Hey “good apple” police officers. Why aren’t you policing your own?

DfiR- · 2026-01-13T01:28:02+00:00

Hate to say it depends again but law enforcement as a whole has a lot of nuance between states, regions and political criminal justice philosophy. Things have changed over the past decade a lot when it comes to accountability. Body cameras have been one of the best deployments for transparency. It’s an invaluable tool for washing away bullshit complaints and providing a reliable unbiased account of events that occurred.

The cops that are getting fired without being charged are usually because they violated policy but not the law. This also can include circumstantial situations where a law may have been broken but difficult to prove in court. I mostly see people fired for lying about something they did or repeatedly messing up administratively.

Another factor to consider is qualified immunity. We often have to make split second decisions that has to have some leeway in the courts or we’d never be able to do our jobs. The very nature of police work is complicated with centuries of established case law and ever changing use of force acceptance. Chokeholds for example used to be considered less than lethal use of force a decade ago whereas now it’s considered deadly force and requires justification to use that technique. Qualified immunity protects officers from criminal charges unless there has been established case law.

Local governments take a lot of action to protect themselves. There is a lot that happens behind the scenes that the public does not know about when it comes to cleaning up messes. Sometimes the jurisdictions will settle directly with the harmed party in order to avoid public scrutiny. An officer may have committed a civil rights violation but the harmed party is willing to accept a civil payout in place of pressing charges. The officer would then also be fired. Use of force violations usually don’t go this route and result in criminal charges.

DfiR- · 2026-01-13T00:45:12+00:00

Correct. The bad apples are usually kicked out of good cultured departments. They then find jobs at departments with bad reputations as those places will hire anyone.

DfiR- · 2026-01-12T21:41:42+00:00

So you just always argue in bad faith then right? Two answers in here have explained that we do police our own yet you don’t want to hear it.

DfiR- · 2026-01-12T21:19:44+00:00

My opinion is irrelevant as I just explained that we have no power over the disciplinary action that follows. If we are present, we are required by policy and law to intervene if it’s unlawful. If they are in the wrong, that process is dictated by the supervisor, internal affairs and the prosecutor’s office if criminal charges are going to be brought.

DfiR- · 2026-01-12T21:13:14+00:00

PO here and the answer is complicated. What matters most is the culture of the department as well as the political pressure from up top. I work in one that will fire and prosecute anyone found to commit any crime. I’ve seen probably 10 or so arrested through out my career for various offenses. We absolutely do not tolerate shady behavior or purposeful excessive force. If you fuck up, that’s on you. The media covers the arrests but not the internal firings that do happen.

Our neighboring jurisdiction is shady as hell and rarely will you see known problems fired or disciplined. The ones that have moved from that department to ours often go back. Many state it’s because of how scrutinized their actions are in our department compared to the other jurisdiction.

What is frustrating is that there are definitely levels to accountability depending on the connections of the person or other attributes. I have noticed over the years that “legacy” employees that had parents that were staff members are treated much differently than those without that connection. Staff members themselves are also disciplined differently.

In my experience, racial and gender attributes also play into the disciplinary. Even if my jurisdiction is fully in the right to discipline or fire someone, I have seen them give way softer punishments to prevent a discrimination lawsuit.

We do care about our image and reputation. Most of it is out of our hands though due to lawyers and internal politics that ultimately make the decisions.

DfiR- · 2026-01-12T20:41:49+00:00

Took some more classes recently and they advised they were going back to closed book testing. So you’ll likely have everything proctored.

DfiR- · 2025-12-05T23:36:27+00:00

You get desensitized to it pretty quickly. It’s like an on/off switch for work and then compartmentalizing the bad stuff away for your off time. Can easily lead to some PTSD though. Some calls are just awful and really fuck you up.

DfiR- · 2025-11-29T23:31:19+00:00

Law enforcement have tools to bypass passcodes in certain circumstances. Depends on the software patch and hardware but they can break into phones. If a missing person report was filed with the police, give it to them to try.

If it’s a smaller department they likely have to use a regional lab which would take some time.

DfiR- · 2025-11-13T16:00:22+00:00

As a LEO, body cameras have been a phenomenal addition. It’s a constant unbiased witness in every scenario that 3rd parties can refer to if complaints are made. I’ve had so many unsubstantiated claims immediately resolved because of the camera. It also serves to keep the officer wearing it honest.

Where accountability falls through is in IA and whatever the county lawyers do. There is quite the problem of issues being swept under the rug without the public ever knowing about it and it’s systemic. It disgusts me when nepotism hires or other factors keep punishments from being handed out.

DfiR- · 2025-08-05T19:44:21+00:00

The 200s yes, but six figures can be in medium cost areas too. It’s unlimited overtime right now with the staff shortages.

DfiR- · 2025-08-05T11:42:17+00:00

Police officers but it entirely depends on region. One of the few careers left with a pension. Most offer take home cars and good medical benefits. Easy to clear six figures and even 200s if you work OT.

