Started By
Message
locked post

How smart is your average police officer?

Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:30 am
Posted by Pecker
Rocky Top
Member since May 2015
16674 posts
Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:30 am
I think police officers have an incredibly difficult job and they do a great service.*

But I can't help but feel that a large segment of police officers aren't the brightest bulbs in the box. This is a problem because we're giving them increasingly more authority. There are even reports of police officers being denied jobs because their IQs are too high.

I've never had any problems with the police or been arrested, and I'm always as respectful as can be. But I feel like a lot of these guys would be better off with wooden guns, Barney Fife style.


*I'm as pro law and order as it gets. I'm also pro public hangings and torture for serious offenses like murder and cruising in the left lane.
Posted by Scooba
Member since Jun 2013
20005 posts
Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:31 am to
Do you know EVERY law?


Neither do they.
Posted by BabyTac
Austin, TX
Member since Jun 2008
15745 posts
Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:32 am to
The only cops I personally know where pretty much screw offs in high school who stayed in trouble.
Posted by dbeck
Member since Nov 2014
29454 posts
Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:32 am to
Too stupid for college?
Too unstable for the military?

We have a career for you.

"Protect and serve!"
This post was edited on 5/19/17 at 8:34 am
Posted by pvilleguru
Member since Jun 2009
60453 posts
Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:32 am to
quote:

How smart is your average police officer?

Not very.
Posted by Covingtontiger77
Member since Dec 2015
11661 posts
Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:33 am to
As times have gotten more and more difficult in this environment to "police" i would suspect that the quality of candidate wanting to join the ranks, especially in large urban environments, would dimish.
Posted by lionward2014
New Orleans
Member since Jul 2015
13458 posts
Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:35 am to
I think you need to distinguish the type. Your average state trooper is probably above average, your small town, rural parish cop probably average or below, and your EBR and NOPD cop probably varies depending on the person but some are for sure above average.
This post was edited on 5/19/17 at 8:37 am
Posted by FulshearTiger
Member since Jul 2015
5294 posts
Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:35 am to
quote:

How smart is your average police officer?

Pointless question. The average person is incredibly stupid. The average group of anything is probably pretty stupid sans like doctors and lawyers.
Posted by SidewalkDawg
Chair
Member since Nov 2012
10201 posts
Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:36 am to
I probably wouldn't put them up there in the ranks with Flat Earth scientists, but they have to be pretty damn intelligent to do that job.

Do you know how smart you have to be to detect the smell of pot in a car that 99% of people would think didn't have pot in it?
Posted by bgoodwin
Cullman, Al
Member since Sep 2011
599 posts
Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:38 am to
Wouldn't the "average" person be of average intelligence?
Maybe this deputy sheriff is too dumb to understand...
Posted by SamuelClemens
Earth
Member since Feb 2015
11727 posts
Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:38 am to
I'm sure Harvard or Yale has conducted some blind studies
Posted by dbeck
Member since Nov 2014
29454 posts
Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:39 am to
"Think of how dumb the average person is. Half of people are dumber than that."

-George Carlin

Posted by LarryDavid
Los Angeles
Member since Sep 2010
4207 posts
Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:40 am to
Extremely smart for what they are paid. In most places starting pay is near poverty level, so that is the major problem. And, you'd be amazed how shorthanded nearly, or all, police departments are in reference to how many citizens each officer serves.
This post was edited on 5/19/17 at 8:43 am
Posted by LucasP
Member since Apr 2012
21618 posts
Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:40 am to
Every cop is illiterate with a micro penis. Fact.
Posted by Displaced
Member since Dec 2011
32982 posts
Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:42 am to
Well, the only real qualification required to become a cop is desire to become a cop so that should tell you something.

It's a low paying, low respect, high risk job where you only need to be able to pass training to get on the streets. What kind of applicants do you think it draws?

That said, I have a friend who was a cop for a while after getting out of the army. He went to college, served as an army ranger, and then became a cop for a short while. He is very smart and I respect the hell out of him, but his kind is not common
Posted by toosleaux
Stuck in Baton Rouge traffic
Member since Dec 2007
9431 posts
Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:42 am to
I know you asked for the average, but it greatly depends on the agency. I have been around LSP troopers a lot due to my job and they seem very sharp and intelligent as a whole.
Posted by bgoodwin
Cullman, Al
Member since Sep 2011
599 posts
Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:43 am to
Cop penis your fetish?
This post was edited on 5/19/17 at 8:44 am
Posted by BigPerm30
Member since Aug 2011
30927 posts
Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:45 am to
I've got a buddy who's a sergeant and is very intelligent. I went to a party of his and they had a bunch of his street cops there. 3/4 of them were fricking half retarded. No lie.
This post was edited on 5/19/17 at 8:49 am
Posted by ShoeBang
Member since May 2012
21807 posts
Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:46 am to
Small town? Pretty fricking stupid. Source: from a small town

Big City? All over the map but generally of average-below average intelligence. Good and bad mix.

State Police? Usually very well mannered and smart from experiences being pulled over many times and knowing 2 Staties personally.
Posted by toosleaux
Stuck in Baton Rouge traffic
Member since Dec 2007
9431 posts
Posted on 5/19/17 at 8:47 am to
quote:

Sargent


Oh the irony.
first pageprev pagePage 1 of 4Next pagelast page

Back to top
logoFollow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News
Follow us on X, Facebook and Instagram to get the latest updates on LSU Football and Recruiting.

FacebookXInstagram