Police impersonation

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Police impersonation (impersonating a police officer) is the illegal act of portraying oneself as a member of law enforcement for the purpose of deception. Such acts are generally committed in order to assert police-like authority in order to commit some other crime. Posing as a police officer enables the offender to legitimize the appearance of his/her illegal act, such as gaining entry into a victim's house, making a traffic stop, or detaining. According to the FBI, approximately 10,000 crimes are committed each year in which the offender impersonates a police officer^[1].

Dressing up as a police officer in costume, or pretending to be a police officer for the purpose of play or a harmless prank toward an acquaintance is generally not considered a crime, provided that those involved recognize the imposter is not a real police officer, and the imposter is not trying to deceive those involved into thinking s/he is.

Police impersonation has often been committed in the following manners:

• Verbal indentification: The imposter announces to the unsuspecting victim that s/he is a police officer, leading the victim to believe it.
• Fake badge: The imposter, though not in any special clothes, displays a police-like badge to the victim. While a real police officer will be able to differentiate between the real and fake badge, the average individual may not.
• Fake uniform: The imposter wears a uniform that looks very much like that of a police officer, leading the victim to not think twice.
• Fake vehicle: The imposter places lights, decals, or other equipment on a personal vehicle to disguise it as a police car and enable the offender to make arrests or traffic stops.

Much of the equipment described above is available for purchase to the general public, thereby enabling imposters to obtain the necessary materials to commit such a crime. While the equipment will not bear the name of a specific law enforcement agency, the unsuspecting victim may not notice the difference.

In a most extreme case, a Hempstead, New York man set up a fake police station in addition to the above, where he interrogated those he "arrested".^[2][3]

Some of the following crimes have been committed while impersonating a police officer:

• Home invasion, by gaining entry under the guise of a police officer, followed by theft from the premises, rape, or in rare cases, murder.
• Armed robbery following a traffic stop
• Kidnap following a traffic stop or false arrest
• Fake authority, in which the officer attempts to extort money from the victim, claiming it is a fine, or can be paid on the spot to avoid further legal consequences.

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