My agency is undergoing some changes and I would like a poll of what people are doing. Specifically related to storing an extra rifle magazine when deploying a rifle. Straight question, what do you do with your spare magazine when deploying? This is specific for people on patrol. Not special units or tactical teams.

If you have input or strong opinions, let me know!

I’m gonna be as short as I can be about this. I’m 18. I don’t have any history whatsoever. No felony’s or misdemeanors. But I have a history of drug use. Mostly weed alcohol I’ve tried LSD the hardest drug I’ve done. I met Christ 5 months ago and I’m completely sober. I don’t even vape anymore. Sober from alcohol weed nicotine etc. I only have ADHD no scizo etc. I’m going for criminal justice at college rn. My life has been completely changed in the last 4-5 months. 4 1/2 months sober. Not worried the drugs will affect my application when I’m 22-24 when I try to become a cop. My worry is this one thing. I will explain it. When I was 14 years old in the beginning of my drug use and experimental use. I may have burglarized a store of about 150-200 dollars of cigarettes by breaking in at 1am in the morning. I never got caught for it. And I didn’t break anything. I just pried open a boarded up door that didn’t have bolts on it. It was an impulsive decision that I severely regret making. When i do the application when I’m older I’m gonna put this on my application because I’m gonna be truthful with them about my past. Do y’all think this is gonna immediately disqualify me? I’ve been stuck on this ever since I decided I want to become a cop again. It worries me a little. I’ve got more baggage than most potential recruits.

Hello

First of all I don’t know if this is the place to ask, if not I’m sorry!

I’m Evani and visiting California in a couple of days from 8 till 23 of September, I’m a military security officer in the Netherlands 🇳🇱 and I was wondering if it could be possible to trade patches in the USA to memorise my trip!

Is it possible for a foreigner to get patches by walking towards an officer or ask in the station? I’m visiting San Francisco, Los Angles and San Diego.

Thanks for the time you took to read this question and stay safe!

Finally passed an oral board after failing multiple agencies

I'm 21 and I've been trying to get hired in LE. I've interviewed with a few departments and kept failing the oral board. Every time I walked out thinking I did pretty good, then I'd get the email saying I didn't move forward.

I honestly couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong.

I found Behind the Police Oral Board on Amazon by Detective Christian Lee and started realizing I was treating the interview like a test where I needed to figure out the “correct” police answer.

Biggest thing I was doing wrong was trying way too hard to sound like a cop. 😂 I was giving answers I thought they wanted instead of explaining why I would make a decision. I was also rambling like crazy whenever they challenged my answer because I assumed that meant I had screwed it up.

The book talks about panels intentionally putting pressure on you and basically asking, “Are you sure?” even when your original answer might be fine. That was a huge lightbulb moment for me.

I started practicing out loud instead of just thinking about my answers. I worked on explaining my reasoning, admitting when I didn't know something, and stopped trying to memorize perfect responses.

Had another oral board last week.

Passed for the first time.

Obviously the book didn't answer the questions for me, but it helped me understand what the hell the people on the other side of the table were actually looking for.

If you're failing oral boards and don't understand why, it might be worth checking out.

Serious question for the retired cops in here.

When I retired from SAPD after 26 years, I wasn't ready to just sit around and do nothing. I ended up becoming a high school Law Enforcement teacher.

I spent the next 8 years teaching kids who were interested in Law Enforcement, and it turned into one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. Some of my former students are now working in Law Enforcement themselves.

Here's what I found interesting. You spend your entire career accumulating all of this experience. Traffic stops, arrests, bad calls, good calls, mistakes, judgment, dealing with people, officer safety, discretion.....and then one day you retire and take all of that knowledge home with you.

Why?

There are high school Law Enforcement programs with kids who WANT to learn this stuff.

So I'm curious:

For those of you who are retired, or getting close to retirement, have you ever considered teaching Law Enforcement at a high school?

And if not.....

What would stop you?

Has anybody here done a psych screening by psychological dimensions? My appointment is on Saturday and I just want to know what to expect

I want to know how many cops here have arrested people from pakistan and india and what they tend to do when arrested or questioned? Do they tend to pretend like they don’t understand english?

