There are some challenges when being an off-duty police officer. It is dangerous when police officers are dressed in civilian clothing in response to a crime around other police officers who do not know them, example, a shootout, which can cause death by lack of identification. There are times when police officers living in large cities, working in other precincts may not know each other, especially out of uniform. There are numerous agencies employ their police officers 24 hours a day, if a police officer sees another cop in plain clothes waving a gun around without knowing the individual, the results can be deadly or disastrous. The 24-hour police officer must be on call for emergencies at all times. Most precincts do not have a standard way of making identification known for out of uniform officers, which can be deadly. It is difficult to determine rather or not the police shootings were tactical mistakes or just a lack of identification. There are some police officers that do not wear their bulletproof vests while off duty which present another danger …show more content…
(Doerner, 2012).
Limitations Concerning Weaponry:
In some places, off-duty police officers are limited or not allowed to possess firearms after duty.
It would be hard for an off-duty police officer to neutralize crime without a weapon. Police officers who are on duty have to use discretion when dealing with hostile situations because they can be killed by either another police officer or an actual criminal. Lacking the proper equipment can cause a police officer his or her life if not carefully equipped.In some places, the situation regarding off-duty police officers has become political. In Minnesota, there are arguments about rather or not off duty police should be able to carry their firearms in certain places, example, venues. Police unions are steadily fighting for the rights for off-duty police officers to have the protection they need in order to be able to do their jobs effectively (Bakst,
2017).
References:
Bakst, B. (2017). Police unions push proposal to allow off - duty cops to keep guns in venues; Vikings concerned. MPRNEWS. Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved from https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/03/14/off-duty-police-stadium-gun-bill.
Doerner, W.G. (2012). Introduction To Law Enforcement: An Insider’s View. Florida State University. Kendall Hunt Publishing Co. Retrieved from https://www.betheluniversityonline.net/