any weapons in the vehicle, officers appreciate you informing them of that fact for their safety. If you choose not to volunteer that you have weapons in the vehicle, keep your hands away from them. By reaching for the weapons can result in consequences. When you are asked for your driver's license, registration, and/or proof of insurance and you need to reach for them, let the officer know where you keep the items and reach slowly for them.
If you are hoping for a break (and most people do when they are pulled over), the best way to get a break is to be cooperative, calm, and polite. Wearing your seatbelt, having your driver's license, registration, and proof of insurance can also help, but no guarantees. Even if you do receive a citation, continue to be cooperative, calm, and polite. Bad attitudes can result in charges such as disorderly conduct and obstructing. Also, if you want to plea bargain the charges to avoid having them on your record, the officer might discourage the prosecutor from offering you a deal due to a bad attitude.
If you dispute the charges, arguing with the officer on the roadside can work against you, just like bad attitudes. You will have the opportunity to dispute the charges in court.
If you are stopped for speeding, the officer would have determined that based on the officer's visual observations. The officer may have also used radar, vascar, or a stopwatch to determine your speed. Sometimes the officer is unable to measure your speed with these devices, but the officer can still charge you with speeding in excess of what is prudent and reasonable solely based the officer's visual observations and without using such devices.
Most traffic radars have the function that allows the officer to lock a speed reading with the push of a button or switch. Sometimes, the target vehicle's speed changes before the officer presses the button or switch to lock the speed. In most states, the officer IS NOT REQUIRED to lock the speed or even show the reading to the speeding driver. Nevertheless, some officers will still do this AS A COURTESY while other officers will not do this because of safety reasons.
Kansas, where I work, is one of the states that do not require officers to lock the speed or show the violator the reading. If it is safe to do so and the violator is cooperative, I gladly show the violator the radar reading upon request. Sometimes, I even offer to show the radar. My experience is that when I show the radar reading or offer to show the radar reading to the violator, the violator is less likely to contest the citation in court.
Are there any officers that intentionally falsely accuse someone of a violation? Sure, you hear of police misconduct occurring, but that is extremely rare. Even though many law enforcement agencies go through great lengths to ensure that persons hired as law enforcement officers are honest and credible, some do slip through the cracks.
Do officers have a quota? In most departments, officers are allowed to write as many tickets as they wants as long as they are bonafide violations. Few departments have "minimum performance standards" that take into account number of traffic citations issued during the evaluation period, but those standards are usually easily attainable.
Police departments receive many traffic complaints and investigate their fair share of non-injury, injury, and fatality accidents. Traffic enforcement reduces such complaints and accidents.
Traffic enforcement also has an effect on crime. Many drug runners, fugitives, and other criminals have been apprehended for their crimes as a result of being stopped or pursued for a traffic violation. One example is Timothy McVeigh, who was convicted of the bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. An Oklahoma trooper stopped McVeigh for a traffic violation and was arrested for a firearms violation. While he was in custody, he was connected to the bombing and charged accordingly.
When you are stopped by a law enforcement officer, please remember that the officer is doing his or her job. Drive safely.
Kansas Prosecutor Seeing His Share of High Profile Murder Prosecutions
None of the murder cases that Johnson County, Kansas District Attorney Paul Morrison has attained the amount of attention that the Scott Peterson trial has received, but he has successfully prosecuted three high profile murder trials during his nearly sixteen years as a district attorney. Now, with the recent arrest of a suspect in a murder case featured on America's Most Wanted, he is now looking to prosecute his fourth high profile case.
District Attorney Morrison's first high-profile case was a triple serial murder trial. The suspect was accused of murdering three women in their 20's. The suspect was found guilty of First Degree Murder despite having not located any of the victim's bodies. To this day, none of the victim's bodies have been located. Suddenly Gone: The Kansas Murders of Serial Killer Richard Grissom by Dan Mitrione is a book about that case.
In the second high-profile case, a mother and area physician was accused of setting fire to her residence, killing two of her three children. She subsequently plead guilty to related charges including Intentional/Premeditated Killing. Author Ann Rule wrote BITTER HARVEST : A WOMANS FURY A MOTHERS SACRIFICE about this case.
