Hi LEO's
Im a Citizen. I understand that you run the license plate before you pull someone over,and get a lot of info.

But what about before you run a plate? What does your instinct/experiance tell you about stickers,etc. while sitting in traffic?

Secondly- I'm a NRA Life member,but I don't put any NRA stickers on my car because I'm concerned about some jerk seeing it, and breaking into car thinking he'll find a gun. He won't. Are my concerns unfounded?

Thank you in advance.

An Obama bumper sticker tells me that you are getting a ticket.

Below = Clue

+1

honestly most of the time, they dont mean much...you can pull over a  "ive supported troopers for 9 years" car and they be drunk as a skunk...

Bumper stickers can give you a clue as to who is inside-

Hip hop radio- probably a better stop than the AARP in the next lane over

Odd you should say that.  An instructor in my academy has been there a few decades, it seems, and he's always telling the rooks to beware of cars that have more than 2 bumper stickers...

I wonder if trdvet remembers...

I pay precisely zero attention to the trooper association/FOP/PBA stickers.  Unfortunately the bad guys are just as likely to have them as the good guys.

 along with thin blue line stickers and tags seems everyone has one

3 bumper sticker rule; any more than 3 and you might as well get one that says "I'm an idiot".  It also works for tattoos.  It's not perfect of course, but it does seem surprisingly accurate.

I was in a very good mood one night and decided nobody was getting a ticket.  I looked for any reason at all to let them go.  Veteran?  They got a "Thank you".  Old lady?  "Slow down or you won't get home".  Town resident?  "You live here so you should know there is a stop sign there, not a pause sign".

Then came the minivan that was going 15 over (where I started to stop people on most roads).  It was within a year of 9/11 and she had the "Impeach Bush" and "No War for Oil" stickers.  Hmmm.........guess someone was getting a ticket after all!  I approached the window and found a very happy woman there.  I asked her where she was coming from and she said she just starred in a play, everybody loved it, and it was the "best night of her life".  I told her to sit tight, this won't take long and I'll have her on her way.  I handed her the ticket, told her the instructions were on the reverse side, and to please be careful pulling away from the curb.  Oh, and to have a nice night!

Yeah, bumper stickers can jam you up with the right person.

I pay attention to bumper stickers. Some can be indicators of criminal activity. We've had this discussion before, IIRC.

Hard to say since a bumper sticker is like anything else visual......something that could be out there to intentionally confuse.

Essentially, to me, the bumper sticker is in the same class as the pretty young thing in the short skirt in the West German training film: something there to distract, to draw one into the kill zone. Perhaps not, perhaps it is innocent, but there is that possibility. Disregard the candy to the eye and concentrate.
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(After watching Trish Van Devere in a short skirt bending over on the esculator and then starting as he reaches his stop unexpectingly and bumping into the pickpocket. Harry looks up at what the victim was staring at and says, "Sweet...but it's not worth breaking your neck over.", (w,stte), "Harry in Your Pocket")

Great question.

A few of my favorites:

FOP/ State Trooper Assn./ "I donate money to get out of a ticket" stickers:  Irrelevant and ignored.  Blue Line decals have fallen into this category as well.  In one instance, after issuing him a citation, I actually had a violator ask me if I saw his FOP sticker, and what they were for since it wasn't getting him out of a ticket.  

NRA/ "Insured by (insert gun brand here)"/ any firearm related stickers: This tells me a few things.  1.  This driver is smart enough to be an armed citizen, however;  2.  This driver doesn't have enough sense to recognize the importance of the element of surprise when using a firearm in self defense.  3.  This driver wants his/her vehicle burglarized.  4.  It allows me to presume there's a weapon within reach of the driver and all occupants of this vehicle.

D.A.R.E./ Say No to Drugs:  Thou dost protest too much.  These stickers SCREAM "There may or may not be drug users in this car".  Fellow LEOs will back me up on this.  Bonus points for more than one of these decals on the same car. Triple bonus if on an interstate commercial vehicle.

"Expressions of your faith" stickers:  I was raised in the church.  But unless this sticker is on a minivan driven by someone's grandparents, it's a bit fishy to me.  See above for commercial vehicles.  'Nuff said.

