Top Ten Misconceptions About Police Officers

This Information Has Been Derived from a Federal Report on The State of Law Enforcement in the United States

1) Being a cop is a dangerous job.
False: Being a cop is not even on the list of the top 15 most dangerous jobs in America. Being a cab driver is 50 times more dangerous than being a cop.

2) Cops in the U.S are highly trained.
False: Cops in the U.S. only receive 9 to 12 weeks of training, sometimes a lot less, one of the lowest in the industrialized world. Cops in most other countries receive at least 104 weeks of training, (two years) and usually require an education.

3) Cops are chosen because of their superior decision making skills.
False: A report by the federal government states that over 90% of cops on duty in the U.S. barely passed high school or received a GED.

4) Cops are morally superior to regular citizens.
False: Out of 750,000 cops in the U.S. over 11,000 are indicted each year for felony crimes. That's 32.8 per day. This is only a drop in the bucket, most cop violations go unreported.

5) Cops are not civilians.
False: Cops are civilians, they are civil servants protected by the Civil Service Act. Only elected officials and military personnel are government officials. Not appointed offices such as law enforcement officers, deputies, civil servants, government contractors or government employees. The only law enforcement officer that is not a civilian is a Sheriff, because he is elected.

6) Cops are legal experts.
False False False: Cops are not experts at anything, especially law. If any cop tells you he is a legal expert, call your local Bar Associations Unlicensed Practice of Law Branch.

7) Cops can give you legal advice.
False: Only a licensed attorney can give you legal advice. If a cop suggests any legal action, report it to the State Bar.

8) Cops are under paid.
False: They are well paid for a job that requires no education, unskilled, minimally trained low risk labor, with government benefits and retirement.

9) Cops are society's best people.
False: Some departments have been found to have convicted felons in uniform and as high up as the highest ranking officers in their precincts.

10) Police do a good job of policing themselves.
False: Insider information has reported to us that it is most departments' policies to use internal affairs to cover up anything that would embarrass a departments administration. Unless it is caught on record or reported by the media. Letting cops police themselves is the same as letting the inmates run the prisons. Vote for any local change in your community to put citizen review boards in charge of police discipline matters. Remember, we are the taxpayers, the cops are our employees, Stop letting them get away with murder.