KRONENWETTER POLICE DEPARTMENT
POLICE MYTHS: FACT OR FICTION!
Everyone has heard them, POLICE MYTHS! Someone always passes on something to be the truth, or something that happened to a friend. But in most cases, it is always a MYTH. When our officers hear these myths, we usually laugh, but then worry that people actually think these things are true. So we felt that we would break out some of the police myths that everyone has heard, and some you may have not have heard.
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MYTH: "Police officers have quotas, I just know they do...because cops pull over more people at the end of the month."
REALITY: FALSE. People often believe that officers have to write a certain amount of tickets to meet their department quota. QUOTAS DO NOT EXIST. In fact, the State of Wisconsin has gone as far as to make it a crime to have quotas. Some departments do however look at self-initiated activity statistics during officer evaluations to ensure that officers are still active; but whether or not the officer writes a citation, gives a written or verbal warning, or assists a disabled motorist doesn't make a difference. |
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MYTH: "Dont the police have anything better to do than pull me over ...It's not like I'm a criminal or something."
REALITY: Often, police work is compared to fishing or hunting. Officers may spend hours stopping people for minor traffic violations and releasing them, but they are always watching for that "big fish". Most often when officers make a stop they don't know if they have just stopped mom and her 3 kids on their way to soccer practice, or a felon wanted in 10 states. There is just no way of knowing until they actually walk up and speak with the person. Every day across the country, fugitives and felons are captured on simple traffic stops.
EXAMPLES: In 1995 an Oklahoma State Trooper made a traffic stop on a vehicle for a simple registration violation. Little did he know he had just stopped Timothy McVeigh, who had just murdered 168 people in the Oklahoma City Bombing
In 2006, a Nevada Highway Patrolman made a stop on a limo which had temporary plates that were hard to read. Inside the limo was Warren Jeffs, who was on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted List. |
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MYTH: "Where did these nicknames for police officers come from?"
REALITY:
1) "PIG": This term became a common term in the 1960's. During the 1960's it was not uncommon to see police in riot gear due to war and other protests. Gas was often used to disperse crowds, so police wore gas masks which some people say gave them a pig looking face.
2) "COP": Part of the definition of cop means to capture or seize. When this mixed in with the English police slang "Bobby" people started calling police officers "Coppers". This eventually just became COP.
3) "FUZZ": Relates to the noise many old police radios made.
4) "5-0": Came due to the show Hawaii 5-0. |
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MYTH: "Police officers have to have their parking lights on when running radar from a parked position...otherwise it is entrapment."
REALITY: FALSE. Keeping well hidden while looking for violators is a well established practice in law enforcement. Most people would not break the law when they can see the police. Entrapment would not exist, as entrapment is when the police force someone to do something against the law. |
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MYTH: "Police officers have to show me my speed on the radar to give a ticket."
REALITY: FALSE. Police officers are not required to show the speed on radar. Officers can stop vehicles based on pacing with the patrol vehicle speedometer as well as by visual estimations. |
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MYTH: "Police have to read me my Miranda rights when I get arrested"
REALITY:This decision came from the Miranda v. Arizona case in 1966. Police are required to advise people in custody of their rights per this decision prior to any questioning. If a police officer does not need to question the arrested person, they do not need to advise them of their rights. |
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MYTH: "If you get arrested for drunk driving, just put a penny under your tounge...it messes with the breathalyzer"
REALITY:FALSE. Officers generally check everyones mouth when they are taken into custody in the first place. But, every penny in-between your seats will not change your blood alcohol content. |
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MYTH: "Everyone knows, you can go 10 mph over the limit and not get caught"
REALITY:FALSE. Police officers have discretion with traffic enforcement and decide on their own what their tolerable limit is. This often changes as well with different speed zones, weather conditions, special days or traffic enforcement details. Also, keeping up with the flow of traffic does not mean the officer has to stop the front vehicle. You are just as subject to a citation as any other vehicle in the pack if speeding. |
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MYTH: "I have a radar detector so there's no way I'll get a ticket"
REALITY:FALSE. The time it takes for a radar detector to go off is the same time it takes for your speed to show up on the radar unit itself, sometimes faster. Most times, police already have you locked on radar by the time you are slamming on your brakes. |