College/ fraternity/ sorority stickers:  Now, I graduated from college, and had a blast while I was there.  At the same time, I know these are the same young adults who feel their family's status translates to their self-importance.  Get ready for name dropping and being subtly reminded that you're just a public servant.  And as we were reminded in the academy, sorority stickers alone are NOT probable cause for a traffic stop.

Any car insurance sticker:  (See D.A.R.E./ Say No to Drugs).  "I may or may not have insurance.  Please don't stop me."

Bad Cop - No Donut/ Sarcastic "I love the police" stickers:  Do I really have to expand on this one?  

Around here, seems a lot of the people who have drug history have recycling stickers on their car.

No joke, it's almost probable cause for a stop when you check out the beat down ride(edited to add, meaning multiple vehicle equipment violations) with the two most prominent recycling stickers from the biggest recyclers in the county on them.

Not sure if it's straight aluminum cans they are recycling or if it's things like copper wire and other scrap.  But it's one of the things that goes through my mind EVERY time I see a recycling sticker on a car.  Whether on duty or off duty I start running probability/statistics odds on whether or not the person would come back with probation search terms for drug testing.


It's the only one I'm biased on.    I over look Obama stickers and just about every other political form of speech, my personal opinions and thoughts that I might mumble I try to leave behind for when I'm off duty.

Several officers who are friends (former co-workers) of mine have indicated to me that a pro-Obama sticker will NOT help your case.

They have also said that a F*CK OBAMA sticker WOULD however help your case.

Alright, given the above LEO responses, I'll describe my back bumper. I'm curious as to the LEO response:

On my back bumper is one black bumper sticker from LaRue Tactical and it reads, "extremely Rightwing." in white letters.

What say the ARFCOM LEOs?

I have an "Extremely Rightwing" in my back window of my POV as well. I had to put it a little lower due to the R/B led's in the back window. I also have one BFL on each side window.



I also have my Sheriff traffic vest in the back seat for traffic details. I also have my Sheriff boonie hat somewhere in the car.



Of course, I don't speed or break traffic laws so I don't get pulled over.



I did get pulled over by the local PD one time at night. I had my partner with me and we were in full uniform. 2 units did the "cut the pie" thing up to my window. I think the last thing they expected was 2 guys with badges and guns sitting there. They apologized right quick and left when I asked what the PC for the stop was.

Good cop, a dozen donuts for you!

You got that right.

I don't know about everywhere else, but here in central Texas, two or more LE association stickers pretty much guarantees that the driver is an illegal alien with no DL, no insurance, fake registration and fake inspection...they seem to think all the CLEAT, FOP, and DPSOA stickers mean they won't get stopped.  Little do they know it's a damn good indicator.

Thin Blue Line, Freemason, FOP Supporter?  Have a 80% chance of not getting one.

Obama bumper sticker, Nader sticker, "Love Your Earth Mother"/"CoExist" sticker?   Ticket every time.  LMAO

That is simply.....Amazing

Next thing, someone's gonna say that 'Free the Weed' is not the best slogan to have plastered on the ass of your car...



Whoda thunk?

I have heard from a number of people around here that if you have the bumper sticker they give for donating to the wounded police officer's fund, that the number of tickets you receive goes waaaaaay down.

our department got 267 weed plants on a traffic stop. truck had F.O.P. sticker. thin blue line and F.O.P. stickers can be had my anyone. same goes with marine corps stickers. i have stopped a shit load of people with marine corps stickers that were not marines.

Besides, those of us who actually HAVE BEEN in the service know that 'service affiliation' is best demonstrated with an ID card, not some bumper sticker...



And before someone says 'Are you using your ID to get out of tickets?', I'm required to show both ID/DL by state law, since my DL is on a military extension....





 

I have Law Enforcement Memorial plates on my car, because the money goes to the families of those cops that are DEAD, it aint for the living...

I would have given a reaming to a popo who had diarrhea of the mouth about the plates when out on a call to our house...(geriatric death)...but I was not home.

Besides, I would rather pay more money for a plate that helped people, rather than wildlife...that is what Hunting and associated fees are for.