SDPD Police Recruit Making the Move from the East Coast

[Inside Man]

Originally Posted by tko51

I want to have interactions with the good people of the community, not just the criminals and suspects. Please let me know what you think and any help/advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi tko51,

I'm a former LAPD officer, and was offered a position with the SDPD at the same time I was offered a position with the LAPD.

A police officer in a city like LA or SD has great career opportunities, and it is a job like no other. The pay is OK, but I wound up leaving law enforcement for a higher paying job.

You mentioned that you want to have contact with the good people of society, and not just the criminals. While you will have some contact, the amount of which can very depending on your assignment (ex: Narcotics vs. Recruiting), much of your job will involve dealing, verbally and physically, with society's worst.

But this will obviously change as you move up into the management ranks!

[MisterMark]

And good news about crime: The violent crime rate is at a 25-year low:

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Metro -- County violent crime rate said to be at 25-year low

(Non-violent robberies are up slightly, unfortunately.)

[hotornot]

Originally Posted by tko51

1) How does the public view the SDPD?
2) Is the morale and interaction between the police and public positive?

1) Impossible to answer as I can't speak for the entire public.
2) Ditto.

Personally, I take each cop on a case by case basis. I follow some court cases. You better believe I'll be following the Frank White case that just broke a little more wide open today. I was involved with the Mathew Thornton case. He who, in March 2007, stabbed another bar patron 17 times right out on the sidewalk in Garnet Avenue. I can cite various other court cases that I had zero involvement with yet followed closely because they were interesting.

When I was younger I gave each and every cop unconditional love. That was when I was young and dumb. Now I know better. I have seen some SDPD cops do some very stupid things. One of them once blew through a red light at a high rate of speed during the daytime with his light bars on but the siren off. He nearly t-boned another persons car who was going through the green light. This cop was a complete idiot. He had to swerve to avoid hitting the citizen. He almost put that citizen in a wheelchair, or worse, could've killed him. I saw it with my own eyes, right out on Mission Boulevard in Pacific Beach, cross street Grand Avenue. My jaw dropped to the floor when I saw it go down. Years later while talking to a Northern Division cop (ND handles PB, La Jolla, ect) he told me that there was no reason for that cop to have had his siren turned off while running through a red light.

I strongly urge the public to be wary of the police. The Joshua Treadway matter, he of the Stephanie Crowe murder (in Escondido) is another great reason to be extremely wary of police power. I also urge the public to cooperate, to an extent, with the police, but I would never (ever) answer their questions while alone with them in a room while being interviewed or interrogated. I would urge people to respect cops. If you want respect, you give respect, though some cops don't follow that tenent. I don't hate the police. I don't love them. As mentioned, I take each cop on a case by case basis. Which when you think about it, is how a cop deals with the public. Their way keeps them alive. My way comes from having watched the way society works. People are unpredictable, and so are cops. Anyone who gives unconditional love to any one person, group, cause or thing is bound to get snakebit in the long run.

For the record, a good percentage of SD cops are ex-military guys. If you're into pumping iron and doing steroids, go work for the NYPD. They have a pharmacy that sells the NYPD steroids under the table.

[VII]

The SDPD is well-regarded by other police departments in Southern California.

[MisterMark]

Originally Posted by VII

The SDPD is well-regarded by other police departments in Southern California.

That's good to hear.

What's the common opinion about the LAPD? I bet it's pretty negative. Just one more big contrast between San Diego and Los Angeles.

[VII]

Originally Posted by MisterMark

That's good to hear.

What's the common opinion about the LAPD? I bet it's pretty negative. Just one more big contrast between San Diego and Los Angeles.

I can't speak for the public, but the LAPD is highly regarded by departments around the country. LAPD tactics are top notch. They are internally scrutinzed to the point where an officer can respond to a scene, apprehend a sought-after suspect, and, even though no one got injured, still get suspended without pay for failing to use the best tactics.

In the end, though, this great emphasize on tactics leads to better officer safety practices.

However, there have been some problems with some members of the LAPD brass going to other departments and causing problems by trying to create a "mini-LAPD" in terms of tactics and internal review procedures.

[Imperial1904]

Originally Posted by VII

I can't speak for the public, but the LAPD is highly regarded by departments around the country.

I agree. But you can't really compare the SDPD to LAPD. It would be like comparing crime stats in which L.A. is definetely worse.

I heard SDPD is getting a long awaited raise. Even though I don't think it's much, it's well deserved by those who do a great job protecting the city.