Being made to live where you work.....

[BrickCop]

Hey Jim:

A mistake?! Those midnight shifts must be getting to you. I'm actually suprised you can type as your wrists must be sore from all those citations you write.

------------------
"He was a bad lawyer, but he was the most sensible looking man talking nonsense I ever saw". -D.O.

For a related article, go to http://detnews.com/2001/metro/0106/06/a01-232896.htm from yesterday's Detroit News entitled: "Detroit Police flee to suburbs."

------------------
Thalia, mom of 10 (so far) "Women shouldn't have children after 35, thirty five children are enough."

Originally posted by DesertRat:
Jim: I don't know who you are quoting up above there, but it isn't me!!!!!!!

You're right, the second quote was from the original poster, I got lazy with the 'quote' tag, sorry. I'll edit that now.

[poproc]

American Police Beat magazine had an article about a year or two ago that dealt with this subject. They looked at larger agencies that had residency requirements and showed that they also had higher crimes rates than cities that did not have residency requirements. So the politicians theory that residency requirements allow for lower crime rate hold no weight. My department has an eight mile radius requirement. It's funny how the officers that live farther away are always on time, but several officers who live two minutes away from our station are repeatedly late!

[Bonk]

Residency requirements are feel-good legislation with no foundation in common sense, or in other words, garbage. If an officer can get to work on time every day, let him live where he wants to. I live in the next town over from where I work, and while every now and then I bump into a "customer" for the most part I am happily anonymous, and I like it that way.

For years, the Detroit Police Department has forced its officers to live within the city limits. I guess the theory is that off duty cops in the neighborhood will still discourage crime, and the new "alleged" theory that if the neighborhood residents get to know and like their cop neighbors then they'll have less "fear" of the police.

Well it hasn't worked. The cops didn't spread out all over the city, nor did they move into the worst areas, or the inner city. No, they have mosty all huddled in various "good" neighborhoods on the very edges of the city. Furthermore, Detroiters in general still hate the police (it's never been too much "fear" IMO, unless it was fear of getting caught).

Apparently the residency requirement was recently outlawed, but I believe noone can move just yet because of an appeal of some sort.

------------------
Thalia, mom of 10 (so far) "Women shouldn't have children after 35, thirty five children are enough."

[GreenBeret]

Thanks for the responses everyone. Unlike the UK, here in the states, it's concidered "bad juju" to get involved in anything off duty unless it's what they consider to be a forciable felony. Other then that, stay out of the way and let the on-duty guys handle it.
_____________________________________________
Quote from KateyKakes:
"When I saw you were from Chester, all I could do was say, GOD HELP YOU! I'm surprised your bags weren't packed from day one. You're a brave soul!"
_____________________________________________

I think she pretty much summed it up about where I work. It's that bad. I have one side of me saying fight like hell to get the residency requirement lifted. The other half is saying, don't waste your time.

_____________________________________________
Quote: DesertRat
" there is this thing called finding a new job and moving "
_____________________________________________

I am going to take his advice.



------------------
Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere- Martin Luther King Jr.

There was once a policy in Essex Police, UK that officers didn't work in the immediate vicinity of the area that they lived.

This was primarily for the officers benefit so they wouldn't have to deal with people they knew like neighbours and immediate relatives!!!!!!

The current recruitment shortage and operation neccesity has altered this.

The present situation is that about 30% of officers live within 5 miles off the area they work. For auxillaries (Special constables in UK) this is about 93%.

The only problems with this is that people you arrest sometimes recognise you when you are off duty (eg in bars etc) and point you out to their acquaintances.

Some off us have no problem with this (eg like me who will hapily arrest *******s when off duty!)

mjp

[kateykakes]

Originally posted by GreenBeret:
I have made up in my mind, I am outta here.

GreenBeret,

I read this thread when it was orginally posted but didn't check your profile until I read that you're from PA (I'm in Upper Darby). When I saw you were from Chester, all I could do was say, GOD HELP YOU! I'm surprised your bags weren't packed from day one. You're a brave soul!

I wish you and your family all the luck in the world.



------------------
"There's no place like home."

[DesertRat]

Jim: I don't know who you are quoting up above there, but it isn't me!!!!!!!

[FlaLaw]

I might suggest another option, sue the city in this litigious society unfortunately this is the only thing they listen to. Make sure you're off probation and look for a good lawyer. If the city requires you to live in a certain area then they should be resposible for what happens to you in that area. In general the govt. has no requirement to protect individuals, but employers are required to protect employees. If your city requires you to carry your badge and gun off duty or requires you to do anything (like be in a certain area) off duty then they should have a duty to protect you. if you do not get a judgement at least it will be the end of the policy. Even better if everyone that lives in the city joins the lawsuit. you also want to look at the incidents between the officers that live outside the city verses those that live in the city. As a PBA rep I'd be making the city's life miserable.

[Niteshift]

Yeah, the prgram is run by HUD.

Don't do like one cop did though......buy the house, live elsewhere and sublet it for more than he was paying.

------------------
Niteshift-
Perseverate In Pugna

[GreenBeret]

Hey everyone,
Thanks for the responses. Seems like everyone has heard of it in some form or fashion. What got me the most is that people have been complaining for years about living in the city. One officer, a couple of years ago, ( and when I heard this I couldn't belive it unitl the Detective Sgt confirmed it ) was working narcotics. His entire family one night woke up to a few gunmen in their house. The gunmen marched his whole family, mother, daughter, and his little cousins out into a field not to far from their house, and executed them all. Now you would think that the city would have some sort of pitty. Yeah right. I think politics should be outlawed.
Well after my 31,000 dollar car was torched this morning, I have made up in my mind, I am outta here. Job be damned. My family isn't factored into the mayor's "political agenda". So wish me luck. I wish California's laws applied to Pa. Would make alot of cops' lives alot easier.

------------------
Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere- Martin Luther King Jr.

Anyone hear of a program that lets officers and teachers buy a house in the area they work for a very good discount? I think it was something to benefit run down and crime neighborhoods and by letting the officers and teachers move there it in turn rujuvinates the community. This sounds interesting and i heard people talking about it but thought something to good to be true usually is. They were saying it is like 50% off the house.

[PeteBroccolo]

Generally, in the RCMP, it is a requirement that the Regular Members live within the Detachment area, and the Detachment Commander lives in the town where the Detachment building is located. If a Detachment has a Town/City Policing Contract, as well as policing the Rural area, then the boundaries of the Rural unit are where you must reside within.
I can only speak from the experience of living in Saskatchewan - I'm not sure at all how it works in Ontario and Quebec where we are neither the Provincial Police Force nor do we provide General Duty Policing in those Provinces, but provide Federal Policing (for the USA LEO, think FBI, ATF, DEA and Secret Service all rolled into one). From what I have heard about British Columbia, with the large (150 - 300 members) municipal Detachments that we have (North Vancouver, Surrey, Coquitlam) when members get transferred between them they just commute along a different route.
Again, we don't have the threat levels here that most of the USA LEO seem to face (Thank God!!!) so living within your area, and even having a patrol vehicle in your driveway, generally is a good thing.

------------------
P. D. (Pete) Broccolo, Constable
#32936 - RCMP Weyburn, Saskatchewan