So is it true that cops...

[BigChickenStrips]

my experience with police has been they are always there to give tickets to fund-raise for the city/county they work at but when people broke into my truck they didnt even care what make/model of CD player was stolen (i had the model/serial numbers written down) soooo i guess i won't be getting that back even if they catch the guy because they can sell it at a police auction after it sits in the property room for a while.

im not saying all police are bad, or that i would want their job for even a second. but i think the higher-ups have their prioritys mixed up. are rolling stops really the biggest problem in the city? why not try to find out who is fencing stolen goods, raping little girls they meet on the internet, and breaking into my car. because if i catch them its going to be a hollow point in the "O Ring". [and that will be a hell of a mess to clean up]

that said, when i was at a concert (HFStival) in D.C. a few years ago the cops there were SUPER COOL. if someone was caught with weed, they confiscated it and released them, no charges, didnt even get kicked out of the show. thats coolness.

so i dont think all cops are bad, i just wish sometimes i could see police arrest more people for child popcorn than for nickle bags, and more rapist than people who yeild instead of stop at the stop signs. what are the REAL problems in our comunities.

but i try to be respectful of cops because like i said earlier, i couldnt do their job, and i know a lot of what they do is what they were told to do by someone higher up the chain so i dont fault them personally, its the system i dont like not the people.

[DRam]

Been riding for 37 years, have never been pulled over. On the bike, that is. Got nabbed a few times in the cage.

[flynrider]

so i dont think all cops are bad, i just wish sometimes i could see police arrest more people for child popcorn than for nickle bags, and more rapist than people who yeild instead of stop at the stop signs. what are the REAL problems in our comunities.

Arresting people for rape and child popcorn generates absolutely zero revenue. To a municipality a police officer that writes tickets is more valuable than one who arrests real bad guys.

I don't blame the cops themselves, they're just doing what they're told to do.

Several years ago my airplane was broken into and the thieves made off with $8,000 worth of equipment from the instrument panel (a state AND federal crime, btw). Couldn't get a cop to show up. They told me they'd call the next day and take a report over the phone. While relating the tale to my mechanic, he told me that there had been a police car sitting at the end of the airport road, writing tickets for the last hour. Sure enough, when I drove out, he was still sitting there, waiting for the next speeder.

That illustrated the police dept's. priorities pretty well.

[Bachstrad37]

I agree with Flynn on the revenue that local municipalities operate under.

Here in northern MN, you wouldn't believe how much revenue is generated off parking meters. They have multiple vehicles panning the meters and meters are installed on every possible city owned space.

As for excessive negative attention to motorcycles, the under 25 on sportbike gets it 10x worse than cruisers in my town. That's partly why I didn't decide to ride until recently (I'm 33). I think the younger crowd in general are needlessly targeted. They're much more apt. to take safety courses and have proper gear than they did 10 years ago. Perhaps my perception is incorrect, but the motorcycling is very much changing. For the better imo.

I have a friend who's a cop that will be allowing me to tag along with him while on duty next month. It'll be interesting to get his point of view on a lot of this.

[liablemtl]

In Oregon, the majority of the procedes from citations goes to the state. The municipality or county gets a very small percentage of the fine. The only exceptions are parking citations or violations of local city ordinances. Revenue generation is a small part of law enforcement. Law Enforcement is the general idea of, well, law enforcement.

[Sev]

I can understand a lot of the flak that cops seem to get... but the thing is that if cops are doing their jobs right you should never know that it's being done. They're the ones making sure that you don't have criminals wandering through your house every day. They're the ones making sure that you aren't being shot at daily.

I know it's a tough job, and I think if we should be treating cops with a little more respect.

[flynrider]

They're the ones making sure that you don't have criminals wandering through your house every day. They're the ones making sure that you aren't being shot at daily.

My cop friends tell me that their primary purpose is not to prevent crime, and you shouldn't expect them to do that. Their job starts after (or while) the crime is being committed.

[liablemtl]

That's also true to a point. The police officer's job comes into play when a crime is being committed or has been committed. However, the other side of that is being visible to john q scumbag who may think twice about committing a crime if an LEO is visible. But that's merely crime deterrent, not actual law enforcement.

I know a lot of people bag on cops because of traffic laws... but keep in mind that cops job is to enforce the law, not to write it. That part's handled by the law makers. Also keep in mind that while you may only have interaction with cops a few times a year, these guys have interaction with the public a few times an hour... and the majority of the public has a beef with cops and law enforcement because they hate being caught committing a crime or disobeying the law. So, like little kids who throw tantrums, they'll point their frustration with being caught breaking the law at the ones who are paid to enforce the law. And the ones who enforce the law get that frustration pointed at them on a daily basis, sometimes hourly basis. And cops are human... they have bad days. They also make mistakes. Some days they just don't feel like listening to john q public rag on them about getting pulled over because Mr. Public decided to break the law for their own selfish reasons. I'd be hesitant to paint all LEO's with such a wide brush... but then again, that's just me.

Trust me when I say that cops would rather be out getting the really bad guys... but unfortunately, those guys dont' walk around holding signs that say "I just molested a 5 year old" or "I am a serial rapist with 17 victims in my past" or "I have a meth lab in my house and my kids are being exposed to toxic chemicals so I can make a quick buck". Somedays a cop gets lucky and takes someone really horrible to jail. Somedays they just "make friends" with the public by doing they job they've been entrusted to do.

[scan]

Good point.

I watched a white cop chase down a group of sportsbike riding black guys after they exited the freeway and pulled into the bike shop. They all parked (about 4 guys) and I could hear the cop talking. He discussed how fast they were going when the flew by and asked them all to take it easy. He could have easily nailed them and it would have fit the stereotype to a T. Gixxers and Busas, and he let them off. He could have made them an example in front of all us watching too. No one would have been surprised if they got a ticket.

There are as many different kinds of cops as there are people. Sad to think they all can't be robocop, but that's the way it is. Serve and protect is not the first thing on all of their minds, but there are many that would die to save you.

[Wizzard]

And for the record , and I am pointing out the obvious since that seems to have gotten lost , not all LEOs are in traffic division .
Regardless , they are all humans trying to make it thru the day .
Regards, Wizzard