Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Ask a cop's LiveJournal:

[ << Previous 20 ]

Friday, May 25th, 2012
5:25 pm [girlygothic]	Boston, MA Specific Questions I have an idea for a story I'm just beginning to write, and I'm finding I have a *lot* of questions about the Boston Police. I've been researching online, and the official website has helped a lot. But then, it's also prompted more questions. (In fact, in some ways, the more I research, the less I understand.) So, hoping there are some Boston Police Officers/Detectives on this list, I guess I'll start with some of the simplest questions. 1) I've only ever been to one game at Fenway, and at the time I really wasn't paying attention to such things. But I'm assuming there'd have to be police presence at home games. Are the officers that work there during games assigned as part of their regular duties/shift? Is it considered regular duty, but something you volunteer for rather than are assigned? Is it considered extra/overtime work? 2) If I'm understanding the website correctly, you don't have to attend the Academy to become an officer, but doing so does give you preference in the hiring process. Other than that preference, are there any other advantages to going through the academy? (Does it speed up your career path if you do/hold you back if you don't?) 3) How old do you have to be to attend the Academy? (The website gives conflicting information on this. In one place is says you have to be at least 21 to be an officer. In another it says you have to be between 18 and 24 to work for the BPD.) I guess I'll stop there for now. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help. (Comment on this)
Monday, February 20th, 2012
4:32 pm [jgalt44]	Extortion and Hidden Camera Would it be possible for the victim of extortion to ask police to install a hidden camera (audio and video) in the victim's living room? The idea being to catch the suspect on tape demanding the money. The location is in Illinois, where you can have hidden video but not audio recordings as long as it is not in a expected privacy location. Would you need a warrant if you have the homeowner's permission? Thanks! (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012
11:43 am [verisimilitant]	Runaway teen procedure I was curious about the procedures regarding runaway minors. When a minor is believed to have runaway, how is the investigation handled? How long would the minor be considered missing rather than a runaway? Would tips be reported to the local police, or is there a runaway/missing child hotline? Is there a database for runaway minors? After the minor turns 18, does their name remain in the database? If a tip came in after the minor has turned 18, would the tip be passed along to the parents? Can a parent have their child removed from the database? If a runaway is found after the runaway has turned 18, would they be required to speak to the police or have any legal repercussions against them? Thank you so much for your help in this! I really appreciate it! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, January 15th, 2012
10:57 pm [vurumai]	STIs and prison I know this is not precisely on topic for this community but I do not know where to post it and get it answered.  Say I go to prison and become infected with a sexually transmitted infection, say hepatitis or HIV. Will prision healthcare cover antiviral therapy like HAART? Say it does, where do you draw the line? Would it cover valtrex for herpes? Tamaflu for influenza? (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012
4:31 am [emmee_kay]	Hello - What is the difference between a badge and a shield? I'm trying to write a scene where a police officer shows someone his identification. I had them show a badge, but then I heard of a procedural that says officers always call them "shields." (In some internet searches, it seems the words badges and shields are interchangeable, so I'm confused.) Any help in sorting this out would be really appreciated. Thank you! (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, December 29th, 2011
5:03 am [etiennewestwind]	Interview Records Hi, I was hoping someone could help me out for a story.  If an attorney is present when someone is questioned, what is generally recorded in the police reports?  Just name and contact info for the attorney, or is more info required? Thanks, --etienne (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, November 27th, 2011
1:59 pm [liliaeth]	Sharing images of underage kidnap victims with the press I'm not entirely sure how to look for this. I'm writing a story, where the bad guy has kidnapped teenagers and kept them captive at his home. At the time of the story, three of his captives are still underage, while two are of age, but are mentally damaged to the point that they wouldn't be able to make choices of their own. Would the police allow their pictures to be shared with the press in order to try and find their families and identify them? Thinking the victims have no criminal records, so their fingerprints wouldn't be on file, and since the kidnapper has taken them across state lines and the police have no idea when they were taken, it'd be hard to find them just by going through missing person files. (10 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, November 19th, 2011
