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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:11:10 PM EDT
[#1]
I've never had a problem with ride alongs. Some of the guys on my shift bitch about it, but I'm all about candidates getting to see what they're getting themselves into.
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:11:51 PM EDT
[#2]
Nope, I enjoy the company and being able to explain why we do what we do. In the past repeat riders have requested to ride with me because they enjoyed their shift with me moreso than when they ride with others.
Unfortunately we had some folks who abused the ride-along program so its been sharply curtailed. |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:13:51 PM EDT
[#3]
I wouldn't necessarily say annoying especially if it is someone who is considering a carrier in law enforcement. Although, It is mildly annoying when I get a ride along who is silent or scared to talk because it forces me to think of things to talk about to fill the awkward silence.
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:14:35 PM EDT
[#4]
Idiots are everywhere. Sometimes they show up as a ride along too. If you go on a ride along, you may also ride with one.
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:16:17 PM EDT
[#5]
I want to do a ride along.... mainly because right now I'm bored. bad reason i suppose.
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:18:34 PM EDT
[#6]
Some are, some aren't. I've had some come back and we remembered some good calls. One was a shotgun homicide that we were a block away from when it went down, broad daylight. (Our direct view was blocked)
Another was when we were sitting in a parking lot, watching a five-way intersection in a high crime area and these guys come running out of the arab owned corner store across the street. Two employees were arguing, and one bashed the other with a brick of frozen pizza dough. Kind of an interesting weapon for an Assault Duece.... |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:19:15 PM EDT
[#7]
I worked reserve deputy for a few years. It should be required for everybody to do a ride along. That way you can see how shitty of a job being a baby sitter.............I mean a police officer actually is. We got called to a trailer park once because a mother couldn't control her young son, age around 8 years old, so she called the cops.
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:22:10 PM EDT
[#8]
Would you let me play with the siren? Edit: If not, would it just be okay if I hung my head out the window and went WoooooOOOOOOoooooOO-WoooooOOOOOOooooooo!!!!! |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:28:36 PM EDT
[#9]
Quoted: I want to do a ride along.... mainly because right now I'm bored. bad reason i suppose. Maybe, maybe not. I did for that reason. I suppose an officer cares more about who is riding along rather than the reason. An interesting person to talk to who knows how to behave might make a shift a little better. Whereas a future Farva would be a shitty ride along.
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:30:06 PM EDT
[#10]
Just curious to the officers out there but do you have a dress code for ride alongs?
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:30:16 PM EDT
[#11]
My advice... talk less than the officer.
Unless otherwise told. |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:30:21 PM EDT
[#12]
Quoted: Unfortunately we had some folks who abused the ride-along program so its been sharply curtailed. How exactly did they abuse it? |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:31:12 PM EDT
[#13]
Quoted:
Just curious to the officers out there but do you have a dress code for ride alongs? Business casual. You come in shorts and/or a t-shirt and you are sent home. |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:31:21 PM EDT
[#14]
Quoted:
Just curious to the officers out there but do you have a dress code for ride alongs? Be comfortable. Bring meal money. Bathe. Use little cologne or perfume. |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:31:44 PM EDT
[#15]
Quoted:
Just curious to the officers out there but do you have a dress code for ride alongs? Dockers, collared shirt. |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:32:46 PM EDT
[#16]
I should have added what about facial hair and hair cuts? Would the mountain man look be frowned upon?
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:34:52 PM EDT
[#17]
I like people.
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:37:52 PM EDT
[#18]
Quoted: I like people. People like you, too.   No homo. |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:38:52 PM EDT
[#19]
I've had a few. The only one that really got on my nerves was a classic STAN....