The third case is a serial case in which the murders occurred over a period of two decades. Victim's bodies were found in barrels hidden in a pond and a storage unit. The defendent was found guilty and sentenced to death. Go to http://www.courttv.com/trials/robinson/ for more information on the case. Internet Slavemaster (St. Martin's True Crime Library) by John Glatt was written about this case.
Now, District Attorney Morrison is preparing to prosecute his fourth high-profile case. In the summer of 2002, a Kansas State University student was found dead at a neighborhood pool where she was working for the summer. A composite sketch was made of a possible suspect and was distributed. For the next two years, the composite sketch was shown on local television stations, billboards, websites, and America's Most Wanted. The case was even mentioned by Larry King when he was interviewing the host of America's Most Wanted, John Walsh. After two years, a suspect was finally arrested earlier this week (visit http://www.amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=27973 for details). I'm sure AMW will mention this "capture" on this Saturday night's show.
Truly, all of these murders are tragic. District Attorney Morrison should be commended for his diligence in prosecuting these cases. His office maintains excellent relations with area law enforcement agencies, which I think contributes to the success of his prosecutions. District Attorney Morrison serves Johnson County, Kansas, which is part of the Kansas City Metropolitan area. The county has a population of over 450,000 people but only has an average of 10 to 15 homicides per year. He has been unopposed in the past two elections.
If you make it through the stringent hiring process and get hired, congratulations. The career is now beginning. New hires that do not have the police training will have to attend the law enforcement training program (commonly called "The Police Academy") as required by state law. Depending on the hiring department, new hires that already have the required training and experience may not have to attend the training again (I'll talk more about lateral transfers in a future post).
Many of the largest law enforcement agencies send new recruits through the departments own training program. Other law enforcement agencies, particularly the smaller agencies, sent their new recruits to either a state law enforcement training center or to a training center operated by a nearby law enforcement agency.
Depending on the state requirements and/or the hiring law enforcement agency's requirements, the training program can be 10 to 30 weeks long (some states have shorter training requirements for part-time and reserve officers). In the training program, new recruits learn about criminal and traffic laws, search and seizure, emergency driving, conducting traffic stops, patrol procedures, and other topics related to the duties of law enforcement officers.
Once the new recruits graduate from their training program, they then begin their field training. In the field training program, the new recruit works with a field training officer on the streets, applying the training that the new recruit just received. During the field training program, the new recruit gains the experience necessary for post-field training as well as becomes familiar with the streets that the law enforcement agency patrols. Field training can last up to 6 months. After field training, the recruit then receives regular patrol assignments.
After officers gain patrol experience, they can advance to other opportunities in law enforcement. Different agencies offer different opportunities. These opportunities include traffic safety, investigations, forensics, crime scene, air support, SWAT, crime prevention, and training. While larger law enforcement agencies has more defined opportunities that officers are assigned to full-time, officers in smaller law enforcement agencies may have the opportunity to work in more than one role at one time.
Law enforcement is more than a job and more than a career. It's a way of life. Law enforcement is a way of life. Officers work odd hours and odd days on a constant basis, get called into work while off-duty without notice, and frequently face dangerous situations. Nevertheless, it is a rewarding career.
Thinking about a career in law enforcement? While it is a rewarding career, it does involve a lot of sacrifice. Law enforcement officers works days, evenings, overnight, overtime, and weekends. A law enforcement officer will have to work extra hours to appear in court, work special events, and attend training.
With that said, if you are still interested, you must meet the minimum requirements. Most of the requirements are required by law; however, many departments set even stricter requirements or additional requirements. Here are some of them:
Citizenship: Generally, all police officer's must be a United States citizen.Age: In most departments, you must be at least 21 years of age by the hire date. For many law enforcement agencies in Florida, the minimum age is 19 years of age. In Minnesota, the minimum age is 18 for some law enforcement agencies.
Background: Most states prohibit employing as law enforcement officers any person who has been convicted of a felony or domestic violence. Some departments also disqualify applicants who have recent convictions for some misdemeanor offenses.
Driver's license: Having a valid driver's license is a requirement. Some states and/or law enforcement agencies require their officers to have a driver's license issued by the state where the law enforcement agency is located.
Education: Almost all law enforcement agencies require law enforcement officers to have at least a high school diploma or a G.E.D. Some law enforcement agencies require a certain amount of college education or a degree.