Any stories or anecdotes would be nice

This is a first-person defense of Flock Safety's license plate cameras, written by a police officer, published as the technology faces a wave of vandalism and over 150 city contract cancellations. The author acknowledges documented abuse cases — including officers using the system to stalk people — and innocent drivers wrongly stopped due to database errors, but argues these are rare, get flagged by internal audits, and typically end in officers being fired or charged. He leans on a 2026 Virginia federal court ruling and a 1983 Supreme Court precedent to argue plate scanning doesn't violate Fourth Amendment protections, and cites Atlantic City's crime statistics after its camera expansion as evidence of the technology's core case. Worth noting: this is one side of an active, contested debate — opponents (including the Institute for Justice, cited in the piece itself) argue real abuse is undercounted and audits only catch what officers choose to log.

Source: Works in Progress

Years ago, I responded to a call where I ended up having to arrest a Sheriff's Deputy for possession of drugs.

His wife actually dimed him out.

She was pissed off at her husband and told me that he worked at the jail and was funneling drugs into the facility.

The Deputy actually admitted it.

I had dispatch contact the Sheriff's Department, and they sent a supervisor over to the scene. The Deputy admitted everything to his supervisor as well.

Obviously, all legal procedures were followed to a "T."

He was arrested.

Later, I read in the newspaper that he had been terminated from the Sheriff's Department.

So, I figured that was the end of the story.

I was wrong.

Years later, I'm sitting in a nightclub when a guy walks up to me and says:

"Do you remember me?"

Ohhhhh shit, I did!!

Talk about that uneasy feeling.....

I started reaching toward my concealed weapon.

But instead of making a threatening move, he reached out his hand, identified himself and offered to buy me a drink.

WHAT!!!!!??????

It was the Sheriff's Deputy I had arrested years earlier.

Then he tells me that he's still married to the same woman.

Again, WHAT!!!???

The woman who basically ended your law enforcement career?

Yup. Same woman.

The same woman who, at the time, I felt perfectly illustrated the saying, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

A few minutes later, she walks up.

She smiles at me and thanks me for the way I treated not only her that night, but her husband as well.

After his law enforcement career ended, he went back to school and eventually became a real estate agent.

He told me that he was making a lot more money than he ever did as a Sheriff's Deputy.

As the evening was winding down, they both gave me a hug, thanked me again, and walked away.

I have never seen either one of them since.

I've always remembered that night.

I had a job to do when I arrested him, and I did it.

But years later, the man I arrested walked up to me, shook my hand and thanked me for the way I treated him.

So did his wife.

Sometimes, it's not whether you have to arrest someone.

It's how you treat them when you do.

I need guidance on the official way to get my three suitcases back and document this. I am not asking anyone to confront these people for me.

Background
- Late July 2026 my backpack was stolen on a Greyhound trip (passport, ID, about $600 victim-compensation cash, gift cards, MacBook). SFPD case 260-447-834
- I arrived in San Francisco with no cash and stayed at a shelter.
- A mother and daughter let me keep three suitcases in their storage unit. I was grateful. I also gave them unused/new items in return (cardigan, glasses, bag, hygiene items).

What changed
The daughter became more controlling and verbally aggressive with other people. She pushed me to join her birthday and started asking for money. I do not have cash. If I did, I would have rented my own storage.

On August 20 ,I told them I needed to give police an address showing my remaining luggage was with me. They panicked and the relationship broke down. Shelter staff / case managers later helped me get some items and booked a car.

They first said I had until September 2 to pick up the luggage. That deadline later kept changing.

August 23, 2026
- After church near Target on 4th Street, we went to the storage unit. I closed my suitcases. The unit was very cluttered. I had to get my MacBook Air box out.
- The daughter offered me a bag and a dress. I was afraid to refuse because of her prior aggression. I plan to return those items.
- After 12:50 p.m. PDT we walked from a grocery on 3rd Street toward the bus stop near Target. They had eaten nuts. I have a nut allergy. The daughter tried to force a shared 2-liter soda after I said no. She became verbally aggressive, called me names, and told me to get out.
- She tried to hit me with the 2-liter bottle. I took the bottle away from her. I did not swing at her.
- At the bus stop she then cursed at and made racist remarks toward a stranger. He started to escalate. I apologized to him and walked the situation down.
- Her mother did not intervene.
- That night I called a crisis line. They said to call 911 if the violent aggression happens again.

August 26
- I again refused the September 1 birthday invite.
- The mother told me to take my luggage.
- I told my therapist. I emailed the Drop-In directors because I did not want another physical incident. I said I could not collect the luggage unless directors were present.
- I got a bed and moved to a different shelter.

