Police impersonation: Difference between revisions
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Impersonating a [[police officer]] is sometimes committed in order to assert police-like authority in order to commit a crime. Posing as a police officer enables the offender to legitimize the appearance of an illegal act, such as: [[burglary]], making a [[traffic stop]], or [[Detention (imprisonment)|detaining]] a citizen without resistance. |
Impersonating a [[police officer]] is sometimes committed in order to assert police-like authority in order to commit a crime. Posing as a police officer enables the offender to legitimize the appearance of an illegal act, such as: [[burglary]], making a [[traffic stop]], or [[Detention (imprisonment)|detaining]] a citizen without resistance. |
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Dressing up as a police officer in costume (e.g. for [[Halloween]]), or pretending to be a police officer for the entertainment purposes or a harmless prank toward an acquaintance is generally not considered a crime, provided that those involved recognize the imposter is not a real police officer, and the imposter is not trying to |
Dressing up as a police officer in costume (e.g. for [[Halloween]]), or pretending to be a police officer for the entertainment purposes or a harmless prank toward an acquaintance is generally not considered a crime, provided that those involved recognize the imposter is not a real police officer, and the imposter is not trying to deceiv |
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The following impersonations class as the offence: |
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*'''Verbal identification''': The imposter announces to the unsuspecting victim that they are a police officer or other law enforcement agent. |
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*'''Fake [[Badge]] or [[Warrant card]]''': The imposter, though not in any special clothes, displays a police-like badge or identification card to the victim. Sometimes, even a real police officer will not even be able to differentiate between the real and fake badge, as some duplicates are very similar to a real badge, if not identical to one. This is much more of a problem in the USA than in the UK, as in the UK, police identification includes photographic ID as well as the police shield, whereas in the US, a police shield alone counts as ID, making it easier for people to pretend to be police officers. |
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*'''Fake [[uniform]]''': The imposter wears a uniform that looks very much like that of a police officer. |
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*'''Fake [[Police car|vehicle]]:''' The imposter places police lights (these can be either permanently mounted onto the car or temporary lights magnetically attached to the cartop), decals, siren, or other equipment on a personal vehicle to disguise it as a [[police car]] and enable the offender to pass through red traffic lights, bypass traffic other non-emergency traffic would have to wait for, make [[traffic stop]]s, or even [[arrest]]s. |
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Much of the equipment described above is available for purchase by the general public, thereby enabling imposters to obtain the necessary materials to commit such a crime. While the equipment will not bear the name of a specific law enforcement agency, the unsuspecting victim may not notice the difference. |
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In an extreme case, a [[Hempstead (village), New York|Hempstead, New York]] man set up a fake [[police station]] in addition to the above, where he [[Interrogation|interrogated]] those he [[arrest]]ed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/alleged-fake-cop-ran-own-police-station-interrogated-suspects|title=Alleged Fake Cop Ran Own 'Police Station,' Interrogated 'Suspects'|work=Fox News}}</ref> |
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Some of the following crimes have been committed while impersonating a police officer:{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}} |
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*[[Burglary|Home invasion]], by gaining entry under the guise of a police officer, followed by [[theft]] from the premises, [[rape]], [[torture]], or in rare cases, [[murder]]. |
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*'''Theft and [[motor vehicle theft]]''' - approaching a victim, explaining that an item or a vehicle is stolen. The impersonator will then seize the "evidence" and never return it. |
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*[[Armed robbery]], following a [[traffic stop]] |
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*[[Kidnapping]] following a traffic stop or [[false arrest]] |
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*'''Fake authority''', in which the officer attempts to [[extortion|extort]] money from the victim, claiming it is a fine, or can be paid on the spot to avoid further legal consequences. |
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*[[Prank]] phone calls and other [[fraudulent]] / deceptive electronic [[communications]], where one might make a comment about a group that invites retaliation. |
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==Popular culture== |
==Popular culture== |
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Revision as of 21:01, 1 December 2019
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Police impersonation is an act of falsely portraying oneself as a member of the police, for the purpose of deception. In the vast majority of countries, the practice is illegal and carries a custodial sentence.
Impersonating a police officer is sometimes committed in order to assert police-like authority in order to commit a crime. Posing as a police officer enables the offender to legitimize the appearance of an illegal act, such as: burglary, making a traffic stop, or detaining a citizen without resistance.
Dressing up as a police officer in costume (e.g. for Halloween), or pretending to be a police officer for the entertainment purposes or a harmless prank toward an acquaintance is generally not considered a crime, provided that those involved recognize the imposter is not a real police officer, and the imposter is not trying to deceiv
Popular culture
The 2014 American film Let's Be Cops features the main characters pretending to be police officers. A popular webseries Dick Figures aired an episode called 'We're Cops' featured 'red' and 'blue' rob a bank dressed as a police officer. The 1991 James Cameron film Terminator 2: Judgment Day features Robert Patrick as a T-1000 who impersonates a Los Angeles police officer in order to find and kill John Connor. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia episode “Bums: Making a Mess All Over the City”, Frank buys a decommissioned police cruiser and dresses as a cop with Dennis. They use their new status to receive free hotdogs and harass citizen by taking their money and possession.