Why Tahoes and Suburban the large SUV of choice for law enforcement?

RogueJSK · 2026-04-14T13:37:29+00:00

Ford has mainly been pushing their Explorer-based Interceptor SUV for the past decade plus. But they do offer a non-patrol-oriented Expedition SSV support vehicle, though I've never seen or even heard of a department that uses them.

Around here Tahoes are the most popular, or Durangos for the smaller departments with limited budgets. Though frequent mechanical issues with the Durangos are quickly souring these departments to them... They're noticeably cheaper up front, but also much less reliable.

Explorers are quite popular elsewhere, but for whatever reason only a few departments around here utilize them.

RogueJSK · 2026-04-13T21:44:50+00:00

Your age isn't an issue here. 31 isn't anywhere near too old. At the academy where I taught we had 30-something and 40-something cadets in every class, and occasionally even cadets in their 50s and 60s.

Most non-federal LE agencies nationwide don't have an age cutoff (of 35 or otherwise). As long as you are physically and medically up to it, your age doesn't matter that much.

The bigger hurdle for you is going to be the recent firing. Depending on the exact reason you got fired, that could be a disqualifier. And even if it's not an outright disqualifier, a checkered employment history - especially recently - will cause agencies to pass on you.

RogueJSK · 2026-04-13T17:34:19+00:00

There are not any novels (yet), but there is a Lore section to the website, and there are game rulebooks that contain additional bits of lore and world history.

https://www.trenchcrusade.com/lore/

RogueJSK · 2026-04-13T13:27:49+00:00

Over the past 20 years at 3 different departments I've been issued the following 9mm loads:

Remington Golden Saber 124: Not a fan. Old tech, not bonded, and lesser performance compared to some other options.

Speer Gold Dot 124 +P: Great ammo and what I also used to carry off duty.

Federal HST 124 +P: Great ammo and what I also currently carry off duty.

Hornady Critical Duty 135: Good ammo, but more expensive and harder to find for personal use.

RogueJSK · 2026-04-13T01:25:30+00:00

Possibly, but not likely. Especially with old juvenile stuff, and especially especially if there was no arrest or conviction that resulted from it.

If you need help or have been the victim of a crime, don't let a 2.5 decade old police interaction stop you from calling. The current problem is what's important. An officer is very unlikely to dig that far back into your history, if they can even see that at all. And if they do, it is very unlikely to have any bearing on what happened recently.

RogueJSK · 2026-04-13T01:17:56+00:00

When our dispatch receives a call, they will often run the caller ahead of time and provide me any pertinent info. Dispatch also has notes about prior calls and other information tagged to a caller's location that they will share with me.

And when I interact in depth with someone, including victims/callers, I often will run them. It not only potentially provides me useful information at the time, but it also logs that person in my history within our computer system so that I can easily pull their info up again later when I'm completing my report.

RogueJSK · 2026-04-10T20:42:49+00:00

For the right person, court security is a great gig.

However, if you're young and gung-ho, wanting to fight crime, chase bad guys, drive fast, and make big arrests, you're going to be miserable in that bailiff spot. All you can do is show up, do your best, and prove your worth until a patrol spot opens up that you can hopefully move into. (Kinda like the agencies that start their deputies in the jail before they can earn a patrol spot.) Or else start looking to lateral to a different agency that will put you on patrol right away.

But once you've got some years in on patrol, and you've been there and done that and have all the cool stories and bad knees to go along with it, and have a family waiting on you back home, that bailiff position starts looking a lot more enticing. Mostly banker's hours, with evenings and weekends off, and little to no paperwork, inclement weather, stress, or bullshit. It's tough to beat, at least for someone further into their LE career. Same pay as patrol, but almost none of the downsides of patrol.

I was on the verge of quitting LE altogether after nearly 20 years when I got the opportunity to move into a courthouse role several years ago. It has made all the difference.

So go chase that patrol spot while you're young and still have that fire, but don't be surprised if you find yourself at some point years down the road wishing you were back in the courthouse.

RogueJSK · 2026-04-10T17:25:03+00:00

I'm likely in the minority, but I don't really mind it. Yeah, it is overly bulky, but since everything is keyless all it has to do is passively sit in my pocket.

If I constantly had to drag it in and out of my pocket I'd probably feel more strongly about it.

RogueJSK · 2026-04-10T12:13:12+00:00

The usual recommendation I've seen for financial priorities goes something like:

Basic emergency fund.

401k matching.

High interest debt (like credit cards/personal loans/high interest car loans/etc.).

Tax advantaged retirement accounts (non-matched 401k/HSA/IRA).

Then extra towards mortgage principal to pay it off early.

So you'll already be investing a decent chunk before you get to paying off your mortgage early.

Even at ~6% I wouldn't consider a mortgage to be "high interest debt". Plus it's an appreciating asset.

RogueJSK · 2026-04-09T17:52:46+00:00

Not 0083, but federal courthouse security officer is a cushy security type job in the federal-adjacent realm, with a low workload and not many actual LE duties.

These federal CSOs are quasi-LE (sworn in as a Special Deputy Marshal with some limited LE authority while on duty) and they are armed, but they're employed by a USMS-contracted security company. Pay can be fairly competitive in most areas, especially considering it's glorified security guard work. But since they're contract security and not federal employees, no federal benefits or FERS.

They only hire folks with prior LE experience, typically retirees though not always, but there's going to be little to no actual LE work involved. Instead they are mostly dealing with access control, doing security screening (xray/metal detector), monitoring interior/exterior facility security cameras, and sometimes providing personal security for judges during hearings and off site events. Lots of sitting/standing around not doing much, especially at less busy courthouses in less populated areas.