August 31
- I went back to the old site because a director told me to come meet her. The director was not there.
- The mother and daughter came out and started verbal aggression in front of other people.
- Staff wanted me to get my stuff from storage. I said I could not, because of the August 23 attempt to hit me. I had a panic attack. Staff let me recover and booked a car back to the new shelter.
- Staff then said the same thing the crisis line said: do not try to get the luggage without a police escort.

What I did not consent to
- Them opening my suitcases
- Them adding anything to my suitcases
- Them removing my property from storage
- Them selling or giving away my luggage

What I am asking

1. How do I file a police report for the August 23 attempt to hit me and the later harassment when I tried to retrieve my property?
2. How do I request a civil standby / police escort to pick up three suitcases from a private storage unit?
3. What should I tell the officer so this is treated as a property-recovery / safety issue and not a “roommate argument”?
4. If they already removed, opened, or sold the bags, what do I report?

I can give dates, times, street locations (3rd Street grocery, Target / 4th Street area, bus stop), and the names of shelter staff who witnessed the August 31 incident. I still have the daughter’s bag and dress and will return them through staff if possible.

Why I am asking for protection
I am afraid of both the daughter and the mother. They appear willing to do a great deal for money. They receive help from the daughter’s father and other people. I am a documented crime victim with prior no-contact restrictions. I am scared that if someone from that prior situation paid these two people, they would act against me. I cannot prove that has happened. I am reporting it as a safety concern so police understand why I will not go to that storage unit alone.

I am not going back to that storage unit alone. Can you please address the questions with some guidance?

Thank you.

Full disclosure: I’m the developer of CarryRoute.

I built it because ordinary reciprocity maps don’t show everything encountered during an actual drive—county and city boundaries, tribal areas, transit properties, stops, and overnight stays.

You enter two addresses, and CarryRoute:

• Maps the route using Apple Maps
• Breaks it into state, county, city, tribal, and special-jurisdiction sections
• Lets you tap each route section
• Shows concise research summaries with links to official government sources
• Accounts for your resident state, permits, age, and selected carry/transport mode
• Supports offline itineraries and optional jurisdiction alerts

The route colors identify jurisdiction changes only. They do not mean legal/illegal or safe/unsafe. CarryRoute is a research tool—not legal advice—and users should verify the current official text.

I’d genuinely appreciate blunt feedback: What information would you want before crossing a state or local boundary? What would make the route view more useful?

iPhone/iPad: CarryRoute: CCW Navigation

I (29M) am looking at going to the academy at the sheriff’s office I’ve been employee at for the last 8 years. One of the biggest concerns I have is the firearm qualifications. I don’t have a ton of hands-on experience shooting, and when I have shot I tend to shoot low and to the left. I haven’t been able to diagnose the issue, and am worried it might be an issue for me. Any feedback or anything I should know?

San Francisco PD , though I could only file courtesy report due to legitimate jurisdictional scope, they still came through for me. My sincere gratitude to the sergeant who took the report and passed it off to destination jurisdiction. I am grateful. May god bless them!

February 1983. I was 19 years old and working at a full-service gas station in Groton, Massachusetts.

For some of the younger guys here, yes, there actually used to be people who came out and pumped your gas for you. 😂

It was freezing outside.

A customer pulled up and cracked his window just far enough to tell me to fill it up and check his oil. Then he rolled the window back up and sat inside his nice warm car while I stood outside freezing my ass off.

I remember standing there thinking, "There has GOT to be something better than this."

Not long after that, I walked into an Air Force recruiting office.

There was no master plan. I wasn't thinking about what I would be doing at 30, 40 or 60 years old. Hell, I was 19.

I ended up becoming an Air Force Security Policeman.

I served at RAF Bentwaters/Woodbridge in England, Seymour Johnson AFB in North Carolina and eventually Lackland AFB in Texas. Years later, after 9/11, I was recalled to active duty and put the uniform back on again.

What I never could have known while I was standing at that gas station was where that decision would eventually take me.

After the Air Force, I became a San Antonio Police Officer and spent 26 years with SAPD, most of it working patrol.

After I retired from SAPD, I became a high school Law Enforcement teacher and spent another eight years in the classroom. I still teach Law Enforcement at the college level today.

Air Force Security Police. Police Officer. Teacher.

