another pet peeve about the movies (1 Viewer)

[Keith Mickunas]

Pretending is an awfully strong word. Go and commit a crime in front of them and see what happens. They'll slap the cuffs on you and haul you to jail. You're "pretending" argument won't hold up in front of the judge for one second. Cops are cops, in uniform or out of it. The uniform gives them an extra bit of visibility. They'll respond to any incident in the theater the same as they would if they were on duty and called in by the management. If someone commits a crime and the cops are there to respond, they'll have more authority to make an arrest with less risk of liability for the theater than if private security guards did it. Until you can prove that taxes are paying for it you got no right to judge them so harshly.

This is common practice. Have you ever watched a college football game? Lots of times there are cops there acting as security on the field. I see them walking near the coaches as they leave the field. I doubt it's being paid for by our taxes. In some cases to get a permit for a parade or some other large gathering the organizers are required to pay for a police presence.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

If the "detail" is fully sanctioned by their department (maybe even required by law), if they are hired as Police Officers by the establishment they are protecting, and they are there to prevent any unlawful activity that may happen, how in H-E-double-hockey-sticks are they "pretending" anything. So far, the majority of posters (some who have intricate knowledege of this type of activity, me included) have said this is normal, lawful, ethical and even preferable to have actual Police Officers guarding a public/private faciltiy where there may be a chance of unlawfullness. What makes anyone think this is "pretending" is a question I just cannot fathom.

 

[Tommy G]

Sorry, but I have to say this. You don't have a clue of what it is like to even be in a Police Uniform then. By simply donning the uniform, you make yourself a target. I sense that the original intent here was to police bash and rebel against authority.