10:26 am [hopefoot]	Looking to understand I'm trying to figure out how to word this request without sounding hostile. I can only say that I'm not here to attack or condemn but only to understand. I'm looking for logic, not a fight. I'm trying to understand the philosophy. I want to be convinced that there is sound reasoning behind what I'm seeing. The Occupy movements. I probably don't even have to ask my question because I strongly suspect you already know what it is. But for the sake of clarity - why are police officers hurting so many people, and why does it seem that they are using excessive force? What is the justification? What is the mentality? What is the rule that is being followed? I'm particularly interested in reactions to the videos where people are outraged at the way police are handling protest situations. I'd like to know if an officer can look at these videos and say, "Ah, I see why the officers acted the way they did and I believe that what they did was right and necessary." I honestly believe there are two sides, if not more, to every story. I'd like to hear the side of the officers doing their jobs because I've looked around and I haven't been able to find it. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, November 12th, 2011
12:32 pm [breelligerent]	What is the protocol for collecting evidence/building a case for a sexual assault trial? Hello all! I'm writing an essay about the under-reporting of rape and sexual assault and I wanted some input from actual law enforcement officers. Don't worry, I'm not blaming police officers or other LE workers for the low rates of reporting. The legal system is not responsible for this problem, it's a systemic and cultural issue instead. I think that having the perspective of LEOs would give my essay more insight into the difficulties of investigating and prosecuting rape, which can explain why some survivors don't come forward. I'm mostly looking at the U.S., but anyone with information and opinions would help me out immensely. A few questions: - What is the protocol for collecting witness statements and evidence? What do you have to do to verify the survivor's accusation? - How many accusers have you personally encountered who were lying about the incident? - Have you noticed other LEOs being less likely to believe a certain segment of the population who report their assaults? (LGBT, racial minorities, the homeless, those in certain occupations, etc) - Why do a large percentage of sexual assault cases fail to go to trial? - What could we do to improve the outcomes sexual assault investigations and increase the number of survivors reporting their assaults? - What can the general public do to help LEO investigate sexual assault cases? Thank you all for your time! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, November 8th, 2011
9:30 pm [kdorian]	Car accident victim is also a shooting victim This should be cross-posted to "ask someone who works in a hospital", but there doesn't seem to be such a community. If anyone has a good idea what the hospital procedures would be under these circumstances, I'd love to hear them. Best guesses are fine - I just need an idea of what would happen. While operating on the victim of a single-car accident (driver lost control of the vehicle while driving on the freeway in the early morning hours), the surgeon discovers that the victim has been shot. Immediate evidence suggests the shooting occurred at the same time as or not long before  the accident. Bullet fragments are recovered from the victim.  He is alive after surgery but will be in a medically induced coma, and will not be available for questioning for at least a week and possibly longer, assuming he survives that long, which is not certain. When test results come back, the victim will be negative for drugs and have a very low alcohol level (1 beer, 2-3 hours previously). Any search of his records will come back squeaky clean - this guy doesn't even have a traffic ticket. Would the police be called immediately, while the surgery is still ongoing? The surgery is going to take at least another hour after the bullet is found, possibly longer. Would they come to the hospital immediately? The victim has a security clearance. Would pulling his records show this immediately? There are two family members in the waiting room; they were contacted by the hospital when the accident victim was brought in (the victim had contact info on him, clearly marked),  They have not yet been told the man was shot. Would an officer or detective speak with them? Would the officer or detective tell them the man had been shot? One of the family members, the victim's brother, is an FBI agent. Would he be given more information than a civilian would be given? If questioned, the family members tell the police that the victim had been acting oddly lately. He was usually a homebody, but recently was out almost every evening, frequently until very late. He had been skipping appointments, not spending time with his friends, or working on any of his hobbies. He would not discuss the matter with his family, other than saying he was working on a 'project'. This had been going on for 2-3 weeks. They are not aware of any financial problems, and believe he is doing well financially. He is a college professor, and they are not aware of any problems related to his work. He does not have a girlfriend that they are aware of. His prior girlfriend and he broke up quietly several months back. They see each other professionally on occasion and there seem to be no hard feelings on either side. When the car is examined, evidence suggests he was shot while he was in the car. What if any are the initial best guesses on the reason for the shooting, and/or initial approaches for investigating? The brother is going to end up doing some investigating of his own. Is this going to cause friction with the police? Edited to add: Assume a VERY bad accident - the car hit something, flipped, and was struck by another car, or something equally serious. (10 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, August 6th, 2011