... telling a story, has to give his " Shit, That Ain't Nothing! I did... my friends and I ... etc etc". If it was an older guy or somebody that had been around the block a few times, that is one thing, but he was a dumbass 21 year old that was still in the academy. Also started running his mouth when I was dealing with a call. Gave the Sheriff his paperwork back and told him not to hire him when he came wanting a job, IF he finished the academy. Other than that, they have all been good. My advice: -STFU when the radio is going (even if you stop talking in the middle of a sentence) -Ask questions, but remember the first rule |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:39:20 PM EDT
[#20]
Quoted:
Idiots are everywhere. Sometimes they show up as a ride along too. If you go on a ride along, you may also ride with one. One less idiot to have to break a sweat over though. I did a ride along with a gang unit one evening. I was dressed in khakis and a small checked dress shirt. The officer asked me to stand quietly to his right and back a step while he talked to the local hoodlums. Each time the hoodlum would just stare at me nervously and ask the officer "who is that" and the officer would just say "you don't worry about that". It seemed the officer was using me to sweat out a guy or two. It was a good experience seeing just how deep gangs ran into neighborhoods you wouldn't expect. |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:40:05 PM EDT
[#21]
Quoted:
Just curious to the officers out there but do you have a dress code for ride alongs? Typically most agencies that have a ride-along program also have a listed dress code (no flip-flops, shorts, tank tops, Bob Marley shirts, etc). I've done quite a few, in different cities and states, basically out of curiosity as to how the job differs from place to place. There's a world of difference between law enforcement in a tiny, rich, rural town out west, and in a major metropolitan center back east. I've been on a ride-along where the officer took me to meet "The Homeless Person" in town (singular pronoun), and on others where officers responded to a shots-fired call, and after assessing that no one was shot, proceeded to literally shovel the small piles of empty brass lying around into the storm drain and drive on. Don't be a dick, don't make any presumptions about who you are or what you should be doing, and stay the fuck out of the way if anything happens. Keep your eyes open, pay attention to what's going on around you, and don't talk to anyone on a call if you can avoid it. Be prepared for long stretches of boredom, and the occasional massive adrenalin dump. Beyond that, just take everything in and learn from it. |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:45:49 PM EDT
[#22]
Quoted:
Just curious to the officers out there but do you have a dress code for ride alongs? That's an amusing question coming from somebody with an avatar like yours. 
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:49:46 PM EDT
[#23]
Quoted:
I worked reserve deputy for a few years. It should be required for everybody to do a ride along. That way you can see how shitty of a job being a baby sitter.............I mean a police officer actually is. We got called to a trailer park once because a mother couldn't control her young son, age around 8 years old, so she called the cops. I always liked the ride alongs. We have one of the local colleges that has a teacher that requires her students do a ride along and then do a report on what they saw and did. Some really good kids come through that program. I only had one bad experience, and he was a dispatcher and a moron all rolled into one. Opened his mouth during a tense situation as if he were an officer and caused a bar fight. Kevin was his name. He was later fired when I did a traffic stop, called for any 10-99's (Warrants etc), he said none, then later I found out that the guy had two Aggravated Assaults with firearm, and a murder on his record and he was on parole. The guy I stopped was cool, I figure a combination of not wanting to go back to jail and having dealt with the police numerous times, or he was going to kill me. Who knows. My department required all dispatchers to ride along two shifts with the officers, and also required us to do two shifts with the dispatchers. Good policy as it let us all see what the other is going through on the other end. Another dispatcher, a female, got stuck in my car by the sergeant one night and she was incredibly hot. She wound up being my girlfriend, and still is now that I'm no longer an officer! (Obligatory hottness call, I'm sure you all understand) Being a police officer is fun and all, but doesn't pay well at all for the crap you put up with. |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:55:17 PM EDT
[#24]
I don't mind them...we have a 4hr max but usually I'll let 'em ride for the whole shift.
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Posted: 3/10/2011 5:55:19 PM EDT
[#25]
The one and only ride along I've been on, 15 mins after the officer said it was gonna be a boring night, we were briefly involved in the tail end of a high speed chase.
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Posted: 3/10/2011 6:02:13 PM EDT
[#26]
My one and only ride along had a pharmacy breakin and the obligatory drunk woman who locked herself inside her car. I've had worse friday nights I guess...
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Posted: 3/10/2011 6:08:27 PM EDT
[#27]
Quoted:
(Snip) ...Another dispatcher, a female, got stuck in my car by the sergeant one night and she was incredibly hot. She wound up being my girlfriend, and still is now that I'm no longer an officer! (Obligatory hottness call, I'm sure you all understand) Being a police officer is fun and all, but doesn't pay well at all for the crap you put up with. Over a thousand posts Turboguy, you know the rules!!! 
