I'll admit it, I like detective shows. Being in college means I can't watch them as often as I'd like-- in fact, when school is in my TV diet consists of the Weather Channel for 5 minutes in the morning and the rare DVD or trip to Hulu.com. But as enjoyable as detective and 'police procedural' shows are, they often take liberties with facts and common sense. How do I know this? I've been through the equivalent of Police Academy.
Well, not quite, actually better than Police Academy. I was a Police Explorer in Pinellas County, Florida's post (http://www.post900.com/sheriff_message.html) for a little over two years, following the track that allowed me, in less than a year, to learn more about proper police procedure than the average police officer in our county would ever know. We received in-depth, hands-on training in every aspect of law enforcement, from simple patrol operations and situations like issuing speeding tickets and interviewing witnesses, to the more complex roles such as K-9 handler, crime scene investigation, and yes, even SWAT tactics*, as well as courtroom procedure and knowledge of laws and statutes, to name a very few.
As a result, I get irked when I see blatant officer safety issues and nonsense policies being portrayed on TV as fact. No, K-9 handlers don't take their dogs out of the car at every stop. No, you do not reach in the window of the car you've stopped to get the driver's paperwork. No, you'd never pick up evidence at a crime scene without gloves on, no matter how important or shocking (or personally relevant) that piece of evidence might be. The purpose of this blog is to point and (laugh? sneer?) groan at the stupidity of fictional TV cops. Because it's totally possible to get a toxicology report back within the hour... right?
* As a note, this blog will NOT IN ANY WAY give out any sort of tactical information, period, unless it's strictly common sense (like, 'look up' or 'listen before you go around a corner').
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