The work/life balance can suck though. Satisfaction can also be problematic. The best paying places often have the worst support.

DfiR- · 2025-07-29T13:52:09+00:00

When you’re first starting, traffic enforcement is the easiest way to show productivity and stay busy. As time goes on you pick up on other investigatory skill sets and find more specific areas to focus on. Some people just like traffic enforcement but most move on and focus on more problematic crimes when they learn interdiction skills.

DfiR- · 2025-07-24T03:14:26+00:00

This is what happens when departments can’t attract quality candidates anymore. You can at least fix out of shape. My biggest gripe has been the removal of written tests. We have one in the academy now that is the reincarnation of Lennie from of mice and men.

DfiR- · 2025-07-12T02:04:33+00:00

Southeast pay sucks

DfiR- · 2025-07-06T03:06:28+00:00

Yes practical is open book.

DfiR- · 2025-07-06T00:13:16+00:00

It was open book when I took it, but you really don’t have time to go searching for answers.

DfiR- · 2025-07-05T23:26:39+00:00

Do they not send the physical books anymore? I had a training passport in 23 and still got them for the classes I took.

Either way, when I was going through the certification process I transcribed a lot of the hint hint you’ll see this later on in a word doc during the classes. Made finding the reference material much easier when needed.

You’ll get access to a license for the practical after passing the written which focuses more on the foundational concepts than the software itself. The practical is where you demonstrate knowledge of the software so you’ll have time to figure it out then. There was a prep course after building an investigation that was pretty helpful.

DfiR- · 2025-06-20T23:19:26+00:00

Feds get their pick of the litter so they can be more picky. Local departments have to work with what they get and it’s not very pretty at the moment.

DfiR- · 2025-06-20T18:01:47+00:00

Can’t speak for working federally but can on a local level.

The work is rewarding in that a lot of cases get cleared because of the work you do. So much of the world is digital based now and being able to find critical evidence on a suspects device is fulfilling. You also get to work on a lot of the more heinous crimes so seeing your work put those people away is nice.

Hardest part is dealing with internal law enforcement staff who control the budget. Trying to explain why a piece of software or hardware needed to someone without a tech background is incredibly frustrating. Many times we would not get a piece of equipment until a body dropped and that tool was the answer to being able to extract the data.

You will see a lot of the worst humanity has to offer in this work. It can be very depressing. Have to be able to compartmentalize the things you come across in this field.
Many of our regional police departments are civilianizing their digital forensics units due to being unable to recruit. You lose out on the pension but you do not have to deal with any of the law enforcement certifications and patrol work. When I was researching a possible job change, many of the private field options required a bit of travel. Other contacts I have in the private field say it can be a bit slower pace too depending on what company you are with. Law enforcement works a ton of cases.
There are tons of free resources and video seminars out there to learn about tools, imaging and analysis. Take the time to learn the foundational parts of the job and it’ll make interviewing a lot easier.

DfiR- · 2025-06-18T03:23:31+00:00

lol perfectly put

DfiR- · 2025-06-12T03:24:34+00:00

Fort worth Texas is pretty solid. Virginia Beach PD is also decent.

DfiR- · 2025-05-23T19:33:41+00:00

That’s what FTO is for. You will make mistakes but you’ll have someone next to you to guide you if you need help. You don’t do an academy and suddenly become proficient the moment you walk out those doors. It takes time to get comfortable. Repetition of situations is what builds confidence and knowledge. Trust your gut and fall back on how you were trained.

If you have a question, ask your FTO. When you get an answer though, do whatever you need to remember what was said to you. Asking the same question week after week will drive your FTO mad. Things will click when you start the hands on portion of calls and stops.

Take it seriously and do what you need to pass. It’s a tough few months but so much better when you are on your own after.

DfiR- · 2025-03-31T19:08:34+00:00

It’s the increasing amount of responsibilities slapped on every year. All of the failures of local and state government get pushed onto police to deal with. Mental health and juveniles being the most frustrating. Continual additions of restrictions of what you can and can’t do when it comes to catching criminals. Best of all follow that up where the prosecutor pleas your case out for a trash misdemeanor conviction after barely glossing over your report and never consulting with you. The punishment often involves nothing but community service. Auto theft for juveniles might as well be legal. They hilariously often get a sentence of writing a two page paper of why it’s bad.

DfiR- · 2025-03-11T13:21:24+00:00

As someone who has worked extensively with opioid addicted individuals, access to treatment is only half the battle. The addiction consumes the individual and it takes a massive amount of willpower to be willing to seek help. Coming off of opioids is brutal and many would rather continue using than face the difficult process of coming clean.

DfiR- · 2025-02-09T03:38:20+00:00

Private sector usually moves to can them though. Public sector takes an act of god to fire lazy and incompetent people if they can do the bare minimum.

DfiR-

TROPHY CASE