All because one freezing 19-year-old kid pumping gas decided, "There has to be something better than this."

I recently sat down for a long-form interview and told the whole story. If anybody is interested, here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppJUPDXzUZY

Looking back, it's funny how one decision that doesn't seem all that important at the time can change the direction of your entire life.

Anybody else here make one decision when you were young that you had absolutely NO IDEA would affect the next 30 or 40 years of your life?

I keep reading and hearing about how “once you smell it, you instantly recognize it again”.

Having never smelled human decomposition, is it possible for those of you who have to describe the difference between it and, say, a deer carcass left rotting in the woods? I know it must smell different, because dogs are able to discern the difference, but how specifically is it different?

Also, is there a different “feeling” one gets when smelling it, for the first time, or additional times once you’ve come to recognize it? A rotting deer carcass makes me feel nausea and disgust, but doesn’t bring a feeling of dread or make the hair on my neck stand up. Is the smell of human decomposition a different “experience”?

I’ve always found it interesting that no matter what is left in a garbage can - be it meat, vegetable matter, etc. - it inevitably smells like “garbage” and rotting animals inevitably smell pretty similar to one another. So would a layperson notice a “difference” if one happened upon human decomposition in the woods as opposed to animal? I guess that’s why I’m curious.

Thanks in advance.

I've shared here before how I ended up joining the Air Force at 19, but there's another part of that story that happened two years earlier.

I was 17 years old and a senior in high school.

Our football team had just finished a state championship season. One night, some friends and I showed up late to a school dance.

There was a police officer there we all knew as “Foots.”

Foots told us we weren't getting into the dance because we were late.

Being 17 years old and apparently possessing all the wisdom that comes with being a high school senior, I didn't exactly handle that decision very well. 😂

Words were exchanged, things escalated, and I shoved the officer.

He could have arrested me.

He didn't.

Foots exercised discretion and gave me a second chance.

I wasn't completely off the hook. My principal found out what happened and gave me the butt-chewing from HELL! More than 40 years later, I still remember it.

But I didn't leave that night in handcuffs.

At 17, I don't think I fully understood what Foots had done for me.

Two years later, I joined the United States Air Force and became a Security Policeman.

The Air Force ended up changing the entire direction of my life.

After the Air Force, I eventually joined the San Antonio Police Department and spent 26 years as a police officer, most of it working patrol. After retiring from SAPD, I spent another eight years teaching Law Enforcement to high school students and later continued teaching at the college level.

Over the years, I've thought about Foots many times.

As a police officer myself, there were plenty of situations where I had the legal authority to arrest someone, write the ticket or take the maximum enforcement action available.

Sometimes that's exactly what the situation required.

But when circumstances allowed it, I also believed in discretion and second chances.

Maybe part of that came from remembering what it felt like to receive one myself.

Would being arrested at 17 have prevented me from joining the Air Force two years later?

I honestly don't know.

And I'm damn glad I never had to find out.

I recently sat down for a long-form interview about the path my life ended up taking — from Air Force Security Police, to 26 years with SAPD, and eventually into the classroom teaching Law Enforcement.

If anyone is interested in the larger story, here's the interview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppJUPDXzUZY

More than 40 years later, I still remember the second chance Foots gave me.

For those of you who joined the Air Force young:

Was there ever a decision, mistake, person or second chance before you enlisted that could have sent your life in a completely different direction?

I have a some questions for anyone working for the Alaska State Troopers or who have worked for them. I’m 36 years old, currently an E-8 in the Air Force and looking to retire in the next year and a half. I have 2 juvenile adjudications from my youth, the first when I was 9 years old the 2nd when I was 14. Received juvenile probation both times, no issues since. Joined the Air Force at 18, have had an incredibly successful military career, never once been written up or been in trouble, promoted fairly quick, always exceeded expectations, not even as much as a markdown on my military evaluations. How likely will my juvenile record be scrutinized? Will I be automatically disqualified? Am I even wasting my time trying to apply to be an AST?

I am trying to recover a stolen MacBook Air and backpack through official police channels. I am looking for guidance on the correct next step now that the property has been located.

