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My last trip to Raleigh I stopped in at a donut shop, and in came a couple of policemen. Yea, my husband and I had a smile about that.
My impression was they were very approachable ... didn't have the "combat" faces and intimidating presence of the police in my DC area. Seemed friendly, but at the same time very professional. We ran into a couple more at another shopping center. Again, seemed very friendly.
So, how would you rate your police department? Are you happy with the service?
More approachable than some, but as corrupt as most others.
Edit to add: I don't feel the same way about the NC Highway Patrol. These guys are on their high horse in a big way and I've never felt they were as approachable as RPD.
More approachable than some, but as corrupt as most others.
Edit to add: I don't feel the same way about the NC Highway Patrol. These guys are on their high horse in a big way and I've never felt they were as approachable as RPD.
One thing you have to understand (I was a P.O. in the DC area) is that the Highway Patrol is a different animal than most police departments. They are run in a more military like style than most PD's and they usually think of themselves in a different light than most officers. That being said I really think it's up to the individual person as to how they act and how they seem to the public. 1 bad police officer can give a whole organization a bad name. Imagine if one secretary or one IT manager killed someone, do you think that would scar everyone in his same position or that company....the answer is no! Police officers are people too and 99.9% of them are not corrupt. A bad police officer in California will give a good Police Officer in Maine a bad name, just because he wears a badge!
The impression I have is that the Durham PD is more approachable and less authoritarian than the Raleigh PD. Probably because the Durham PD have better things to do than sweat the small stuff.
After 21 years in Raleigh, I have only had good experiences with the Raleigh Police Department. They are intelligent, well-trained, professional, and reasonable. I think they pick and choose which "small stuff" to sweat. For example, they never bother me when they see me ride my bicycle on the sidewalk, even though it is illegal, probably because they don't want to scrape my body off the street. But they will stop people speeding on neighborhood streets, because kids can die from that.
They do good detective work. Every time there has been a rash of break-ins in our part of town, the RPD has been able to catch the perp and put him in prison.
I have never heard or read or experienced anything that would indicate there is any corruption in the RPD.
Cops are human, of course. I have a friend who is basically a good person, but for some reason likes to mash people's buttons. He has had several minor run-ins with the RPD over the years, and each time he told me the stories, I sympathized with the cops. They have stressful jobs. It's not so hard to be respectful and say "Yes, sir" or "Yes, ma'am" and make their jobs a little easier, rather than giving them the finger like my friend did. (He's not a close friend; he mashes my buttons too often.)
After 21 years in Raleigh, I have only had good experiences with the Raleigh Police Department. They are intelligent, well-trained, professional, and reasonable. I think they pick and choose which "small stuff" to sweat. For example, they never bother me when they see me ride my bicycle on the sidewalk, even though it is illegal, probably because they don't want to scrape my body off the street. But they will stop people speeding on neighborhood streets, because kids can die from that.
They do good detective work. Every time there has been a rash of break-ins in our part of town, the RPD has been able to catch the perp and put him in prison.
I have never heard or read or experienced anything that would indicate there is any corruption in the RPD.
Cops are human, of course. I have a friend who is basically a good person, but for some reason likes to mash people's buttons. He has had several minor run-ins with the RPD over the years, and each time he told me the stories, I sympathized with the cops. They have stressful jobs. It's not so hard to be respectful and say "Yes, sir" or "Yes, ma'am" and make their jobs a little easier, rather than giving them the finger like my friend did. (He's not a close friend; he mashes my buttons too often.)
What RPD are you talking about? The complaints from African Amercians about police harrasment in Raleigh are not so good.
More approachable than some, but as corrupt as most others.
Edit to add: I don't feel the same way about the NC Highway Patrol. These guys are on their high horse in a big way and I've never felt they were as approachable as RPD.
The department isn't corrupt at all. We have good people and bad people just like any organization. Unfortunately, law enforcement is one of those professions that means any mistake one individual makes gives a black eye to your whole department (if it's a bad enough mistake it messes things up for officers all over the country).
Society is what is CORRUPT and it is becoming worse and worse for many different reasons. Police departments definitely used to be corrupt in the past and have hidden agendas but that time has passed. As a black male police officer I can honestly say that although this department isn't perfect (what organization is?) I have not noticed any unethical practices utilized by this department. Anything unethical occurring is happening due to corrupt individuals, not the department as a whole. I think if you feel the police department is corrupt you should move to an area like Mexico where the police are really corrupt and totally unethical. Send us a postcard and let us know how things are going.
The main shortcomings I see working for the Raleigh Police Department have been lack of strong leadership and good decision-making from the people who sign the checks of every city employee, the city manager (Russell Allen) and the city council members. Some of the decisions they make really impede the progress of our Department in addition to the city and citizens as a whole (think about the growth, drought and other issues)...
The impression I have is that the Durham PD is more approachable and less authoritarian than the Raleigh PD. Probably because the Durham PD have better things to do than sweat the small stuff.
What an interesting quote.... Have you heard of the "broken windows" theory and how it applies to law enforcement? Think of an area in the city... If you ignore small things such as people loitering in the street and other issues like that eventually all those small things add up and that area of the city is going to be a very undesirable area and a BIG PROBLEM... You'll go from having a relatively nice area to having an area that is now an open air drug market quicker than you think (this is what happened around the green rd/brockton dr/hoyle dr area during a period of about 10 years)...
The Raleigh Police Department believes in this theory and all of our officers are trained to respond to small things and take care of matters before they get out of hand. A big emphasis has been placed on community policing and it will continue under our new chief. I don't know what they do in Durham but going on what you posted maybe Durham would have a better reputation if the officers there focused more on "sweating the small stuff" as you say...
What an interesting quote.... Have you heard of the "broken windows" theory and how it applies to law enforcement? Think of an area in the city... If you ignore small things such as people loitering in the street and other issues like that eventually all those small things add up and that area of the city is going to be a very undesirable area and a BIG PROBLEM... You'll go from having a relatively nice area to having an area that is now an open air drug market quicker than you think (this is what happened around the green rd/brockton dr/hoyle dr area during a period of about 10 years)...
The Raleigh Police Department believes in this theory and all of our officers are trained to respond to small things and take care of matters before they get out of hand. A big emphasis has been placed on community policing and it will continue under our new chief. I don't know what they do in Durham but going on what you posted maybe Durham would have a better reputation if the officers there focused more on "sweating the small stuff" as you say...
I think you mistake what I mean by small stuff. 'Broken windows' is property damage in my opinion. The reason why I say this is that I remember a while ago when the morning show on G105 was doing one of their crazy spectacles in Durham (I don't recall what they were doing anymore). Bob made the comment that they would almost certainly be arrested if they were in Raleigh, yet in Durham, the cops actually came and started watching the show.
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