Training and Certification: Many smaller law enforcement agencies require all applicants to be certified as a law enforcement officer in that state. In some states, you can attend a law enforcement academy at your own expense at a nearby college without being employed by a law enforcement agency. In other states, you must be employed by the law enforcement agency first, and the agency sends you to a state law enforcement academy. Many states will grant reciprocity to those certified as a law enforcement officer in another state.
Residency: Not all city police departments require their officers to live in the city limits. Some may require the officers to live in the same county as the city or within a certain distance from the city. Many county and state law enforcement agencies, though, require its law enforcement officers to live within their jurisdiction.
The hiring process differ from one law enforcement agency to the next. Below is a typical hiring process that large agencies follow:
Written test: Written tests varies among departments that use them. The written test is usually used to test the applicant's reading comprehension and sometimes mathematical skills.
Physical agility: The physical agility test is used to test the applicant's ability to perform physical aspects of the job. The test usually requires running, climbing, and dragging a 160 pound manniquin.
Oral Examination: In the oral examination, the applicant usually faces an oral board, which may consist of police supervisors, police officers, civilian personnel, and/or citizens. In this phase, the applicant answers a variety of questions asked by the board. The questions may involve hypothetical situations, the applicant's background, and the applicant's perception of law enforcement. The purpose of the oral examination is to assess the applicant's communication skills, common sense, and demeanor.
Background Check: The background check at a minimum involves fingerprinting the applicant and submitting the fingerprints to check the applicant's criminal history. The applicant's driving record is also checked. If there are any arrest warrants active for the applicants, the hiring department will find out in this phase. The hiring department may even check the applicant's credit history. In addition to the computerized checks, the background investigators for the hiring department may interview references, current and previous friends and acquaintences, current and previous employers, current and previous neighbors and landlords, and anyone else that knows of the applicant. The interviews help determine an applicant's character. Some law enforcement agencies also require the applicant to submit to a polygraph or computerized voice stress analyzer (CVSA) to determine the truthfulness of the background information submitted by the applicant.
Psychological exam: The psychological exam assesses the applicant's mental ability to perform law enforcement duties. This includes completing a 300+ question self-evaluation and an interview with a licensed psychologist.
Physical exam: The medical exam ensures that the applicant does not have any medical conditions that would adversely affect the applicant's ability to perform law enforcement duties.
Interview with the department head: Since the department head makes the ultimate decision on whether or not to hire an applicant, the final interview gives the department head one last opportunity to ensure that the applicant is a good fit for the law enforcement agency.
As you can see, hiring a police officer requires a lot of resources. Because a law enforcement officer is in a position of trust, it is essential that an applicant is screened thoroughly before hiring him or her.
While applying for law enforcement jobs are not as competitive as they used to be, it still is competitive. If you want to have a competitive edge, some skills to have are the ability to speak a foreign language, especially spanish, and computer skills. Having public interaction skills will also help. Having security experience will not necessarily be a plus unless you have a lot of public interaction.
Make sure that costumes are fireproof and not a hazard to others.
Make sure that costumes are light-colored and/or reflective.
Make sure that costume props, such as swords, are safe for all children (no sharp edges or small pieces).
Make sure that eye holes in masks are big enough. If possible, have children wear makeup instead of a mask.
Remind children to be careful when crossing streets and not to go into cars and houses of strangers.
If you decorate your house with jack-o-lanterns and want to add lighting effects to them, avoid using candles. Using properly wired light bulbs are safer. Keep jack-o-lanterns including any wiring away from where foot traffic may exist.
While trick-or-treating:
All children should be carrying a flashlight and/or other glowing devices.
Children should always go with an adult, older sibling, or trusted babysitter.
Only take children to houses that you trust.
Remain in well lit and well populated locations.
Do not allow children to eat candy until after they get home and you inspect it.
Enforce the safety rules.
After trick-or-treating is over:
Inspect the treats and look for any sign of tampering. Wash and cut fruit into smaller pieces.
Remove pumpkins and other decorations from outdoors to avoid having them vandalized.
Recruiting Law Enforcement Officers Tougher Now Than Last Decade
Since the mid-1990's, police departments (when I say police departments, I am also referring to sheriff's offices, state police/highway patrol, university and college police departments, school district police departments, and other agencies that hire persons with police powers) have been noticing a decline in the number of applications for police officer.
