# Does anyone know how a police officer would handle this situation?



## ironpony (Oct 12, 2017)

For my screenplay, a police officer takes on the assignment of protecting a victim in a kidnapping case.  So if the officer were to protect the witness at her house, would he remain outside the house and stand guard in his car, and be on the lookout or would he protect her inside the house, in case he needs to move from the back of the house to the front, more fast, compared to outside... It seems like they both have their pros and cons, so what would a LEO, logically do, if anyone knows?


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## stevesh (Oct 13, 2017)

Most of what I know about police procedure comes from TV and movies, but I think it would more likely be a detective rather than an officer, and he would be in the house with the protectee.


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## Jack of all trades (Oct 13, 2017)

ironpony said:


> For my screenplay, a police officer takes on the assignment of protecting a victim in a kidnapping case.  So if the officer were to protect the witness at her house, would he remain outside the house and stand guard in his car, and be on the lookout or would he protect her inside the house, in case he needs to move from the back of the house to the front, more fast, compared to outside... It seems like they both have their pros and cons, so what would a LEO, logically do, if anyone knows?



As in protecting the victim before the trial kind of thing? 

It probably depends on where you live.

I've seen it handled in multiple ways on television, sometimes police guarding and sometimes a different agency. Most of the time, though, two officers, from whichever agency, stay inside with the protectee. If the protectee is female, at least one of the officers is female. If the protectee is really important, then there might also be officers outside. That's what's usually portrayed where I live. But it might be different if you're in a different country.


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## ironpony (Oct 13, 2017)

There is no trial yet, it's just the victim, who has seen too much, before she was rescued, so she is danger of talking to the police still.  Basically the way I want to write it is so that only one officer or detective (the main character) is protecting for the way to I want the story to go.  I asked cops in real life and they said that this could be common, as the police do not often have the resources to protect, and they could very well be short a lot of the time.  But do I have to make it a female?  I wanted the main character to be male for other reasons in the story.  What if I wrote it so that a male was the only one who was available for the task on short notice, and it's the best the police could do for the night, is that plausible?


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## Moostafus (Oct 14, 2017)

Greetings!

My advice would be to make a few bullet points of what you absolutely have to have happen in this scene, and then create a plausible reason for those situations to come about.  If active duty officers aren't available then try setting up an interview with a retired police officer.  I feel that the most important thing is that the story moves forward without much interference.  Mistakes in procedure can be forgiven by those who are in the profession, and most likely wont even be noticed by a laymen.  As long as there is a narrative reason for it you can have it go either way.  

If I was writing it though I would go inside with the detective. it creates the opportunity for some really chewy scenes between the victim and the detective.  Especially if he doesn't have a partner, but if he does you can have the main inside and his partner outside.


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## Winston (Oct 14, 2017)

Like Jack said above.

Money talks.  The rest of us wait for that bullet with our name on it.  If your 'witness' is rich or influential, they get an officer assigned.  Otherwise, I don't see much in the form of "protection". 
This is the 21st Century.  Police Departments are lacking in both personnel and funding.  Unless this is the "Crime of The Century", most witnesses would get relocated and admonished to keep their mouths shut.  
Any active protection would mostly look like a patrol unit driving in front of your (new) digs every hour or so.  Assigning dedicated 24/7 coverage would involve at least six officers.  That's expensive.

Think "Terror Threat Level".  If the witness was in imminent danger, an officer would be assigned.  If not, one would be on "stand-by".


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## ironpony (Oct 14, 2017)

Okay thanks.  It would probably be a drive by thing, like every hour or so then in the real world, then.  But I want the main character to actually be guarding her so when an attack on the witness by the villains does happen, he doesn't miss it, and then the story would be over if he did.

So if he wouldn't be assigned to protect her for the night, normally, perhaps she could talk him into it, make him fear for her life more, and then maybe he can talk his superior into having him protect her, at her place for a few hours or something?


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## Jack of all trades (Oct 16, 2017)

If the officer knows the victim or her family, he might stay to protect her on his own. Would that work?


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## ironpony (Oct 17, 2017)

Actually for the plot to go the way I want it to go, I want the officer to have just met the victim.  He is one of the officers that rescues her from the kidnapping earlier in the story, and one of the officers present that takes her statement, but that is how long they have known each other for.

But at the same time, I still want him to protect her for the night and have it be just him, cause when her kidnappers from before come for her, I want her and the cop to witness some things, that no other character in the story sees.  Could this somehow still work, that he would protect her, and it's just him, like maybe he's concerned for her life or something?


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## Sam (Oct 17, 2017)

As Winston said, most police precincts cannot spare even one officer for protective duty. 

If this protectee is so important, to either a case or a trial, putting a protective detail on them would be a waste of resources. The person, instead, would be sequestered until the case was solved, or trial commenced, and the people responsible for her safety would be, depending on the size and importance of the case/trial, a department with much greater resources than a local precinct and trained for round-the-clock protection/surveillance (which police officers are not).