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Posted: 3/10/2011 6:12:02 PM EDT
[#28]
All the ones I've ever rode with were happy to have someone to bullshit with during a shift.
It also gives them a little piece of mind (if you aren't a pussy) to know that if they start getting their ass beat there is someone right there to help out instead of 10+ minutes away. |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 6:16:37 PM EDT
[#29]
Quoted:
Just curious to the officers out there but do you have a dress code for ride alongs? You have to wear khaki pants and a tucked in shirt here. I went on one a few years ago (not a cop). |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 6:19:19 PM EDT
[#30]
Usually they aren't a bad thing. Like what has already been said, if you get one that won't talk and you have to create all the conversation, it can make for a long shift. Our previous Sheriff's policy was that any Deputy could refuse to take a ride along.
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Posted: 3/10/2011 6:20:20 PM EDT
[#31]
Quoted:
I don't mind them...we have a 4hr max but usually I'll let 'em ride for the whole shift. Our Citizen's Police Academy members are only allowed two four-hour ride alongs. I'll let them ride the entire shift if they promise not to dime me out. They do a lot for us (donated our patrol rifles, built our range, etc.) so I don't mind taking the heat from the CPA coordinator. |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 6:22:28 PM EDT
[#32]
Wouldnt mind them personally, but the Town forbids them generally because of Liability reasons, and the AG-Guidelines basically say that I cant take them on anything "Good' Anyway.....All someone doing an RA with me would see is the boring-ass day to day things.
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Posted: 3/10/2011 6:24:40 PM EDT
[#33]
I did a ride along with a cop, in a blizzard that dumped 1+ foot of snow on us. The cop's flashlight died, and I lent him my spare Surefire light when we were chasing some axe thieves through the woods.
He actually suggested I come back the next night for another 10 hour shift and help him with a few more things. I did. So I guess I didn't annoy him too much. 
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Posted: 3/10/2011 6:25:36 PM EDT
[#34]
Do it...life is to short to give a shit what somebody else thinks. Hope you enjoy it and be careful.
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Posted: 3/10/2011 6:26:08 PM EDT
[#35]
I don't mind it.
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Posted: 3/10/2011 6:34:29 PM EDT
[#36]
I know if you get a ride-a-long with the NYPD, you're in for an extremely boring night. Top brass is so afraid that ride-a-longs are newspaper reporters or journalists, that they stick them in cars that see no action at all, in the safest part of town..
Now on the other hand, my friend is a Vegas Metro Officer, and they had a ride-a-long who was the cousin of another officer one night. They responded to some domestic at a 7-11 and the male portion of the domestic didn't like the way the officer was speaking to his wife, so he started to attack the officer. The ride-a-long came in and absolutely annihilated the guy and beat the ever living shit out of him. When the supervisor got there, he asked what happened, and the officer told him he was getting his ass kicked and the ride-a-long came in and took care of business, well the supervisor thanked the guy then made sure his witness report said that he was just a good Samaritan and not a ride-a-long.. lol Guess it would be hard to explain that one |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 6:38:29 PM EDT
[#37]
I don't mind them so long as they act professional.
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Posted: 3/10/2011 6:44:18 PM EDT
[#38]
Depends on the who is doing the ride along. Like others have said. Be quiet when there is any radio traffic. Ask intelligent questions, don't ask what its like to Tase someone. Hill Climb weekend is coming up. Hill Climb always produces some interesting calls for our little town. Call the front desk number and ask for a Sergeant. Talk to one of them and let them know you are interested in pursuing it as a career. Don't abuse it and don't ask for certain officers over and over.
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Posted: 3/10/2011 6:56:08 PM EDT
[#39]
Sorry, I gotta do it.
Whats it like to tase someone? 
