I have heard rumours about policemen?

Robert G

Okay, I'll play.

1) Not true. Not anymore anyway. It used to be true. But nowadays, it is impossible to say that the average law-enforcement officer is of less-than average intelligence, because the average high-school gradudate goes on to get some college, whereas the average person does not. Since there are very few law-enforcement officers who have yet to graduate high school, and since most of them have GED's coupled with at least SOME college education, who therefore qualify for the same par as the average high-school graduate, it is only a very very small percentage of law-enforcement officers who can't be argued as having above average intelligence.

But that does not mean that they aren't idiots nor that they aren't stupid, just that they might not actually be exercising the intelligence given to them that they could.

2) Between being picked on as a kid and the TV shows showing who it is that gest to get away with paying them back by beating them up or killing them, is what initially attracted me to the idea of becoming a police officer.

One badge-bearing bully I had the displeasure of meeting, became an officer because he had become his school's bully and wanted to continue bullying people after he graduated, but it was not that he was picked on as a kid and then became a bully after becoming an adult.

The policeman who deputized me on two occasions had also been bullied as a kid, and had taught my whole Boy Scout troop how to use his firearms, recognizing them as a part of his job, but, unlike your rumor, would choose to step into situations he got called into much like the Mayberry flavor of TV cops, without his sidearm, without adequate backup (once it was JUST me, which is why he deputized me) and with so little fighting skills that I could best him at wrestling when I was still in Jr. High School. So, I would have to say that his purpose for getting into Law Enforcement had nothing to do with a desire to bully anybody back, just to be there to prevent as much bullying as he figured he could.

3) Since at least the turn of the previous century, I have not heard of anybody who had only been to school for eight weeks before being given a badge.

This particular rumor might have something to do with your state's minimum-lenght academy.

Police academies used to be a substitute for high school, much like normal schools or nursing schools used to be a substitute for high school.

Nowadays, however, you can't even get accepted into a police academy without at least a GED, which is the equivalent of graduating from High School with a D-minus grade-point average, so at least a lot of high-school education is required.

College, however, is not.

So, it is true that after proving someone has the wherewithall to gradueate from high-school, it can only take an eight-week cadet program for someone to meet the minimum requirements in your neck of the woods.

But, not in one of the states where I have lived.

In that state, there ARE no academies.

In that sate, it is a requirement that you be compelled to attend school from the fall after you turn five years of age until the day you become sixteen, but beyond that, there is no statute-required minimum education to become a gun-toting, cruiser-driving, badge-bearer.

On job sites, education levels are posted by individual law-enforcement agencies, as a means of discouraging the lesser-educated from applying, but, when not enough of the more-educated apply, they have to lower their standards, and guess what... they wind up hiring someone who didn't know how to read well enough to know that people of their lack of education weren't supposed to have submitted an application.

In that same state, it has been proven that you don't even have to be able to read the instructions that come packaged in a box of bean-bag shot-gun rounds in order to start shooting them (and wind up, thereby, killing someone in the process).

The standard SHOULD be a whole lot higher, but it isn't, because the majority of the people in that state think that since badge-bearing bullyings only happen to a very deserving minority, it isn't until they find themselves in that particular minority that they even BEGIN to believe that things are good enough along that direction as they need to be.

Me, I would actually WELCOME a rumor such as this one of yours to be true in that state.

For that reason (among many) I recommend avoiding Oregon when and if you can.

Kenneth C

1. Most people are of average intelligence.....Thats where the whole average part comes in.

2. Not true in my experience. I had a happy childhood, had a lot of friends, played sports, was active in the community and law enforcement was just the career I wanted. Same with most other officers. I know there are some who get into law enforcement for the wrong reasons.

3. In this state, the minumum for police academy is 600 hours (roughly 15-16 weeks at a 40 hour week schedule). Plus most departments have a field training program that lasts anywhere from 4 weeks to 16 weeks.

Pancakes

10 minutes worth of research with a good internet connection would dispell such vague, sweeping insults.
But, then again, they are just rumors.

mebe1042

1.) False. I hold an A.S. in Police Science and a B.A. in Public Administration. I also teach part-time at an area Technical College. Almost all Officer Recruits are requiered to hold an A.S.degree at a minimum before being hired.

