Ride alongs

[Crazycomic]

I want to do a ride a long with the local agency. Have any of you hosted civilians in a ride a long? What questions do you receive the most? Are these ride a longs a good experience for civilians looking to get into law enforcement? I have seen some youtube videos of ride ride a longs and they seem to be routine. I don't expect a car chase, but will I get a good understanding of day to day law enforcement? Thanks for the replies. I appreciate the work you all do.

[CBR_rider]

If you are going to do a ride along and they let you have some say in the time/place; ask for the busiest area and the busiest day/time. I would try to do two or three ride alongs to get a better idea for an agency/area if possible.

[ls2monaro]

No cop at my station likes ride a longs. They assign them by seniority aka the new guy gets to babysit.

Some of the Explorer kids are okay because I have them fill out all the boring paperwork.

Dispatcher ride alongs are okay if they're young and cute (only new dispatchers come out before they get on the bearclaw diet).

College student and news reporter ride a longs suck.

We had the COPS show guys at my station a couple times and I stayed as far away as possible from them.

[Crazycomic]

No cop at my station likes ride a longs. They assign them by seniority aka the new guy gets to babysit.

Some of the Explorer kids are okay because I have them fill out all the boring paperwork.

Dispatcher ride alongs are okay if they're young and cute (only new dispatchers come out before they get on the bearclaw diet).

College student and news reporter ride a longs suck.

We had the COPS show guys at my station a couple times and I stayed as far away as possible from them.

Damn... I appreciate your honesty.

[CBR_rider]

Bah; I enjoy ride alongs most times... I've met some great people that way and hopefully broken a few stereotypes about LEO's as well.

[nickbackouris]

I loved ride alongs. People got to actually see what really happens every day. I would encourage you do a few, with different cops if you can. Like others have said, ask to go to the busy beats.

In my experience ride alongs go with the corporal or senior guy. They know how to safely handle other people in their car and are a wealth of information.

I've had mayors and city officials ride along, media, civilians, all kinds of folks. I always enjoyed it. It's an eye opener for most. You will see how much paperwork is involved in a seemingly mundane arrest, hopefully have some drunk scream in your face, see some bloody people, etc. You'll definitely learn some things.

[toddytguns]

I have done many ride a longs, as the rider, while trying to get on with various northern cal depts. For the most part, you would/will be placed with an officer that doesn't mind ride a longs. Ask questions, but don't bombard the officer with lots of them. I was on one ride a long with a deputy in a very rural county area and he showed me how to get the shotgun out if needed. I also was subpoenaed to court for a different ride a long with a local city PD. Ride a longs are great learning tools, if you ask the correct questions.

[Crazycomic]

Thanks for the responses! I can't wait to do one.

[WyattandDoc]

Thanks for the responses! I can't wait to do one.

Good call. You will enjoy it no matter what. You may get a guy who doesn't say a word or you may get a guy who will try to teach you everything in one night.

Don't talk too much, especially when you hear the radio. Get a feel for your partner and follow his lead. Know your location at ALL TIMES.

I tell every ride along how the entire car works. Just me.

Enjoy.

[IrishJoe3]

I am with CBR Rider...I enjoy ride alongs and see them as an opportunity to show the public we're people too who do our job with honor, dignity and pride in the communities we serve.

[1CavScout]

I got stuck with a lot of ride alongs when I was a TO. Most of the time the people riding with me were OK, but I just hated having people in my car. My patrol station was the busiest my agency had, and they stopped doing civilian ride alongs before I left. Like was already stated, try and get one at a busy station if possible (Fri / Sat night).

The best ride along I had was an old guy from the California Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement. We were doing an 11550 sweep and an ADW call came out. We ended up in a foot pursuit with the suspect jumping fences in the hood after rolling code to the location. The old guy had never rolled code in a vehicle or been in a foot pursuit before. He was all jacked up after that. Pretty cool...

[SDDAVE56]

I have had some really funny ride a longs.

The old lady that suddenly fell asleep on my shoulder, causing me to nearly crash while rolling code to a cover now.

The lingerie model that just wanted to hook up after work.

The 300lbs sweat hog with bad body odor.

The spy who tried recording me for her book.

The park ranger who showed up in uniform, my Sgt. made us a two officer unit.

My very last ride a long, the social worker that filed a complaint against me, for asking a woman why she hadn't learned English after living here for over twenty years.

[Crazycomic]

I have had some really funny ride a longs.

The old lady that suddenly fell asleep on my shoulder, causing me to nearly crash while rolling code to a cover now.

The lingerie model that just wanted to hook up after work.

The 300lbs sweat hog with bad body odor.

The spy who tried recording me for her book.

The park ranger who showed up in uniform, my Sgt. made us a two officer unit.

My very last ride a long, the social worker that filed a complaint against me, for asking a woman why she hadn't learned English after living here for over twenty years.

Please share...

[mixicus]

When I have a ride along, it's as a chance for an education for both parties. I use it as a chance to get perspective from the rider and to explain some of the what/why we do. As an example, if I get the resident that asks about "quotas", I do a little demo. I drive for a 1/2 mile (major intersection to major intersection) and simply point out all the VC violations that I could pull a car over and write a cite. Typically, 8-12 violations without trying. I then have a dialog with the rider about the value of certain enforcement actions/time management. I do similar things to address other preconceived notions.

If the rider is an applicant or academy recruit, I use the opportunity to give them an honest intro to the city and the department. It is also a 6 hour...interview.

To your questions:

What questions do you receive the most?
Depends on the rider. Applicants ask different questions than curious residents. Resident's questions vary based on their POV. An open honest mind is very helpful.

Are these ride a longs a good experience for civilians looking to get into law enforcement?
Yes. If you have no experience for a "day in the life", it's a great intro. But it's a view of ONLY 1 day with ONLY 1 officer in ONLY 1 city. LE varies greatly across any of those variables.

but will I get a good understanding of day to day law enforcement?
See above. You get a quick snap shot and a chance to talk with an officer in his/her natural environment.

[Petro6golf]

Im one of the few people in my dept that doesnt mind em. I use it as a chance to show the public that im a semi normal person with an interesting job. I feel a lot of cops give off the appearance of being unapproachable and I strive to change that.

Ask away all the questions you want. If your coming to ride then I want to answer what you have to ask and show you the job. I hate it when a ride along comes, sits there for 12 hours and doesn't say a word. Whats the point of coming along then?

That being said; DO NOT SHOW UP IN 511 PANTS AND A GLOCK T SHIRT!!!!. You will look like a tool. Yes it happens.

On a funny note; some young pretty blond college girl rode with me about a year ago. She was all motivated to go to the academy and become a cop and had a ton of questions. We went to some dumb civil issue argument where the reporting party was some white trash tweeker 290 registrant for incest. We showed up and everyone looked semi mongoloid in the dirty run down trailer home (he had a son with his daughter dispatch told me). Anyways, picture stinky, nasty tweeker pad with WWF wrestling on the TV and the most white trash hills have eyes family you can picture. He was totally verbally abusive to his wife/ daughter and kept telling her to shut up when I was talking (she kept interrupting me). We left after a bit and she was so repulsed she told me she didnt want to be a cop any more and wanted to go back to the office so she could go home. We didnt talk the whole 20 mins back to the office, she barely said a word, got into her car and took off. It was amazing her reaction.