9:46 am [kate_sherwood]	Police radios in remote areas I'm writing a novel and trying to isolate a Montana Sheriff's Deputy from help. He's in a remote area of Montana, so no cell phone coverage, and the bad guys have cut the land lines. Would his police radio still work? If he can't make it to his car, would he have a radio on his body that would work? If he were off-duty when this happened, would he even have a radio with him? Thanks for any help with this. (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, August 5th, 2011
12:24 am [mydwelling]	Rediculous request/stupid question? I get to my office after work around 10pm-11pm.  I stop in to put my equiptment away and switch from the company vehicle to my personal vehicle.  I'm there a total of 10-15 minutes, tops.   The problem is that I'm scared.  It's in a office/storage unit complex.  There isn't a single place with people in it for 2 blocks, and any houses there are, the people in them are probably sleeping.  It's in a decent part of town but I'm basically under a bridge and a set of train tracks.  I doubt anything would happen to me, but if something did happen nobody would hear me scream.  That's basically the only fear I have.  That nobody would hear me.    I keep my cell phone handy and have my can of mace, but if somebody were to sneak up on me would I have enough time to react?   So, my question is, would it be completely rediculous to call up the local police station and request that they have somebody patrol the area while I'm there?  I mean, if they have somebody available and there's nothing else going on.  I wouldn't want anybody to go out of their way.   Part of me thinks "suck it up".  Another part of me thinks they'll think it's a rediculous request and I should probably hire a body guard if I'm so scared.  Or at least have a friend meet me there (I simply don't have a friend who could at that hour).   FWIW, I'm 140lb female.  No matter how strong I think I am, I'm fully aware that if a 250lb man came at me, he'd win by brute force.           (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, July 10th, 2011
10:05 pm [jgalt44]	Another Novel Question A suspect is arrested for possession of drugs with intent to sell (3 grams of Meth) and he tells the police that he has information about a kidnapped child. He knows the name of the woman who took the child, her last known whereabouts, and the car she switched to after the kidnapping. He wants immunity from the drug charges and any charges relating to the kidnapping. A witness identified a van that is similar to one the suspect owns being near the scene of the abduction, but she believed a woman was driving the van. Do you think the DA would offer him a deal contingent on the safe, healthy return of the child? How would they approach the motel room where the woman was last staying? After they discover she left about six hours ago, what would they do to find her? I would appreciate any help you can give me. Thanks! (Comment on this)
Saturday, July 2nd, 2011
9:35 am [jgalt44]	Question for a Novel I have found a lot resources at NCMEC on how to handle the initial investigation of a child (aged 6) abduction by a non-family member from a grassy area near a small hospital in a city of about 40K. An eyewitness confirmed seeing the boy and his small dog get into the vehicle of a person unknown. After it was confirmed the child was missing, an Amber Alert was issued. I am having difficulty figuring out what is reasonable in terms of a timeline for the investigation. My story begins when it becomes apparent the child will not be located quickly and most immediate leads have been exhausted. The investigators are at the point of rereading reports and making sure all leads were followed up. I am trying to figure out how long it would take to get to this stage. I know every case is different, so I'm looking at a likely estimate. Two weeks? A month? I would appreciate any help you can offer. Thanks! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011
10:54 pm [annamarie326]	Maternity shirts / bdus Hello all, I figured id ask here since my medic uniform is much similar to the standard white short sleeve police polyester bud uniform than typical Fd uniforms. Is there anywhere where you can actually find maternity uniforms? All I could find were the non bdu style patrol pants whichll do if need be but I really need a polyester maternity shirt that'll fit both my tiny arms and growing belly! Google has failed me so any help would be very appreciated! (Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 8th, 2011