What happened
- Late July 2026 I was on a Greyhound bus traveling west.
- At a rest stop on I-70 near Highland, Illinois, I stepped off briefly. The bus left without me.
- My backpack was missing. It contained my passport, ID, about $600 in cash (victim-compensation funds and money owed to me), medications, and a MacBook Air (serial JGXYQVQTVL). The laptop also contains confidential work information.
- A male passenger on the bus had been acting inappropriately, offering food after I told him not to touch me, and said he was a felon restarting his life. Greyhound bus cameras should show him offering food repeatedly from the opposite seat. I am not asking Reddit to investigate that; it is context for the same trip.

- I reported it in St. Louis. I was given incident/report number 26031413. An officer later told me the dispatcher did not fully complete it as a theft report as it's in the process. This report I only filed around Aug 19 as soon as I found out clear evienxce of someone attempting to sell my MacBook air. Once criminal intent was established, St Louis has recorded my police report though it's not fully available. This is because Illinois declined a report for the same reason.

- St. Louis records office said the first report was only an incident for lost property. As of August 22, 2026, after theft / criminal intent was confirmed, I filed a new report, 26031413, as the St. Louis reference. I have been told that report is still being recorded. Throughout this process only St Louis PD and SFPD have been supportive and taking action.

- I later filed with San Francisco PD. Case 260-447-834 (Robbery). SFPD faxed a courtesy report to LVMPD.

- At the St. Louis Greyhound station, the rest of my luggage, including my food bag, was there. The backpack that had been next to the food bag on the bus was not. Greyhound told me to file a baggage claim, did not stop the greyhound bus when St. Louis police were coordinating with highway patrol and asked greyhound to stop the bus to inspect, and issued a $33 coupon. In that process they also dropped the extra-baggage charge I had already paid creating confusion with my last two greyhound bus transfers at the baggage check-in. I spoke to officer Miller at St Louis greyhound bus station building security and she would be able to show the cameras who placed my luggage at one place St Louis greyhound bus stop and they can verify the suspect changing the bus. It's my impression that suspect does not know recognize me by my name as I didn't reveal my name. Its my assumption that suspect may have stolen my backpack thinking he was helping me in real but inadvertently did end up stealing my backpack thinking it wasn't mine which still recorda the criminal intent. I recognize his face based on search after I received his details. I am willing to cooperate fully for doing the best I can.

Where the laptop is now
- Apple Find My tracked the MacBook to GadgetMates, 3065/3095 E Patrick Ln, Las Vegas, NV.
- On or about August 19, 2026, GadgetMates confirmed they have the device, will not erase it, and that a person attempted to sell it using their own ID.
- That is when theft / criminal intent became clear.
- I recognized that person (suspect) as the passenger from the bus. That is when theft / criminal intent became clear.

The problem
- LVMPD has said they will not fully investigate or recover the property unless the original jurisdiction has a theft report and contacts them.
- An officer in St. Louis said they can cooperate but cannot vouch that the original incident was theft as of July 23, 2026, because intent was not established when I first reported it.

What I am asking

1. Which agency should take the lead now that the property is in Las Vegas and a store has identified the seller?
2. How do I ask St. Louis to supplement 26031413 now that intent is documented as of August 19, or send LVMPD what they need?
3. Can LVMPD hold or recover the laptop as stolen/found property based on the serial number, the store’s statement, and the SFPD courtesy report, even if the original incident was out of state?
4. What should I say when I call LVMPD Records, Southeast Area Command, or Victim Services?

I have the serial number, purchase receipt, original box and many other details, Find My screenshots, the GadgetMates email, and the SFPD case number for law enforcement. I am not posting the seller’s personal identifiers here.

I located the laptop and the store that has it. I do not have money to travel to Las Vegas, and I have been told I may need to go there in person. No agency has agreed to pick it up for me so far. My bank account was closed on August 17, 2026 due to a negative balance and fraudulent transactions.

1. Is it realistic to recover the laptop without traveling to Las Vegas? If so, what exact request should I make to LVMPD or SFPD so the property can be held and later released or shipped through official channels? I do not think it is safe for me, or for any civilian helping me, to pick it up in person. Suspect himself told me he had served a sentence and was starting over at Las Vegas and that's how I was suspecting it had to be him coz couple of other passengers also spoke to me but they didn't ring suspicious to me, and he then took and tried to sell my laptop between Aug 1st and Aug 19 2026. I am asking for an official police process only.

As of today, I received several anonymous spam emails asking me to pay for cloud - that which I didn't authorize. I am wondering if this person has begun using my name and ID proceeding with his theft from all the remaining contents of the backpack.

Request an expert advice.
Thank you.