# Can cops not call for back up in these scenarios and the story will still make sense?



## ironpony (Aug 10, 2015)

I want to have my story make sense where cops do not call for back up.  There are two reasons for doing this.  One, it makes the MC have to do a lot of things on his own, and being in more danger, and two, since it's a screenplay, it saves on budget to have few actors.  But I am trying to come up with reasons why he would not call for back up.  So far there are three scenarios, where I would like to try to write them so it makes sense that he doesn't:

1. A group of criminals try to recruit the MC into their gang, because they think he might be a good asset to them.  They invite him to meet at a time and place to discuss it further.  He decides to go their alone.  Even though he doesn't want to join, he wants to make a bust cause what cop wouldn't want to bust a big gang, right?  However he decides to do it on his own with no back up.  I thought that he would want proof before going to his superiors, but is that enough of a reason, or would he logically call for help, long before going to the meeting?

2. The MC later is protecting a witness at a safe house, but he is the only one protecting her.  This is because I want him on his own, with no help, and it saves on money.

3. The MC is tailing a suspect, and the suspects gets really frantic while on the phone, runs to his car, and drives off in a hurry.  He follows curiously but does not call for back up, even though the suspect is acting frantic and panicking like he is about to go off and do something questionable.

What do you think?  Can I write these scenarios so that he has no back up, and can have it make sense?


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## popsprocket (Aug 10, 2015)

I don't really see a cop trying to bust a whole gang by himself. You're dealing with criminals who by their very nature are willing to break the law, and you put yourself at a dangerous disadvantage? Sounds like a good way of getting dead.

Just the same I don't see a single cop being assigned to witness protection duty. I'm not 100% on how those things work because it's usually the purview of the US Marshal Service, but assuming that they would use local cops to babysit a witness I wouldn't buy that he would be doing it alone.

The last one ids plausible. If he's tailing someone who is behaving in a suspicious manner it would make perfect sense for him to wait and see if there's anything worth calling backup in for.


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## ironpony (Aug 11, 2015)

Okay thanks.  The first example, is the opening so that can easily be changed.  I can write it so that he accidentally stumbles upon a crime committed while alone on patrol, rather than being invited to be a recruit for the gang.  That was he is alone.

As for the witness protection thing, the story would just be much better if he was alone because he has to do things that are questionable, that would just be a lot easier to do, if no one else, other than the witness was around.  Could it be that his superiors just tell him they are short staffed?


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## popsprocket (Aug 11, 2015)

I guess it really depends on what sort of danger the witness is in and how high on the priority list their case is. I'm not a cop so I can't comment on standard protocol but I imagine that they do their best not to send anyone alone into a potentially dangerous situation.

You could probably find a plausible excuse to get rid of his partner and leave him alone for a small period of time.


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## bazz cargo (Aug 11, 2015)

http://mrsc.org/Home/Explore-Topics...-Law-Enforcement-Services-Policy-and-Pro.aspx

If your MC comes across the gang while on patrol (Why only one cop?) then things could escalate.


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## Sleepwriter (Aug 11, 2015)

I'm not a cop, but i've seen one on TV.

Scene 1.  If his intention is to bust them, then no,  he would not go alone.   But here is a twist. He gets his partner to go with to bust them and he finds out his partner is already working for the gang.

Scene 2.  Not likely, unless this is to be a comedy, then have at it.

Scene 3.  Very likely, if he calls it in to early he would look like an idiot.


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## Lewdog (Aug 11, 2015)

The only time a cop is going to do all this on his own is if he is undercover.  I;m sorry but I don't think your story is going to work the way you want it to.


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## ironpony (Aug 11, 2015)

Okay thanks.  Well for the second scenario I really do need him to be alone.  Perhaps I could write it so that he is just watching the witness, but the department considers it a more routine matter, and cannot wait to get the trial over with?  The witness being protected is actually a villain and it's part of her plan to frame the cop who is protecting her.  But if more than one cop is protecting her, she would have to frame them all.  If she frames just one, then it becomes a her word against his scenario, and no one knows who to believe.  But if she frames two or more, then you have two people's word against hers, and she looks like the bad guy more.  Can you frame two people and it will work, if they both point the finger at the same person saying, that's the framer, as oppose to just one?

For the first scene, a cop who is part of the gang getting his partner to go in and bust them and then finding out his partner is working with them, is actually possibly a workable idea for my story.  However, isn't that a huge coincidence for the reader to accept?  Plus why he would just tell his partner only about busting the gang?  Wouldn't he have to inform his superiors, in which case they would send more cops which would only further complicate the situation?


