I'm going on a ride-along at the end of the week.  I have no career aspirations to join law enforcement; this is for educational value mostly.  

I'd like to keep engaged with the deputy during the ride-along time.  Can you all offer some quality questions for me to ask?

First,

I wouldn't ask a lot of questions.


Second,

The questions I would ask, are the things the reason I went on a ride along for. If you have no questions, what were you hoping to gain?


If you are just blanking, however, I'd want to know about how he felt about various things. I'd be interested in hearing his rationale for the decisionmaking process he uses. And, I'd want to know what he felt about the community.

What I wouldn't ask are questions about equipment, rank, his career aspirations, how to get out of legal action, where the best dope to buy is, can we go by my school and let me drive, can we arrest this kid I don't like, has he shot many people, will he shoot someone today, can I have my own gun, you know, just in case? No, ok, well I brought my own, that kinda stuff (I have seen every one of those questions, btw)

Ask if the officer volunteered to have you or if he was "forced" to take you as a rider.

If he volunteered to have you, ask away with whatever questions you want.

If he was forced to take you, ask what time he wants you to leave.

Some don't like riders... let the officer dictate the amount of jibber-jabber.

This.

Ask: "How many people have you shot?" "Were you bullied in school, is that why you're a cop now?" "How much pussy/dick do you get being a cop?" "Where do you go for free doughnuts?"

All of these and more are questions I have been asked by ride alongs (not all by the same person either) lol.

Questions I would rather have asked of me would be how and why I got into LE. How/why I ended up with the dept that I am at. How the city etc has changed since I started (I've been in over two decades with the same dept so I've seen a lot of change in the city, dept and LE in general). Stuff along that lines.

Just realize that ride along are fun to have some days and suck to have on others and usually the Officer does not have a choice if they get one so if they seem like a dick or standoffish they prob had other stuff going that shift.

We are lucky that at our Dept we only do ride alongs for prospective hires, people going to into LE through the local college and for a couple of local service type groups (Jaycee and local Leadership program). We do not allow ride alongs for joe blow off the street, so most of the people we have are there for the right reasons.

Some of the better ride alongs were with folks who were just talkative enough to make the time pass and show that they were interested in being there.

J-