Every now and again we hear stories of people being violated by civilians under the guise that they’re
police officers. Even though it’s a felony to impersonate a police officer and the offence has severe consequences, it does not deter the offenders as they have mastered the skills of impersonation and often getting away with the crime.
For civilians,
it’s crucial to know if a police officer is real or an imposter. This is crucial because of the many incidents we receive on the news, and on the internet, about the harm, these fake officers inflict on the unsuspecting victims. In view of this circumstances, most people are wary of being pulled over by police officers or have the officers stop them at traffic lights demanding to get into their cars. In most cases too the civilians don’t easily comply and can you blame them? It’s better to be safe than sorry.
With trending stories of these impersonations, it’s essential to differentiate between a real police officer and a fake one. How do you know the ones that are working hard to safeguard and ensure the protection of lives including properties and the false ones that are committing crimes underneath the facade of being a police officer
Below are some tips on how to spot police imposters at a glance.
- Number tag of a real policeman must be six digits, less or more than six is fake.
- Only female police officers have their numbers begin with “0”, any policeman with a number beginning with “0” is fake.
- Every policeman’s name tag is woven into the shirt, no more removable name tags.
- The distinction between the normal policeman and the SPY (supernumerary) police personnel is that a “SPY” number must be either three or four digits with the word “SPY” boldly inscribed on their uniform shoulder.
In addition, at night please always roll up your windows in traffic, central lock your doors to be double sure they are true policemen if they are not, be strong and speed off.
Never get frightened. Be watchful, these impersonators are everywhere. Furthermore, educate your family members and friends.