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Posted: 3/10/2011 7:13:30 PM EDT
[#40]
Quoted:
Ask intelligent questions, don't ask what its like to Tase someone. "What's CS smell like?" "How fast will she go?" "Is it true that you can get out of handcuffs with a hairpin?" "Do you ever turn on the siren and lights just so you can drive around really fast?" "Ya ever shot someone?" "Do they teach you Karate at the academy?" "Why does the back seat smell bad?" "Are you wearing a bulletproof vest under that uniform?" "Ever found a dead hooker?" "What's your favorite kind of donut?" "How fast will she go in reverse?" "Do you get free food at restaurants?" "Ever watch 'Adam 12' ?" "Do they let you keep the booze when you arrest someone for DWI?" "Where's your CB radio? You got all kinds of radios in this squad car, but I don't see a single CB!" 
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Posted: 3/10/2011 7:24:14 PM EDT
[#41]
I have been on several ride alongs. I remember my first one. The Officer"Your so and so" Me "Yup" Officer points"shotguns there if we need it and if I am getting my ass kicked you better be right there getting yours kicked too"
 Good times. I go on ride alongs quite frequently. I think most just enjoy the company. Just remember anything you do will reflect upon the Dept and ANYTIME you get out of the car always note which way the wind is blowing.
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Posted: 3/10/2011 7:58:36 PM EDT
[#42]
my brother is a cop..... i make him take me on ride alongs. we have fun.
my buddy is a game warden, i have done ride alongs with him as well...both in the truck and the boat....... game wardens write some expensive tickets.......$10,000 fine for one guy, operating a trackhoe digging a nice boat ramp from a protected river, for his little cabin...( didnt have any permit)..... drove up asking if some guys caught any fish, said hello, and left, never asked to see a license. yelled at some boaters, who were letting their kids sit on top of the out board motor while idling along.
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Posted: 3/10/2011 8:05:06 PM EDT
[#43]
Quoted:
Just curious to the officers out there but do you have a dress code for ride alongs? my brother made me wear my 1911...... jeans and a t shirt... ........its a extremly rural county.....we went to a call where there were a lot of drunk locals, he was getting out and told me the following. now this might get hairy, maybe dangerous. if you see me getting into trouble, you might be having the urge to grab that shotgun, and come riding to my rescue, try to play the big hero. im gonna tell you something right now........... thats a damn good idea.
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Posted: 3/10/2011 8:07:15 PM EDT
[#44]
Quoted:
I like people. Can I shoot your gun? |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 8:15:11 PM EDT
[#45]
We don't do ride-alongs.
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Posted: 3/10/2011 8:18:19 PM EDT
[#46]
Quoted:
Nope, I enjoy the company and being able to explain why we do what we do. In the past repeat riders have requested to ride with me because they enjoyed their shift with me moreso than when they ride with others. Unfortunately we had some folks who abused the ride-along program so its been sharply curtailed. Explain please. |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 8:25:55 PM EDT
[#47]
I would love to go on a ride-along.
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Posted: 3/10/2011 8:28:27 PM EDT
[#48]
Quoted: Here we had an officer who loved to take female reporters on ride-alongs. You can guess the rest.Quoted: Nope, I enjoy the company and being able to explain why we do what we do. In the past repeat riders have requested to ride with me because they enjoyed their shift with me moreso than when they ride with others. Unfortunately we had some folks who abused the ride-along program so its been sharply curtailed. Explain please. |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 8:38:05 PM EDT
[#49]
Only had two bad ones.
One was a chaplin who was from out of state. Where he came from he was allowed to get out of the car. He was told not to leave the car, period, in my city. Got a burg in progress and sure as hell the moron jumps out when I round a corner. I find him a minute later at what we thought was the bad guy's van. He was booted. Second one was a college kid who was a wannabe, bad. Kept trying to touch my gear and shit when told not to. On an alarm call at a large church, I notice another unit appeared to be on traffic as I could see LED's flashing on the fences that border the lot. Nope, moron is playing with my lights. He was booted also. The majority I really enjoyed. Lots of questions, most good, and they get to see what we really do compared to what they think we do. I get to educate people about the job that are thinking about joining up. |
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Posted: 3/10/2011 8:38:32 PM EDT
[#50]
I'm not much of a fan...
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