2.)FALSE Sorry, I was picked on because I was "The Fat Kid" most of my School years. But I lost weight to joined the Coast Guard after my Jr. year and went to basic during the Summer. I came back very fit and pretty much anonymous during my Sr. year. I loved Police shows when I was a kid, but wanted to be a mechanical Engineer. I became interested in Law Enforcement while in the Coast Guard.

3.) FALSE. It's now about 520 hours of Academy training(13 weeks). Then it's off to FTO training with the Department which they have to pass and during this, the new Officer is on a probationary period of 12-18 months. During this time, he/she can be fired for any reason.

So needless to say, the rumors for the most part are incorrect.

Chief

Next time you see a police officer why don't you ask him or her?

Dashing Geek

1. True, but most people are average. What has impressed me about the policemn I have known is that, over time, they develop a very keen sense of character. They know who is a good person and who is not; they know who is lying and who is not. That is a very street-smart kind of intelligence.

2. Can be true, but more important,w hen you give someone power, like a badge and a gun, the power goes to their heads.

3. I think the academy is more than 8 weeks. I know in LA it is 18 because I just saw a reality show on it. After that, yes, gun, car, badge, ego, watch out.

BTW, none of these comments pertain to every cop.

whcwarrior_10

Not true. I hold a bachelors degree and an associates. The academy in my city was 6 months long, and 40 hours yearly of continuing education. i was never picked on in school, and spent 20 years in the navy.

brian_hubbard8

that's a really good question. its all crap this was probably told by a retard. you cant even be a cop without college. cops are some of the smartest people in the world. call who ever told you this when you need some help.

California Street Cop

1) It was somewhat true long, long, long ago. Today is another story, though in some small places with limited resources they are forced to take people form the local community, regardless of their....you know. Its hard to attract smart, "adjusted" people to law enforcement if you pay about the same as McDonalds. Sad, but true.

2) Cops are made up of all kinds. From the jocks to the goth freaks (yes, they get out of that phase, both of them). I was never picked on in school, nor was I bully.

3) Not in California. The state's POST requirements take well over 8 weeks. Even after the academy, you typically spend 3-4 months with a veteran officer learning how to use all that knowledge you gained in the academy.

CGIV76

No matter how many responses you receive, it would never answer for every department in the United States. So if you heard a rumor, which I doubt, it was just a small one.

Ashley P

For the department that my friend works in:

1.Untrue

2. Untrue

3. Untrue. Every year my friend has to go to 40 hours of additional training and they go to school for longer than 8 weeks.

going [[nowhere]] fast

i cant say for sure but it sounds like it could be true for some

Bette

Absolutely not true.

Officer

Not true. Don't make me cry.

I could go on forever about how each point is not true, but I am emotionally exhausted.

And I have a headache behind my right eye.

So. Cal Man

The problem is that they select people with no life experience. Anyone with a minor infraction on their record most likely will not be selected to be an officer. So like you stated, you get the weirdo's who were picked on or those that are socially retarded. Remember, anyone that has no record just has not been caught yet. At least if you can see someones bad record you know where they are coming from.

Inevitables

REALLY UNTRUE!
Police men go through alot of extensive govt. training. I can't even start where they go from ; forensics class , shooting , hostage training and many many many more!

picked on as kids? maybe for a few of them, but thats for everyone, we like to revenge

the number 3 is complete crap. they go to school more than that.

.. .this can't be good

Catoosa County GA 101!

Absolutely

Joe B

Its true, my toothfairy told me!

Joey m

Pretty accurate. I'd add that many were not only bullied but also bullies as boys. The bullies found a career where they can continue their anti-social behavior and get rewarded for it.

Moreover, many cop exams disqualify candidates if they score too high. They don't want cops to be too smart.

Adam B

true

PrettySeaShell

1. NO
2. could be true in some cases, but most just want to help people
3. i don't know

jeligula

I would agree with all three, although I do not know for sure if they are true or not. I do know that most of them see citizens as the enemy and do not feel the need to be even a little polite and most each and every one of them would rather shoot a person than take a punch. This is in the US, of course. Police state extraordinaire.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: