Cheating death and fighting communism: that is how a fellow officer once described our job. It was meant to be funny, but as time went on it seemed all too true.
I spent more than ten years in law enforcement, all of it on the street in uniform patrol. I've been a patrol officer, instructor, sergeant and lieutenant.
Do not report crimes here. Nothing here should be considered legal advice. All opinions are my own.
If you feel you have been improperly searched by officers, you can contact their agency and file a complaint.
Nope.
Saftey checkpoints are a useful tool for helping to reduce drunk driving, accidents, and removing criminals from the roadways. Driving on public roadways is a licensed privledge, not a right, and therefore is subject to limited intrusion. The specific rules on how they are to be run vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and are controled by law, court opinions and department policies.
When adequately staffed so undue delays are not generated, I have no problem with them.
It depends on the laws of the state, but generally attempting to commit a crime is punishable as if you completed the crime itself. Based on your scenario, the only reason why the item was not stolen was the clerk saw the theft taking place and the thief put the item back. The intent to commit a theft existed, and the thief took an action to commit the crime, so in many jurisdictions it would be a criminal act (attempted theft or something similar.)
Consider the guy who runs into the liquor store to rob it. As he begins to demand money, the store clerk pulls out a gun and the robber flees. The robber did not succeed in the crime, but intended to rob the clerk and took some action to commit the crime. Therefore, the attempted robbery could be prosecuted.
I hope that makes sense, and these things vary from state to state depending on the laws of each.
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Yes.
I do not have a military background, but it looks like the USMC has a variety of law enforcement related MOS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Marine_Corps_MOS#58_Military_Police_and_Corrections
That said, I've worked with plenty of officers who were former miltary that did not have a MP background and they did very well in the hiring process. At my last department, I worked with a former Marine who was an aircraft mechanic, another who was in motor transport and a third who was a machine gunner. All were good cops.
If there is something specific that interests you, go for it. If you have a solid service record and even manage to get yourself promoted, it will all work to your benefit when you apply for a civilian law enforcement job.
Remember your oath, stay safe & thanks for your service.
One of the functions of a police officer is to enforce traffic laws. So, while on patrol I would be looking for both criminal and traffic vioations. Since most criminals use a vehicle in some way (to get to a crime, to flee a crime, to move stolen property, etc.), making traffic stops will frequently result in the discovery of criminal activity.
I have made major felony cases by stopping people for relatively minor traffic infractions. Folks like Timothy McVeigh, Ted Bundy and others have all been located on traffic stops. I can't tell you how many terrorists, murderers, rapists and others have been arrested after a seemingly small traffic violation.
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