Expert: Jack Toomey - 4/10/2009

Question
Hey it’s me again!

Sorry to bother you so soon, but i had another question.

First off, I’d like to say that people should read your past answers more. It seems like you have pages of "There is NO such thing as SVU and CSI" please people, read.

But i wanted to ask if a patrol officer is the same as the officers in our school and towns. Do they carry a weapon and arrest people? I thought when I made the decision to be a detective or interrogator that I wouldn’t have to be a "police man" for long. Appearently not. But if I could get maybe a general overview of things they do? That would be very nice of you!

Again sorry to bother you again so soon, and thanks for answering my last question.

Annie


Answer
Ahhh Annie again.  Posting from school?  Tisk tisk.

You are correct.  I don't know how many times that I have broken the hearts of high school students (and some older) by telling them that the CSI that they see on television is a totally made up show and that the characters do things that real evidence technicians would never do in a hundred years.  

A patrol officer is a sworn police officer who wears a uniform and whose duties are many.  He/she answers radio calls for service, should be proactive by patrolling his assigned area looking for things that do not seem right, backing up other officers in other patrol areas, and enforcing traffic laws when violations happen in his presence.  Officers also go to court, conduct investigations, and assist other units of the department if asked.  If need be they make arrests if crimes happen in their presence.  They can also make arrests in certain circumstance if crimes are not committed in their presence if state law allows it.  Yes....they carry guns.

A difficult concept for young people to grasp is the time needed to learn the skills that are necessary to become a detective.  I would use this comparison.  Would you let someone do oral surgery on your teeth who had just taken two years of classes about anatomy?  Would you let someone come into your house to fix the wiring because they had read about it on the Internet?  Of course not.  The street is a school.  That is where you learn how to talk to people, to determine who is lying, who is telling the truth, how to determine what is out of place and what is a normal occurrance.

So thats about it for now.  If you have any other questions about this or any other matter let me know.