do you accept discounts ??

[ozsecuritychic]

I like it when the store tries to hide that they give freebies to cops! The local Dunkin Donuts near me used to take the $10.00 bill from the cop & give him back 2 $5.00s!

thats what the donut shop girls do with my 3yr old daughter because we have told her not to take things from shops without paying for them meaning dont steal and she now insists on paying for everything the only thing is she always expects change.

[aka Bull]

A thought. Could there be a case made of bribery if the s/o accepting the freebie is a proprietary employee of a city owned business (our hospital is city owned), even though that s/o has no powers of arrest other than those of a private citizen?

In the 90's I worked as a corrections deputy in California. At a local establishment I frequented they knew where I worked and always made the coffee free and the meals discounted. I tried refusing but always got the discount - so I took to leaving the full price laying on the table when I left. I just felt it was better not to jepordize my job over a bucks worth of coffee or a few dollar meal.

[Mr. Security]

Discounted coffee and donuts? YES, I'll accept them. As long as the store understands that I am a security officer and not the police.

[1stWatch]

There are a few convenience stores here that give us free coffee and that's just because they know us as frequent customers. They have the understanding we're not there to hang out for more than five minutes or so and are not providing security for their store. Having friends out there is a good thing.

[Mr. Security]

There's a nearby coffee shop that gives free coffee to the local police. I was in there one morning wearing my uniform and bomber jacket when the korean gal working there told me I didn't have to pay for my coffee. Evidently she thought I was a cop. I was TEMPTED to just accept the free coffee and quietly leave, but it occurred to me what happens the next time I walk in and there's a couple of real LEO's there, and the gal again offers me free coffee. I don't think the officers would find it too amusing and I doubt I'd fool them into thinking I was law enforcement.

Of course maybe she just offered me the free coffee because she knows how poorly security guards are paid and took pity on me.

You made the right decision. I had a similar experience and I refused the discount because I knew the clerk was confusing me with the police. They understand the difference now.

[Mr. Security]

A thought. Could there be a case made of bribery if the s/o accepting the freebie is a proprietary employee of a city owned business (our hospital is city owned), even though that s/o has no powers of arrest other than those of a private citizen?

In the 90's I worked as a corrections deputy in California. At a local establishment I frequented they knew where I worked and always made the coffee free and the meals discounted. I tried refusing but always got the discount - so I took to leaving the full price laying on the table when I left. I just felt it was better not to jepordize my job over a bucks worth of coffee or a few dollar meal.

Free coffee? They probably have ''bigger fish to fry." Discounted meals might be a different matter. Did you ever check with your superiors?

[EMTGuard]

In the 90's I worked as a corrections deputy in California. At a local establishment I frequented they knew where I worked and always made the coffee free and the meals discounted.

A similar thing happened to me. A truckstop/casino opened up a few years back. Thing is, this town is home to 2 State prisons and numerous chemical plants with various private security firms employed.
The first week the truckstop was open I stopped for dinner on the way home in my corrections uniform. First time in, I got a discount. Next time, no discount. Third time, discount. Fourth trip to the truckstop, no discount. I finially asked my waitress, WTF? The lady told me that the discount was meant for cops only and that there had been some confussion the first week between who the police were and who the corrections officers and security were. So, serving and giving discounts to about 100 people a day in uniforms who were not cops and it took them a week to figure things out? Stoopyd!!
Yeah, if I go in for pancakes and am offered a discount I take it.

[HotelSecurity]

Another side of this discussion is about those that abuse the freebees. One of my hotels located by the airport has always given the police free meals. The Montreal Police usually come for breakfast & the Surete du Quebec which patrol the highway stop by for desert & coffee at the end of their evening shifts. About 5 years ago the Montreal Police changed to Community Policing with smaller districts. The one station that patrolled the area of the hotel was broken into two, one on the north side of the borough & one on the south side where the hotel is located. The guys from the new district north of the hotel which no longer patrolled our area continued to come for free food. Cops from other nearby districts that used to work in the old large one would even join them. Some mornings there would be 10 police cars parked in the front of the hotel. Enough was enough, we had to contact the stations & make it clear that only people from the station that covered our hotel were allowed free food!

[N. A. Corbier]

Another side of this discussion is about those that abuse the freebees. One of my hotels located by the airport has always given the police free meals. The Montreal Police usually come for breakfast & the Surete du Quebec which patrol the highway stop by for desert & coffee at the end of their evening shifts. About 5 years ago the Montreal Police changed to Community Policing with smaller districts. The one station that patrolled the area of the hotel was broken into two, one on the north side of the borough & one on the south side where the hotel is located. The guys from the new district north of the hotel which no longer patrolled our area continued to come for free food. Cops from other nearby districts that used to work in the old large one would even join them. Some mornings there would be 10 police cars parked in the front of the hotel. Enough was enough, we had to contact the stations & make it clear that only people from the station that covered our hotel were allowed free food!

