Posted: 12/30/2004 9:48:37 PM EDT
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I am interested in LE work and would like to see what police work is really like. Are the officers ok with you asking questions? Do you usually have to pull a entire shift? thanks- |
| Did the entire shift with a Henderson PD officer, and had a ball. Got to see some WT whackjob pull his fake eye out of his head and set it down on the hood of the patrol car. This happened about 10 mins after I asked the cop I was with what was the weirdest thing he'd ever seen; he couldn't give me a good answer. Now I know. |
Had 2 really good friends that were cops for SJPD. Must have done 15 ride alongs (im not a wanna be, they were bored and asked me to come along). Most fun I have ever had besides flying, and well, u know Saw some nasty shit too. Try one, its a blast. Dress nice, sign your waiver, and sit back and have fun.
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I done several.... ( but I was a reserve) There are several officers and deputies that are just fine with ride alongs, Im also a FireFighter and we do them...If I had advice to give... Dont become a groupie...one or two, but once you hit 3 in a year, you are a dork... It is O.K. to ask questions, but dont overload with questions, try and figure out about 8 good questions ahead of time, there will be enough stuff to talk about as you are running around... Have some cash with you, I hated springing for a adult's lunch/dinner...I never said anything but Im not there to feed you. dress for the part. I had a young lady show up in high heals and a skirt...Good shoes, nice clean jeans and a long sleeve sweatshirt. We had to land airlift and she was more of a babysitting detail, and we had to tell her to stay in the rig during a awesome car accident, where if she was dressed proper, she could have hung out with the Batt chief and gotten a way better view... I will leave up the cop stuff to the cops....but Im sure most of the above counts for them aswell |
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I've been on quite a few. I was going through a LE academy and we were encouraged to go on at least one ride with any dept we were interested in working with. CHP -2 rides Great guys, will answer law type questions, not too many about policy and procedure. Merced County Sheriff-2 rides Code -3 , 120MPH down back country two lane orchard road to go to a shooting call. Really cool shit. Showed me how to release the shot gun from passenger seat should SHTF. Merced PD, 2 rides, 1 cool, 1 shit down, shut up, and watch. Lodi, PD 1 ride, busy shift, exciting, but was a sit there quietly type ride. A few times I could tell the officer was trying to be professionally polite, but wanted me out of the car. I offered to leave early. Stockton School District PD- 2 rides. for a 20 man dept, busy as all hell, district has 3 high schools, 5 middle schools, and about 15 elementary schools. We hit most of them in two days. Great guys would answer any question, and included me on everything they did. |
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I go on ride alongs everyday.. Well except for my days off Seriously though I don't mind ride alongs at all. Dress nicely, carry yourself professionally and be polite. Don't try to tell me how to do my job. And don't ask why I didn't just pull over a 60 year old lady cause she didn't use her turning indicator. Sit back, relax and enjoy.. Hell, you may just want to change professions! |
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I went on one with my dad. He's on the motor squad so we got to take out the undercover car. It was awesome. Granted, I had to get up at 4am so we could be to work at 7, but I would do it all over again. The first person we pulled over was going 85 or 90 in a 55 zone. We were in a Camero and when the lights turned on, the guy slammed on his breaks so fast! I would highly recommend going on a ride along at least once if you have the chance. Just as CFII said:
Enjoy!! |
I had a great time once when I rode with jadams951. We ended up having a SWAT situation near the end of the shift. Other than that we did a few traffic stops and one had warrants so I also got to see the county jail. I do belive that sold me on getting into Law Enforcement. Since I am not old enough to be a LEO yet, I applied to be a clerk and they moved me straight into Dispatch. Oh yeah, dont put too much gel in your hair 
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| I do ride alongs whenever I have the spare time. I am actively trying to become a LEO, so every bit of experience I can get along the way helps. I like riding with various officers, seeing how each of them handles things, take what they have and use it to help me do my thing when it's my turn. |
I know you are kidding, but for those who dont - NONE. I would recommend you do it with a friend or relative who is LEO. That way if you are a pain in the @$$ they know what they are getting with you and can laugh about it. Also, entire shift ride is not required by any PD's I know of. |
| I did 3 before i became an officer. I really wasn't sure if i would like it but after i rode along i knew that that was what i was going to do for the rest of my life. do it in a larger city and on a busy shift. Ive also had ride alongs with me and did not mind it at all. i got to talk to someone besides myself |
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you don't have to do an entire shift. have fun, ask some GOOD questions and just observe, maybe even help out. best advice, give the LEO a chance to vebally set his/her car rules, before you go ask what they'd like or not like you to do, or what's expected of you. you'd be surprised, it'll loosen some LEOs up right off the bat and make for a fun evening. and don't fucking babble our ears off, we're trying to work. 