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## ironpony (Oct 17, 2017)

Okay thanks.  What if I wrote it so that she paid him herself to protect him for the night?  Basically I wanted him to watch her at her house though, because then her attackers could find her since she knows where she lives.  Or she could stay somewhere else, as long as her attackers could still find her somehow.

In my story though, the victim's testimony is not reliable as a witness, so the police are using other evidence for the case, other than the victim's testimony.  So she wouldn't get the same treatment as a reliable witness, protection wise, I am guessing.

But the kidnappers do not know she is not reliable and still consider her a threat, cause she knows too much, so she is still in danger.


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## Jack of all trades (Oct 17, 2017)

ironpony said:


> Actually for the plot to go the way I want it to go, I want the officer to have just met the victim.  He is one of the officers that rescues her from the kidnapping earlier in the story, and one of the officers present that takes her statement, but that is how long they have known each other for.
> 
> But at the same time, I still want him to protect her for the night and have it be just him, cause when her kidnappers from before come for her, I want her and the cop to witness some things, that no other character in the story sees.  Could this somehow still work, that he would protect her, and it's just him, like maybe he's concerned for her life or something?



There's the standby love at first sight, or at least attraction. Or she's the daughter of a close friend of the officer's rich uncle.

Be creative. You'll think of something. But it has to be on his own time. Not official.


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## ironpony (Oct 17, 2017)

Okay thanks.  Well he's not in love with her cause he already has another love interest in the story.  He's not a the daughter of a rich uncle, and he doesn't know her from before anything.  She is a stranger to him and will have to figure out a reason for him to guard a stranger.  Perhaps she can pay him some overtime hours to stick around for the night or something like that?


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## Moostafus (Oct 17, 2017)

Greetings! 

I understand that you want realism for your story so maybe have him have a personal interest in the case.  Like some kind of personal history with the perpetrators.  A previous case or an injured/murdered partner, but remember that having him just be one those selfless individuals who actually cares isn't unrealistic.  

There are LOTS of real police officers who do actually care a great deal.  Maybe you can even make a show of that.  Have her offer to pay him & have him refuse. 

Good luck with the story!  XD
SRB


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## ironpony (Oct 17, 2017)

Okay thanks.  However, I want the villains to be a mystery and he does not know who they are until later through investigating further.  Perhaps I could have him care, but he has reservations, like he could say he will stay three hours and that's it or something. and be frustrated the whole time about it?  That way, maybe he can stop the attack on her, if he is going to be their for the next couple of hours or something?  I don't want him to be selfless for sure, I just want him to be there and willing still.  I mean he doesn't even have to be protecting her.

But I want him to there when the attack on her happens, cause I want him and her to be in the same place at the same time, and protection was the only thing I could think of, as to why he would be there.


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## Moostafus (Oct 17, 2017)

Well then maybe he just has some follow up questions for her/mugshots to go over.  It's after hours, he's off duty, but it's convenient for him to stop by on his way home.  Then it's more a matter of timing.  This way you can preserve her status as an unreliable witness & not have a more clichéd hero.  This way he could even see it as a burden having to go by her house only to find out she's more important to the case the they realize.   

Best of luck!
SRB


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## ironpony (Oct 17, 2017)

Okay thanks, I thought of that but it seemed weird how the villains would break into her house to find out what she told the police, when their is a cop already there though?  Wouldn't they just wait for him to leave, if he was just stopping by, as oppose to him being there and staying?  That way the villains would feel they have no choice but to deal with him too.  But if he is just stopping by, wouldn't they wait for him to leave, logically?

Basically the way I thought of it, was that he could take her home after her interview and then the villains are waiting for her to be brought home.  But then wouldn't they still wait for him to leave then, if he's not motivated enough to stay?

I wrote a rough draft where they wait for him leave, and then the villains break into her house, but she manages to blockade herself in a room, by some time to call the 911.  As the main character is driving home, he hears the dispatch over the radio, realizes that the villains came for her, and turns the car around to go back and save her.  But there was something about this draft that felt off in this situation... like I wanted him to be motivated to stick around before the attack, not because of the attack.  But does it have to be because of the attack, or does it make more sense to be?

Plus I just wanted it to be him and her escaping the attack and if she manages to get her hands on a phone and call 911, then all the police show up, which I was trying to avoid.


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## ironpony (Nov 2, 2017)

I was thinking about it and if he needs extra motivation to protect the woman on his own time, does the woman have to do something extra, to give him this motivation.  If begging him is not enough, what if for example, he were to leave her place, after questioning her, and then she staged a break in, called 911, hoping he would hear the dispatch for the break in on his radio while driving, and would be compelled to come back, since he is not as far away from her place yet.  Would this work better?  Would he be fooled that the villains actually broke into her place to get her, before she called the cops, or would he think she staged it, being a trained LEO and all?

What do you think?  Should she go some sort of extra mile to make it more believable for him to be compelled?


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