Careers: Police/hazing and ranks

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Expert: - 2/23/2008


Question
Greetings, Jack.  
I've enjoyed reading these postings.  
I'm working on a historical fiction novel set in 1972 in Aurora, IL.  Wondering if you know of or have heard of any hazing/pranks that were done to "rookies" or first-year guys back then (not necessarily in Aurora, of course)?  Also, how do partners work--would an officer be paired with a sergeant, for example? Would they share an office?, A squad car?, anything else?
Thanks for your time and wisdom,
JT

Answer
Jessie,

  I have never heard of hazing involving recruits or rookies.  Of course there were practical jokes played on each other but nothing approaching the level of hazing.

  I can only speak about my department as far as training new officers.  First of all there were not and are not such thing as "partners".  That may have been the case in other parts of the country earlier than the 70's but certainly not in that time period.  When you came out of the police academy you were assigned to a more senior officer everyday and it would be on a rotating basis because the days off were different so you couldn't possibly ride with the same officer everyday.  So if you were on a shift of twenty-five officers you would probably be riding with ten or twelve of them on a rotating basis.  

  No one would ever ride with a sergeant.  That is straight out of tv.  The sergeant would have an office but it would be open to the rest of the shift to get blank report forms, leave slips, etc. but in my station it was very small and you really wouldn't want to spend any time in there.

Careers: Police

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Jack Toomey

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U.S.: I am an expert in this category for the purpose of giving young people an idea what the hiring process involves for the position of police officer. I am getting a flood of questions from young people who are being influenced by unrealistic television shows. I'd ask you to consider that when you watch police shows on television that they are NOT realistic and most of what you see does not happen in real life. Please do not ask me about potential jail sentences that you, your friends, or family might receive in court. There is no way for me to know that. I am NOT a probation officer so I cannot answer questions about probation and parole matters. I am a retired police officer with 26 years experience.I worked in a variety of assignments including investigations, homicide, sex crimes, runaway investigations, missing persons, and fraud.I also dealt with the general public during that time giving a wide range of advice on matters such as domestic disputes, problem solving, teenage problems, civil/criminal matters, and dealing with the mentally ill. I am available to give sound and reasonable advice which can solve most problems. Please do not ask me to do homework questions or online interviews. Young people should not rely on the Internet for interviews. Local police officers are normally very agreeable to assist students with interviews and surveys.

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Worked as a police officer/detective for 26 years.

Graduate of the University of Maryland.B.S. in Law Enforcement.Attended numerous schools and training courses involving investigations, interviewing, interrogations, crime detection, domestic violence, and others. Recognized in court as an expert witness.

Received numerous awards during my police career for expert investigations. Handled the most sensitive and confidential investigations. In 1999 I won an award for my work with high school students while working in my new career in a large suburban high school.

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