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Plus they are trying to listen to the radio....not only for their unit numbers but the other units in their beat. |
Yeah i understand, I really wouldn't want a outsider watching every move I made. I thought that they usually put the ride alongs with officers that didn't mind them. |
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There was a business owner in my patrol area that used to complain constantly. He didnt think we patrolled his area enough, he didnt think he should be billed for false burglar alarms at his home or business, he complained about every car stop inviolving anyone in his family. One of our supervisors talked him into riding along for a shift during one of his complaint calls. 12 hours later he wanted to know how he could donate money for new equipment for the officers working his area. He ended up donating $20,000.00 the next day to a fund for surving family mebers of local officers killed on duty. He has donated at least that every year since and is one of our strongest most vocal supporters. He quite simply had no idea of the realities of police work and crime in his community. Ride alongs are a good thing for some people. |
| As my username implies, I'm an explorer(Law Enforcement, although I've never met another kind). I've been on a few rides with my department, and hope to get at least one in before I have to go back to college. It's an awesome experience, and as long as the officer you're riding with doesn't mind your presence, it can be a really rewarding 8 hours(We usually do a whole shift). The only difference with my rides is that I am required to file a report afterward, so I'm usually busy writing down times, locations, etc. Since you don't have any such paperwork obligations, I would reccomend that you follow all of the above suggestions, and go in with an open mind. Above all that, have FUN! |
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I went on a ride along with a Metro Vegas officer I know. I had a great time and saaw some goofy shit. There are some really messed up folks in Vegas. For the record, I picked up the tap for coffee and snacks during the ride along. He was gracious enough to pick up the dinner tab, even with my arguing about letting me pay my half, at a minimum. |
A couple of hours isn't bad, but not the whole shift. I let the officer choose, but I'm the supervisor now. When I was a patrolman I had a sup that would just stick you with one. One time she tried to put a guy with me I had arrested before. I refused. |
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Quoted: I went on a ride along with a Metro Vegas officer I know. I had a great time Metro is a great department filled with true professionals. I just can't say enough good things about the men out there. On piece of advice, and I mean this seriously: wear body armor. If you are in a patrol car, you will be assumed to be a police officer, and taking all attendent risks. This follows the old maxim, "If you look like a target, dress like a target" -Z |
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My roommate goes on about one a month. His best friend from HS is a DC cop, so he goes along to keep him company, talk about messed up stories. They'll roll in to a park, all the junkies run away and they hear the tinkle of crack vials breaking under the tires. Dude gets out "Yo! Buddy! I'm sorry, I seemed to have broken your glassware, if you come back here I'll help you clean up its contents, cause I know its expensive. Oh come on now, I'm here to help you, come back, please." etc etc, just taunting the junkies as he drives around and they throw their goods away. The guy also loves to park on the local prostitution hotspot/corner and write his reports. Kharn |
Without a doubt, C_T. I have met, trained with, trained by, shared a meal and drinks with a handful of Metro officers. Each and every last one of them were pros and great people to be around! |
I did once for an American Government class I had at my jesuit highschool senior year. Lots of fun. Did the night shift. Coolest part was as soon as we got in the car and out of the station, the officer showed me how to release the shotgun from the mount and told me if he goes down to use it. Gets your adrenaline runnin for the night.
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A ride along is great for someone interested in getting into LE work. You NEED to know what you are getting into. What I would LUUUUUUUV to see is some of the haters here go on several and see a bit of the REALITY of being a LEO. I can just about guarantee that some views would change and myths would be dispelled. As an aside, while an intern with Pensacola PD we rolled up on a major gang related fight in a club parking lot. Shots fired. We were the first there. The officer looks at me and says, "You know how to use a shotgun, right?" I say "Yes." He unlocks it and pused it over to me. On his way out of the car he tells me, "You better not let me get shot more than once!" and heads into the fray. I guess he was shooting some bravado at me but I thought it was cool.All the bangers scattered like the cockroaches they are but it was certainly a "moment" for me. Oh, advice: If the officer is toting an ass whipping get in there and get your ass whipped too! |
I'm sorry, but you can't use that term. It's racist. only halfway kidding |
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I did one with MilPol about five years ago . The guy was a friend of mine to begin with so he suggested it . Mostly we rode around all night listening to Art Bell , and I got to see where all of the bunkers full of cool stuff are . They took my pocket knife from me and made me sign a waiver . They told me if anything happens just stay in the truck . When we got in the rig my friend goes "This is the shotgun relase button . If anything happens you hit that button and make sure I go home to my wife ." |
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Been on many over the years. Had a cousin who worked for the SO and a best buddy worked for the local PD. Never really had anything exciting go on but they both enjoyed the company. Riding with my cousin, knowing that backup is 60-75 miles away and you are checking out four gang bangers in a car in a cemetery at 330am will get your heart started for sure. Riding with my buddy from the local we would just ride around in town and he would take the beer from the minors and cut them loose. Choir Practice would follow his shift.
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Yeah, One of my ride alongs was similar. I had a shotgun in my lap the whole time after we got out of the police station. 
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Is this counting the back seat too?  Edit: I should have know it would have been posted three times already. |
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Been on several with my son who is the local PD of a large city. More entertaining than most any of the usual forms of entertainment, but also been on a few that would bore you to tears. But for a 56 y.o. codger employed in the computer industry, it is the more excitement than I get in a normal workday. It ranks right up there with my tour of Vietnam, my five year stint as a skydiver, and my facination with mountain climbing for several years. My son has taken a few close friends on ride-alongs that later became LEOs. |
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i have been on several with a friend who does housing authority(the ghetto) and it was the most fun i have had with my clothes on.(so i'm in the process of filling out the application now) well the first one was just pretty damn cool kinda drove around alot and he pointed out the bad parts of the neighborhood, second one was simply awesome. his SGT. gave me a vest and was just cool as hell asked ME a ton of questions afterwards and asked when i was doing my next one. have a ton of stories from the second one and all are funny as hell or just plain scary(yes i was scared to half to death at one point) but if you can DO IT if your going into law enforcement this will make up your mind for ya. |