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## Xander416 (Aug 12, 2015)

Maybe his radio gets lost, busted, jammed, or w/e, and he _can't_ call for backup? Or maybe he's doing something he shouldn't be? The only things I can suggest.

I honestly can't see anything believable in a cop purposely not calling for backup in a serious situation unless he's an antagonistic type.


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## Bishop (Aug 13, 2015)

ironpony said:


> 1. A group of criminals try to recruit the MC into their gang, because they think he might be a good asset to them.  They invite him to meet at a time and place to discuss it further.  He decides to go their alone.  Even though he doesn't want to join, he wants to make a bust cause what cop wouldn't want to bust a big gang, right?  However he decides to do it on his own with no back up.  I thought that he would want proof before going to his superiors, but is that enough of a reason, or would he logically call for help, long before going to the meeting?



Absolutely not. Even if going in for just "proof" before a bust, he would wear a wire AND have a SWAT team nearby in case something went wrong. 

Think about it this way: Without that backup, you'll die. The backup costs the cop nothing, and can literally save his life. What POSSIBLE motive aside from suicide would he have for not wanting that backup? I could understand if he himself was doing something highly illegal in order to achieve the bust, but even then, having literally no one else to back him up is incredibly difficult to believe.

In reality, also, detective captains in the police force have an idea of where their officers are. They report to meetings and give updates on their cases, tell their superiors what courses of action their planning to take, and update them on their planned interviews/locations/investigations as they go. It's not like on many TV shows where they just run free and at the end the captain comes on screen and pats them on that back. It's like any other job... they get micromanaged at times, and have to answer to what they do. That includes telling people where you are going (unless you're DEEP undercover--like alternate identity deep) and following regulations for backup.



ironpony said:


> 2. The MC later is protecting a witness at a safe house, but he is the only one protecting her.  This is because I want him on his own, with no help, and it saves on money.



99.99% of the time, protection of a witness is done by uniformed officers in safe locations, undisclosed, and that officer is usually a rookie or a beat cop. Unless it's a very high profile witness, when you'll have beefier protection (maybe even SWAT) and/or secretive or undercover protection. Now let's say she gets attacked. The first thing any cop would do is radio for immediate assistance.

Think about it. Put yourself in his shoes. You're getting SHOT at. One wrong move and you're dead. Now, would you try and fight back with your service pistol against whatever force is attacking... or would you use the little magic box that if you say "help please" an armed battalion with shotguns, assault rifles, and body armor will break in and take down those attacking you?



ironpony said:


> 3. The MC is tailing a suspect, and the suspects gets really frantic while on the phone, runs to his car, and drives off in a hurry.  He follows curiously but does not call for back up, even though the suspect is acting frantic and panicking like he is about to go off and do something questionable.



In this case, it's more believable, only because there's no indication of violence or a criminal act, just a suspect acting fishy. In order to allow the suspect room to breathe and to follow him, he might hold off on backup.

He would likely report to dispatch that he was trailing a suspicious vehicle and give indication of where he is and the direction/street he's heading down. This way, let's say the suspect fires a bazooka out the back of his car and destroys the cop's car and nearly (or really does) kill him. Now the cops following up on the assault have something to go on; description of the vehicle, the suspect, and what heading he had.

Cops are people. They have the same sense of self-preservation as anyone else. Moreover, most cops who become detectives are usually fairly sharp people. Maybe not the brightest the world, or even law enforcement has to offer, but they're not dumb enough to ignore life-saving regulations. Moreover, they'd get fired for ignoring them. So if it's a habit this guy has, and he just does whatever he wants and comes out with big busts and shootouts like in a movie? In reality, he'd be fired. Quickly.


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## ironpony (Sep 11, 2015)

Okay thanks. I changed the first one around so the situation is different.

For the witness protection scenario, if the cop cannot be alone while watching her, and needs to have a partner or at least one more person with him, for it to be believable, what if the witness told him that the other cop with him is one of the men who is after her, and he just got himself assigned to watching her, just to get close to her.

Would this be a good enough for the first cop to get rid of the second cop, thereby having the first cop being the only one watching her for the night?  He can call for back up later, that's fine, but I want him to be alone at first for certain things to happen.  Does him getting the other cop out of there, and then being left to watch him herself, work for that situation though?


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