The Hilton I was stationed at had this problem. Not only were they there for free food, they would stay there, and make it a "base of operations." No patrol requirement in that sector, since the sector was Ybor City and 4 blocks long.

We would have guys come in from as far as 3 sectors away. I got bored one time and started asking guys their squads. We had about five squads of people. One squad is a unit assigned to a geographical area.

The general manager relied on them for general security services whenever he was around to make our nights even brighter. Never mind the fact that the hotel owners had contract security. Those don't do anything, you know.

The management company started ordering the free food and drink be placed on a City of Tampa Police account to track how much profit is being lost. At Hilton's inflated rates for food and drink (It was not a full service hotel, so it was little microwave food, etc), it was several thousand a month. That they billed the city for!

Even better was that they'd all park in front of the hotel. 10 deep. A Hilton Inspection Team arrived. They grabbed me since I was the only one standing (everyone else was sitting) and I had rank on. We wore nearly identical uniforms, save for the patches and badges. The conversation was great:

Her: "Hi. I work for Hilton Corporate. Is there a problem here?"
Me: "No, no problem."
Her: "Why are there so many of you here?"
Me: "I'm sorry?"
Her: "Police. Is there a problem, that there are so many of you here?"
Me: "I'm the contract security. Those are police officers."
Her: "Oh. They contract for police as well as security?"
Me: "No, those are on-duty police officers. They work in Ybor City."
Her: "I see. Does your manager know they're here?"
Me: "Yes. He invites them. They handle any problems that come up."
Her: "They don't call you for hotel issues?"
Me: "No, they ask the police."
Her: "Ok. Can you call the manager to me on your radio, or is it a police radio?"

General Manager was told to remove the 10 police cars in 5 minutes, as well as remove all these police officers lounging in the lobby. Hilton's policy, according to her, was to NOT use armed police officers for security services, as they are both armed and their sworn duty to enforce law may conflict with Hilton enforcement policy. (Put a guest in their room before arresting them.)

Now, the best part was, most of the cops figured out that something was Very Wrong(tm) when a Hilton person was talking to me, and I kept saying "police." They split. Quick. Left their cars in the lot.

Our GM, never going the middle road, told me to find those policemen, and tell them that he's having their cars towed. And that they're not allowed to park here anymore.

You can see the fun here. He's the good guy. Sit on the couch, drink our sodas, eat our sandwiches. I'm the bad guy. Get off my lawn, I'm going to tow your squad cars, Hilton says you're not allowed here anymore.

Our call for service time dropped to 30 minutes for any call for a good six months after that.

[HotelSecurity]

I love how these posts remind me of things & get me going off on past experiences .

One of the 3 hotels I work for was the first Holiday Inn in Canada. It was near the international airport. It was a 2 story hotel like most of the original Holiday Inns, more of a motor court than an hotel. In the mid 80's the hotel had turned part of the 2nd floor into a detention centre which was rented to the governement to detain people who arrived illegally by plane until they could be deported. There were bars on the windows & a cage in the parking lot where the prisoners would be taken out of the van & brought into the hotel. After a few years this centre was closed down. I'm told it was because Holiday Inn did not like the fact that one of their hotels was being used as a jail!

[aka Bull]

Free coffee? They probably have ''bigger fish to fry." Discounted meals might be a different matter. Did you ever check with your superiors?

I had one partner "sentenced" to jail duty for a year because his Sergeant disciplined him for accepting a piece of pie with coffee on the house. Dumb and petty - yes. It all depended on how your supervisor felt that day really (in general) and about you (specifically). Our department policy (as many too have) is NO GRATUITIES!

I was a supervisor before I left the department. I never worried about what the others said or did with what they got, it never happened to me once I got promoted - my crew just wouldn't do it in front of me. Most supervisors had a "just please don't let me hear/see it attitude).

When you got two kids to raise you don't take chances that could make them awful hungry while you're between jobs.

[darrell]

I have taken discounts but not freebies..

[Tennsix]

I had one partner "sentenced" to jail duty...

Don’t get me started on the jail thing. Why is jail duty considered a lesser or demeaning aspect of LE???

[Bill Warnock]

Don’t get me started on the jail thing. Why is jail duty considered a lesser or demeaning aspect of LE???

It shouldn't be.
County Sheriff Deputies are trained in the same academy, work patrol, state courts and maintain county jails. The caution is always the same, lose concentration for a moment and you might not go home at night.
Enjoy the day,
Bill

[N. A. Corbier]

Because of states like mine, where the position of "jailer" is non-sworn, less wage, and not considered a law enforcement position. The "House of Corrections" runs the jail, not the Sheriff's Department. In my county, they use non-sworn corrections officers who go through a 2 week jailer academy, and are employees of the Sheriff's Department.

Road deputies assigned to the jail division transport prisoners (That way, they can chase/arrest/kill escapees) from the court to the jail. Otherwise, its all un-sworn Corrections Officers.

Now, in Florida, most counties have sworn correctional deputies. The only problem is that the Sheriff invests lots of money in you as a correctional deputy, so if you want to transfer to road... Its going to be awhile.