How to police officer's pay attention to detail so much?

[explorerking91]

\I was a police explorer and I recently went on another ride along this one was different, the officer had been on for 9 years on patrol with a few on VICE...unlike some of the officers I have been with he was all over the place meaning he was going from one thing to another such as we were catching up to a possible stolen car and then he saw another one that matched the description of another stolen car while running the plate of the 1st stolen car.

He was by far the best officer I have rode along with and I learned alot from it and him. One thing, I really would like to try to get better at would be paying attention to detail ( like the officer did paying close attention to everything throughout the entire night ) and memorizing license plates stuff like that. He did alot of other stuff that would be confusing to type out but he was a very good police officer

Is this something that you just grasp on after being a police officer or is there something that I can do to help me try to pay attention to detail better and/or memorize things better to allow me to be a better police officer?

Thank you for your help and stay safe

[Citicop]

Just like anything else, practice makes prefect.

I had an instructor in the Academy who said:

"You'll be amazed when you start Field Training. Your FTO will be driving the car, talking to you about about a department policy, smoking a cigarette, drinking a cup of coffee, listening to the FM radio in the car and working the police radio. Then out of nowhere, he'll say something like 'Did you see that guy peeing behind that church back there?'. As he's turning the car around to go check it out, you'll say 'We passed a CHURCH?' Then, in a few years you'll be laughing and the new guys who drive down the street without seeing anything."

He was absolutely right.

Don't sweat it, it'll come.

On a side note, we have a strict rule about screen names here. A user is not permitted to have a screen name that implies he is a Law Enforcement Officer unless he is one. Your question makes it clear that you aren't.

This is no big deal, but I need you to send me a PM and tell me what you'd like your name changed to, and I'll get it taken care of for you. Once you get hired and complete the Academy, we can always change it back.

-Citicop.

[Joeyd6]

Our jedi senses needed to trained and tamed just like Luke's. Think of a FTO like Yoda and you as a LUke. It takes time, patience and practice.

[mcsap]

Spidey senses take time to hone.

[explorerking91]

PM sent...thanks and sorry about that

[greg72982]

What I see or don't see is purely dependent on if the Steelers or Penguins are playing.

[bluelightzgrl]

"You'll be amazed when you start Field Training. Your FTO will be driving the car, talking to you about about a department policy, smoking a cigarette, drinking a cup of coffee, listening to the FM radio in the car and working the police radio. Then out of nowhere, he'll say something like 'Did you see that guy peeing behind that church back there?'. As he's turning the car around to go check it out, you'll say 'We passed a CHURCH?' Then, in a few years you'll be laughing and the new guys who drive down the street without seeing anything."

So true!

[mcsap]

I FTO'd EIGHT officers. They always seemed quite naive when they started but they picked up on it after a while.

[explorerking91]

Thank you all for your thoughts/advice on this. Stay Safe!

[Curt581]

It's more about filtering out the flood of meaningless garbage, knowing what to look for and what to ignore.

Ask yourself continuously... What's wrong with this picture?

-or-

You Tube

[Gutwrench]

FM radios in a patrol car? Wow. Between the MDT beeps and constant radio traffic we'd never hear an FM if they were installed.

But anyway, skilled cops scan the street, lots, between buildings and in the shadows not just sidewalk to sidewalk. The good cops I know are experts in behavior and can detect anomalies and react to them. The biggest mistake I felt rooks (and civilians) make is not listening to their conscience but instead explain things away rather than following up and paying more attention to what caught your attention in the first place.

Many rooks At first have a hard time understanding the radio but they develop and ear for it. Likewise good cops develop and hone their eye for the details that matter.

[Citicop]

You guys don't have FM radios?

I would lose my mind in a patrol car for 8 hours without one. I don't know of any departments that DON'T have them in my area...

2 things you don't mess with in a police car. FM Radios and Cupholders...

-Citicop.

[AlexWW29]

FM radios in a patrol car? Wow. Between the MDT beeps and constant radio traffic we'd never hear an FM if they were installed.

Wow. Most of the guys in my PD have their own Sirius Satellite radios hooked up in their vehicles.

I'm more of fan of sports talk AM radio myself. The only problem is that when my overhead lights are activated it causes god-awful interference with the AM radio. All you here is a "da-da-da, da-da-da, da-da-da" when the overheads are on.