This has forced them to find innovative ways to recruit and retain police departments.
NYPD has had an even tougher problem to staff its department. In the months after the 9/11 attach, NYPD officers have earned an enormous amount of overtime. When NYPD officers retire, their previous year's total wages, including overtime, is used to determine what their pension payments would be. As a result, NYPD experienced a huge wave of retirements in 2002.
Now, the NYPD and other police departments are trying more innovative ways to recruit police officers. In last Thursday's episode of The Apprentice (Episode 8), the two teams developed a recruitment advertising campaign for the New York Police Department (NYPD). More and more departments are sending officers to college campuses to recruit. In recent years, departments are posting job announcements on employment websites. There are even websites just for law enforcement job postings.
The decline in police officer applications meant fewer qualified applicants to hire from. I spoke to a police officer from a department of about 150 officers. He told me that, with the decline in police officer applications, the quality of new hires have not been as high and that they have had more new hires than ever fail to pass field training.
To meet staffing requirements, some police departments had lowered the minimum requirements. For example, some departments that required either an associates degree or bachelors degree are now waiving the requirement or allowing substitutions to the requirement, such as previous law enforcement or military experience.
Law enforcement has always had its negatives - awkward work hours, higher risk of bodily harm and death, liability, etc. With the economic boom in the mid to late 1990's, job hunters were finding more lucrative alternatives to law enforcement. Now, police departments are trying to offer additional perks to attract and retain police officers. These include take-home patrol vehicles, four ten-hour shifts per week as opposed to five-eight hour shifts, tuition reimbursement, and wellness incentives. In addition, many law enforcement agencies are working to increase salaries for police officers to become more competitive with other departments and other professions. Nevertheless, Paul Harvey said it best - police officers are never paid enough.
Coming up will be a post on law enforcement careers.
Some people believe that seat belt use should be a personal choice, not a state law. If they are in a traffic accident, fail to wear their seat belt, suffer injuries for failing to wear a seat belt, and pay for their medical expenses for the injuries received from not wearing their seat belt, then they may have a point. But if they get injured in an accident as a result of not wearing a seat belt, and their medical expenses were paid by insurance or not paid at all due to inability to pay, then those costs are passed on to you and me in the form of higher auto and health insurace.
Sure there are cases where drivers who were killed in traffic accidents while wearing their seat belts and may have escaped death had they not worn their seat belt. Then, there are cases where drivers who have escaped death in traffic accidents because they did not where their seat belts. Fact of the matter is that probability of death or serious injuries are greater by not wearing a seat belt. According to Edgar Snyder and Associates website, "It has been estimated that nearly one-third of accident fatalities could be prevented if everyone wore a seat belt." A reduction of fatalities and serious injuries will lead to reduction in insurance claims, allowing insurace companies to lower insurance premiums.
Currently, all states have laws requiring children to wear seat belts. All states except for New Hampshire require adults to buckle up. Some of the states allow law enforcement officers to stop vehicles solely for seat belt violations (called "primary offense"). Other state laws do not allow law enforcement officers to stop vehicles solely for seat belt violations but can issue citations for seat belt violations if the vehicle was stopped for violations of other laws (called "secondary offense"). Typically, states in which seat belt violations are a secondary offense require officers to issue citations for the violations that were cause of the stop in order to also cite for the seat belt violations.
In Kansas, only adults in front seats are required to wear seat belts. Children under 14 years of age, on the other hand, are required to wear seat belts in the front seats and back seats. Even though seat belt violations in Kansas are secondary offenses, a law enforcement officer may stop a vehicle for a child under 14 years of age is not wearing a seat belt. I'm not sure whether or not this is the same in all of the other states.
I'm sure that all the states require infants and small children to be riding in child safety seats instead. In Kansas, children under four years of age are required to do so. Other states may have a height and weight requirements.
There are exemptions from not wearing a seat belt. In Kansas, a person is exempt from wearing a seat belt if he or she has a note from his or her physician stating that the person should not wear a seat belt for medical reasons, mail carriers, newspaper delivery persons, and children required to be in child seats instead.
Seat belt laws vary from state to state. If you are unsure about whether or not you are required to wear a seat belt, just buckle up to be safe. If you need to, you can check ask your local law enforcement agency about the seat belt laws in your state.
