What kind of policeman are you?

[redmech78]

So, I saw this article on Kotaku the other day about this indie game coming out soon; I don't know much about it other than what's on their page, but the description makes me think it's going to be a bit of an exploration of the ethical choices law enforcement has to frequently make. It strikes me as something of a choose-your-own-adventure that shapes your character (i.e., is s/he an a**hole?) based on the choices you make throughout the game.

So, this got me to wondering whether or not this game could function as a sort of basic personality test, and what kind of cop I would be, exactly? Part of me kind of wants to run around and arrest ALL THE THINGS, but then again, I know that if I were really a cop I would try (before I became jaded, anyway) to be as just and fair as I possibly could.

Anyway, this is the article: http://kotaku.com/corrupt-cops-the-video-game-1682038423

So I'm wondering if any of you out there have any input on this --- just how corrupt do you think you would be? I think after a while of putting up with people who hate and/or want to kill me every day that I could develop a fairly harsh outlook on the world.

 

[Kopikatsu]

Considering that I did work for the police department for a time, I would say not corrupt at all. I don't even think I could bring myself to play that game, considering just how... upset I would get when I heard about corruption within the department. Like one officer who liked to hold up illegal immigrants and steal their money. There was nothing they could do about it because, as illegals, there were no options open to them to report the theft. Or when a Sgt, FTO, and rookie went to an adult store and spent the day there while they were on duty, and then forced the owner to hand over the security tapes so they could destroy them to erase the evidence (Joke's on them, each squad car is tracked by GPS).

So yeah. Not the game for me, I reckon.

 

[Recusant]

Corruption is only one element you need to be concerned with; "corruption" in the sense I think you mean it, anyway. There are a great many things that are illegal that shouldn't be, and almost as many that aren't but should be. Breaking the rules to bring down those who violate the spirit of the law while following the letter is certainly a form of corruption, but that's a big step away from robbing illegal immigrants, as Kopikatsu above me mentioned. It's not simply a case of an inherently corrupt system, either; human behavior is stupefyingly complex, and considering that we're not only the only examples, but the only source, it's odd how little we understand it. I'd argue that letting certain should-be-crimes pass unchallenged is more corrupt than trying to stop them, but then where do you draw the lines, both on others' behavior and your own?

 

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

I'd make these guys

Spoiler

look like choirboys.

 

[Asita]

In a game? I'd pretty much be this guy. I'm a pretty unrestrained altruist and idealist when it comes to the characters I play, which unfortunately means that I'm probably a better person in fiction than in real life.

 

[sageoftruth]

I don't know about corrupt, but I could easily see myself being criminally lazy in any job.

 

[Dragonbums]

Honestly I'd be that one cop that they send to schools to be security, let off petty criminals with a warning and stern moral tongue lashing and play nerdy things with the locals.

Yeah, I'd be a fun cop, but not a very good one either. And I'd rather be that than a nasty, corrupt, piece of shit that goes after vulnerable demographics knowing they can probably get away with it.

 

[Gennadios]

Ugh. Let's see, half assing lost property reports because of too much pending work? 51/50ing people who should really have been arrested because I don't want to fill out the paperwork to make a proper arrest? Showing up 4 hours into an attempted murder when private security has a suspect in custody and then telling them to "step back so the officers can do their jobs"?

I probably wouldn't be the bitter twice divorced asshole that hates humanity, but since I'll be working with them, I'll still have to fake it and then live with myself after the shift is over.

 

[Dragonlayer]

As someone who's always considered the ideal of law enforcement to be a matter of choosing the right boots to stomp on necks, I would be the most ruthlessly overzealous knight templar of a cop. Obey the law and we'll get along just fine, but litter or murder and I will crack your skull open and seize your worldly possessions for redistribution to the deserving.

Spoiler

Two policemen kissing is the *height* of corruption!

 

[StormShaun]

I believe I would be this gentleman right here.

Spoiler

He is the hero we need.
He is the hero we deserve.

You shall have no rights.
You shall have only the right to be sprayed.

Correction of his logic will result in spray.

Fear your new spicy Overlord!

 

[Dingobennyfred]

Data, Data, Data. That's my drive. I have to have full knowledge of a situation before I make it. I do this out of my career choice: criminology. I have studied different methods of judging crime (It all boils down to shoot later, ask now so the department doesn't get sued), and using your own personal set of experiences to make a call. I don't rely on my personal wants or needs when carrying out the law...


...But it's a video game, so I might go for that grizzled, "off-the-handle" kind of cop that carries out justice with the business end of a gun. And, if it's an option, I wanna be the hard-boiled cop with a soft side. Tough on crime, soft on the community.