Police Ride Along?

[Irving]

I know, sorry if I came off that way. Most people on here aren't looking for that.

[Sparky]

Never have been on one. I would like to though

[Tinelement]

I've done 6

Most were pretty uneventful.

2 were awesome. One in Longmont and one in Chippewa County WI. Involved high speed chases! Totally awesome!

[Sparky]

Where does one get a ride along?

[lead_magnet]

I went on several before becoming a LEO. North Las Vegas PD is fun to ride with most nights, pick a Friday or Saturday and you will see something, you can be sure of that. Having seen that, and doing what I do now, it's amazing how different the job is. I work 6pm to 6am by myself every Sun Mon Tue. I have four towns and 600 square miles all to myself. The approach to things is TOTALLY different. Doing a ride along in a place like this would be a 75% chance of doing hardly anything. I've always wanted to have a Denver cop come ride with me, preferably someone who has never worked a small department, just to get their reaction to being totally alone.

[Ronin13]

I've done quite a few in my time, pre-Army days of course... One day shift in S. Jeffco Precinct area (Lakewood/Littleton), one swing shift in Jeffco Mountain Precinct, one day shift with my friend when he was the resident deputy in S. Rural Jeffco (Deckers), and one day shift with a K-9 Deputy in Evergreen (Jeffco). Not one of them did the deputy do anything special or out of the norm, although I learned that if you're stopped by a K-9, there's a 90% chance he's gonna get the dog out, just to make sure nothing was missed. But this got me thinking, and I'm wondering if anyone here knows... When I was with the K-9, the dog was trained to scratch at the location it alerts. If that happens to be my car, and the dog scratches the paint, is the Sheriff's Office liable for the fix to the scratched paint? Just wondering on that one.

[OneGuy67]

Where does one get a ride along?

Most law enforcement agencies offer ride alongs. You normally fill out a request and a release from liability, a cursory background check is performed on you, and you are assigned to an officer for all or part of a shift. Most agencies allow you to pick your shift/times.

[Irving]

When I was with the K-9, the dog was trained to scratch at the location it alerts. If that happens to be my car, and the dog scratches the paint, is the Sheriff's Office liable for the fix to the scratched paint? Just wondering on that one.

No

[Citizen_Soldier]

I've been on two ride alongs. One with Cheyenne PD and the other with the Laramie PD where I'm currently living. If you're interested in or like law enforcement, I'd say they are really enjoyable experiences that teach you a lot. How exciting depends on what calls you respond to, but obvioiusly 90% of it is going to be boring. Especially because you'll probably be sitting in the passenger seat almost the whole time.

If you're considering a career as an officer, I feel ride alongs are a must. They help you really decide if this is what you really want to do, and additionally provide you with a chance to learn about the department you're applying to. You can also ask the officer you're riding with questions you have about the dept. I know during the hiring process, especially the oral board, I was asked about ride along experience and why I wanted to join that particular department.

[SuperiorDG]

I did a few about 20 years ago when working on my CJ degree. I saw a lot of stuff. Domestic call and we arrested the wife, double fatality where two guys on a motorcycle hit a stopped bus, DUI hit a stopped car at a light, chased a car at 110 mph, saw a bunch of wrecks. It was fun, but I remember getting in my car after the shift and locking my car doors to drive the 10 blocks to my house.