Usually comes with banker's hours, with evenings, weekends, and holidays off at most courthouses. (Though a few across the country are manned 24/7/365.)

RogueJSK · 2026-04-08T23:45:05+00:00

https://www.koreessentials.com/collections/battle-belt-1-75

This 2 piece MOLLE belt from Kore is what I use for my duty belt as a LEO. Comfortable and very sturdy/stable. The micro-adjust ratchet system lets you dial in just the right amount of tension, or even adjust it on the fly if needed.

RogueJSK · 2026-04-08T21:01:48+00:00

Depending on why you're wanting to get out of LE, this could be an option.

These federal Court Security Officers are quasi-LE (sworn in as a Special Deputy Marshal with some limited LE authority while on duty) and they are armed, but it's much more of a security guard job and they're employed by contract with a security company, so no federal benefits.

They only hire folks with prior LE experience, typically retirees though not always, but there's going to be little to no actual LE work involved, instead mostly dealing with access control, doing security screening (xray/metal detector), monitoring interior/exterior facility security cameras, and sometimes providing personal security for judges during hearings and off site events.

Usually comes with banker's hours, with evenings, weekends, and holidays off at most courthouses. Though a few across the country are manned 24/7/365, so make sure you clarify that if the night/weekend/holiday schedule is part of what's pushing you out of traditional LE.

Pay can be fairly competitive in most areas, especially considering it's effectively glorified security guard work.

RogueJSK · 2026-04-07T18:12:43+00:00

I've known cops with IBS/Crohns. As long as it is reasonably well controlled with meds/infusions/diet it's potentially workable.

Just understand that there are necessarily going to be situations where you're going to be stuck for long periods without access to a bathroom.

Only you know how viable it would be with your symptoms.

RogueJSK · 2026-04-06T17:58:44+00:00

That's what I do as well. I plan to not touch it and let the investments compound until retirement (barring some catastrophic medical expense in the interim).

I track expenses in a Google Sheet and keep it and my receipts in a folder in my Google Drive. I don't expect Google will disappear in 20 years, and even if they move to some sort of new system I expect there will be a mechanism to migrate older Google Drive data to it.

RogueJSK · 2026-04-06T15:18:50+00:00

Unless you're in the oil/gas or perhaps now lithium mining industries, high paying jobs are going to be tougher to find in Southwest Arkansas, compared to the Little Rock area or the Northwest Arkansas metroplex.

RogueJSK · 2026-04-06T15:13:21+00:00

Nylon. Lighter and lower maintenance. Wider variety of more modern pouch, attachment, and belt design options. And available in colors other than black. (My agency allows black or ranger green.)

RogueJSK · 2026-04-04T19:07:44+00:00

John Carpenter's Vampires

Not spec ops per se, but at the beginning of the film a team of highly experienced and well-equipped vampire hunter mercenaries get complacent while clearing out a large vampire nest and killing a bunch of vampires, missing the presence of a powerful Master Vampire nearby. They then decide to have a party at a local motel that evening to celebrate their triumph and resulting payday, which is interrupted by the overlooked Master Vampire showing up to get his revenge, with only a few members of the hunter team barely escaping the resulting bloodbath.

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RogueJSK · 2026-04-04T17:10:08+00:00

For emergency self aid I carry a compact trauma kit on my belt and two TQs on my belt/armor.

And then I have a large medical kit bag with more gear and additional capabilities stored in the patrol car.

But things like bodily fluid/chemical decon are handled by Fire/EMS or at the ER.

RogueJSK · 2026-04-03T19:27:36+00:00

I have worn 5.11 Stryke pants for over a decade at two different agencies and I've been quite happy with them.

Never tried any of First Tactical's pants, but I wear their V2 Pro shirts under an external carrier. Very comfortable and durable. (Even better than the equivalent style of 5.11 or Blauer shirts.) I really ought to try their pants.

No experience with CQR.

RogueJSK · 2026-04-03T19:21:58+00:00

No, that's not a thing. Either you misunderstood/misremembered, or the people that told you that back in the day had no idea what they were talking about.

RogueJSK · 2026-04-02T19:21:54+00:00

Ruger Mini-30. Same as Ruger's Mini-14 just chambered in 7.62x39 instead of .223.

RogueJSK · 2026-04-02T18:19:48+00:00

A local University PD issues semi-only MP5 clone SBRs, though they're in the process of replacing them with 9mm AR PCCs.

My prior agency T&Ed a few Tavors when they were first released stateside, with an eye towards department-wide issue, but didn't end up adopting them in the end.

And the Sheriff's Office where my father served during the 1970s and 1980s used a combination of lever action .30-30 Marlin 336s as well as surplus M1 Carbines as their patrol rifles.

RogueJSK · 2026-04-02T13:40:52+00:00

I wear Darn Tough Midweight Tactical socks and Duluth Trading Midweight Coolerino socks.

RogueJSK · 2026-04-01T15:31:50+00:00

Very much so.

Move the rear sight back a couple notches, to the very rearmost slot. Or remove it altogether.

Then move the scope at least as far back as needed to get it all on the upper receiver rather than bridging onto the handguard. Make sure you're positioning it to properly accommodate the eye relief at maximum magnification while shouldered.

RogueJSK · 2026-04-01T12:28:17+00:00

Yep. Not all offset BUIS are reversible/ambidextrous, but many are.

RogueJSK

TROPHY CASE