8:17 pm [electricdruid]	Underage drinking in the state of NJ Hi guys! First time poster here. Sorry if this is long winded or incoherent. I dunno if any of you are in NJ or familiar with current NJ law, but maybe you can help me out anyway. My mother and I have a problem with our neighbors. Often on Friday or Saturday nights the kids and their friends throw parties (I'm not sure of exact ages, but I know one son is in college and the other is in high school, and both throw parties) that go on sometimes until 4 in the morning. They are outside this entire time and it keeps my mother awake. They are always drinking alcohol. My mother calls the police every time this happens to no avail. Because she is now left with no option but to file a complaint, she has taken to asking questions of the police who respond to her calls. The most recent police officer told her that underage alcohol consumption is, in fact, perfectly legal in New Jersey, so long as it is on private property and with the parent's consent. I don't know law, but this sounds very, very wrong to me. My mother spoke to an officer in a neighboring town and asked if he could confirm this. He was adamant that this was not true. Underage drinking is ALWAYS illegal in New Jersey, he said. He advised us to speak to the officer's superiors. While we are planning to do this, I'm wondering if any of you would care to weigh in on the matter. We're very confused since we are getting two conflicting reports from police in two different towns, but the laws cannot vary from town to town- only how strictly they are enforced- correct? Further adding to the confusion, the website for the State of New Jersey says very little about underage drinking, the most useful passage being this passage. This site, on the other hand, seems to support the suggestion that underage drinking is legal on private property in NJ, even without the permission of a parent. Thoughts? Thanks for any help you can give! Current Mood: confused (14 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, May 26th, 2011
4:26 pm [imbecamiel]	Question related to medical information/access. Greetings! I have a fiction-related question, here.  I'm writing a story involving a convicted felon on work release, working with law enforcement as a CI. The way I handle certain aspects of the story may be affected by what access law enforcement (most specifically his handler) would potentially have to his medical information. If necessary I can have the CI give permission for the access at a certain point, but I'm wondering if the information might be given without his needing to grant the permission then and there. I'm not talking access to the medical files, but more about medical personnel giving his handler (he's under quite close supervision) general information about injuries/illnesses. Is it likely his handler would be allowed access to that information, as it'll affect the CI's work with them? If not automatically, is it possible that something related could have been written into the release contract? Any information, or pointers as to where to look for research, would be much appreciated! Under the circumstances a certain amount of fudging reality might be allowable, but I'd really rather present as accurate a picture as possible. (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, May 23rd, 2011
12:22 pm [darkshadow316]	Car Mike Holsters. Hey gang, Anyone know where I can find some car mike holsters? It's like trying to find the holy grail it seems. Current Mood: curious (Comment on this)
Sunday, May 22nd, 2011
12:44 pm [necropalice]	Missing Persons...  Hey! I'm sure this has probably been discussed on here before, but I've tracked back through several pages and can't find what I'm looking for... I'm researching missing persons in the UK, but information regarding American procedures will still be useful. I've found this breakdown of events from the Metropolitan Police, and it's left me with a few questions. 1. What rank would the initial investigating officer likely to be? 2. What rank would the nominated officer within the police station likely to be? 3. If the missing person is found to be murdered (let's say within three years), would the investigation be handed over to an alternative officer, of a higher rank, perhaps? Would the nominated officer still be involved in investigations?4. If the missing person was an eighteen year old girl, would a female officer be more likely to be selected to conduct initial interviews and inquiries, or would the gender of the officer/missing person not be taken into consideration?   Thank you so much for any and all help! (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, May 19th, 2011
6:39 pm [yellowhorde]	Questions about Helicopter pursuits Hello. I have a few questions about helicopters in the pursuit of a fugitive. My story takes place in Los Angeles, October, 1997, if that make any difference. A friend told me that it wouldn't matter if the felon tried to evade pursuit during the day or night because LAPD helicopters have infrared and heat sensing cameras. I don't know how accurate that information is, but if she's right, did LAPD helicoptes have infrared and heat sensing cameras in 1997? And if they did, is it even possible for someone to escape on foot? (Or maybe steal a car, I guess?) I really need this guy to get away because I have plans for him to have a confrontation later with the main character. That can't happen if he's arrested. How often were helicopters used in pursuit of criminals back in 1997 (or even today) and is there a realistic way I can have him escape? Thanks in advance. Any help in this matter would be appreciated. (4 Comments |Comment on this)