Estimated read time: 8-9 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY -- I am told all the time about various agencies and how “that” police agency is the worst one in the state, or the most corrupt or has the lowest morale. These are things I'm told or hear about from citizens and officers alike. Is this information originating from one citizen? One officer? Or a systematic failure by the administration to nip problems in the bud?
I don't know if people realize, but just like jobs in the private sector, our administrators do not always promote the best person for the job. We also “hide” inadequate officers and supervisors in non-important positions instead of firing them or disciplining them appropriately. Sometimes the administrators themselves should have never made it into the positions they are in.
Who has oversight as to the morale, performance and day- to-day discipline of the department? The administator's answer is the officer, the officer's answer is the administrator, the short answer is no one. I have seen firsthand the various departments' attempts at evaluating the merit of an individual officer and ultimately giving up or “tabling” it until later. Sure, there is discipline in the form of internal affairs, but that is for the more serious offenses.
If there is an officer or administrator who is just lazy, does a terrible job or has poor citizen contacts, the department ignores it. That person may not get into a special assignment like detectives or given a nice administrative position, but the behavior is not changed. Police departments like to punish the many rather than identifying the few and resolving the problem. The officer who gets 37 complaints a year by citizens gets paid exactly the same as the officer who gets one.
Most police departments don't promote on merit. There is a standardized format for testing, and as long as you pass, regardless if you are a “soup sandwich” out in the field, you will eventually be leading other officers, a division or a department. Now usually the mayor of a town selects the chief, but does that mayor ask the officers if the candidate is any good? Nope.
What is a police chief's job anyway? Everyone knows that the chief runs the department, answers to the mayor or elected offical and citizens regarding law enforcement. They plan strategies of enforcement and directions for their department to go. But aren't they also obligated to their employees? Isn't any boss's job to be concerned over morale, fight to get an employee benefits and pay and generally make working conditions better? In a perfect world.
Any group of employees can respond negatively or positively depending on how their administrators run the office. This is especially true of law enforcement as most of our job revolves around negative influences. This can magnify when dealing with the public. Now I'm not saying it's every officer's excuse that their police department has low morale so they can act like a jerk, but it doesn't help. We like good news like everyone else. So telling us to be thankful we have a job is getting a little old.
A lot of people reading this are probably asking, why doesn't he leave? “Good riddance,” although I have solved more cases than most and have never had an internal affairs complaint. I truly enjoyed this job and wanted to do my very best. I am, however, invested in my 20-year retirement that new officers no longer get.
My brother-in-law is working in a maintenance field, just starting out and making more than me. The educational and yearly training requirements are similar. So I probably would bail, at least I wouldn't be the “bad guy” any more. I know that the new-hire officers, especially the exceptional ones, will have nothing holding them to this job. So they will leave when the pay is better in the private or federal sector and we the citizens will be stuck with whoever can meet the physical requirements and enjoys abuse.
The questions:
Dear Cop,
I know that recently there was a law passed that you cannot text while you drive. My question is in regards to new technology available to text. For example, Apple's new iPhone 4 has a program called SIRI. If I were driving and I told SIRI what to text and had her send the text and read my messages to me (so she writes and reads for me and all I do is talk and listen, similar to talking on the phone, can I still be ticketed? — Rachel
Rachel,
The code states you may not text, it doesn't specify how you are doing it. Unless it's in an emergency situation or other situations.
State codes 41-6a-1715, 41-6a-1716. You can read up on these two codes if you google "Utah State Code" and enter in those numbers.
The burden, however, is on the police officer to prove this. So if the officer observed you manipulating your phone or other device which caused you to drive unsafely, then there are many different options to cite you.
Dear Officer Anonymous,
I am a transplant to this state and one of my concerns is the way some drivers use the painted medians as their personal lanes. I have come across many head-on collisions and witnessed many near misses of people trying to drive fast past slower stopped or slow traffic for several hundred yards. I realize officers have bigger issues to pursue, but sometimes I do wish they gave out more tickets to some of the impatient drivers. I am in error assuming there is maximum length that is allowed to drive along the painted median? Could you please state what the rules are for using the painted medians properly?
Thank you — Vicky
Vicky,
It depends on the painted median that you are referring to. If it is double yellow on both sides, then it is considered a raised median and there is no driving in it at all. If it is a solid and broken line together, then you can get into it but have to make a turn as soon as practical. You cannot drive in it a few blocks or mile. So yes, it is annoying and we try to enforce it when we are able. It is a pet peeve of mine also.
Hello,
My cop question is this: I thought that the Utah Highway Patrol was formed to have sole jurisdiction of the freeways and each city would have jurisdiction of its own city (minus the freeway — if it runs through the city). I've seen UHP troopers pull people over when the UHP trooper didn't see or have any knowledge of that person being on the freeway prior to the incident of being pulled over, and vice-versa where a non-UHP car pulls someone over on the freeway. Please tell me what is going on here? Thank you. — Michael
Michael,
Utah police officers have statewide police authority. This allows them to make traffic stops or arrests statewide. However, we do like to include the responsible agency for that area when applicable. Many state-serviced roads are not freeways or highways and regularly patrolled by UHP. This would include State Street, 300 West, 700 East and many others. I have stopped vehicles on highways, freeways and local roads. There are jurisdictions, and when making arrests or citations, they have to be referred to that locality.
If you want to read the Utah state code on this, which is riveting, it's 53-13-103.
Dear Officer Anonymous,
I have always wondered with the texting while driving laws, how do you enforce it well? What if somone is using their phone like I do to listen to music or use a gps, how can you tell if that person is actually texting or not? — Niwond
Niwond,
It is a difficult law to enforce. But you would be amazed how badly some people drive while texting, or they are driving with their knees while using both hands to text. The best results have been with officers on motorcycles or trucks who are watching the driver text, not knowing the officer is watching them.
Dear Officer Cop,
This is probably a dumb question, but it is something I have always wanted to know. I heard once that it is against the law to drive barefoot. Is this true? Sometimes in the summer if I'm just running my kids to piano lessons or something, I'd really not bother with shoes, but I want to obey the law as well. Thanks! — Debbie
Debbie,
No, although I had heard that too when I was young. I think it was something my mom made up to scare me into wearing shoes while driving. Officially there is no law that I can find for that. It could have been at one point, but I don't see it. The engineers and designers of vehicles seem to have designed the pedals to be better operated with the feet in shoes, unless you have that giant foot pedal for your accelerator.
This article is the sole opinion of myself and whoever agrees with me. I do not represent an individual police agency or government. Please send all questions to askacop@ksl.com. Also include whether confidential or not so I know whether to post it.
