Careers: Police/police radio

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Expert: - 4/13/2005


Question
I'm working on a story and need to know how a police officer uses his radio in the following scenario:

The officer sees a speeding car and pulls the car over.

The officer gets out of the police car and asks driver of  the speeding car for their driver's license.

The driver pulls out a gun instead and insists the police officer 1.) write up a bogus ticket and report everything is OK by radio, 2.) then log off for personal time and turn off the police radio 3.) drive them to another location in the police car.

Can the officer turn off his radio?  

Can he leave the monitoring feature open so that dispatch can hear everything that goes on in the car?  If so, is there a light or some other feature that would let passengers know the monitoring function was on?

Is there a secret "emergency" button for this type of situation?

Thanks very much for your help.


Answer
Hello,

   I don't know if you are aware of this but you have asked me the same question three times on two different web sites.

  First of all an on duty officer would not "log off" for personal time.  An officer might go some place to eat or to use the bathroom but they would not turn off their radio,

  I haven't heard of a radio system that would allow the dispatcher to hear everything in the car in fact it might be against the law depending on the state because in some states the monitoring of converstations is against the law and I don't think that any police union would put up with such a system.  But you never know.  I have been retired for over seven years so maybe such a system is now in use.

  Some departments do have a radio system that allows an officer to nudge a button on the radio to alert communications that there is an emergency that cannot be spoken.  However not every department has this because every department has a different radio system and you basically get what you pay for.

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Jack Toomey

Expertise

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.

Experience

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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