Line #42 PlayingWith/PoliceAreUseless


1	'''Basic Trope''': The police or other authority figures are incompetent, skeptical of the main character's claims, and generally ill-equipped to handle the problems the characters are facing despite it nominally being their job.
2	* '''Straight''':
3	** Rachel has witnessed a murder and goes to the police to report it. The police are skeptical of her claim and, after a perfunctory investigation, refuse to do anything further, meaning that Rachel must uncover the murderer by herself.
4	** The supervillain defeats the cops easily; they only consider them a minor threat.
5	* '''Exaggerated''':
6	** In reaction to learning a vicious murderer is hunting her, Rachel frantically goes to the police for help. Despite copious amounts of evidence in her favour, the police officer assigned to her matter loudly ridicules the impossibility of her claims, calls over all his friends so that they can laugh at her, and then attempts to arrest her for wasting police time.
7	** Same as above, but the police don't even bother to look at her, let alone talk to her, since [[SkewedPriorities they're all]] [[SarcasmMode "too busy"]] [[DonutMessWithACop eating donuts]].
8	** It's not just law enforcement, but the [[MilitariesAreUseless armed forces]] are also incapable of dealing with security threats.
9	** [[ThereAreNoPolice The police are NEVER around to respond to any crimes or emergencies]].
10	** Cops are not even capable of defeating simple {{Mooks}}.
11	* '''Downplayed''':
12	** SelectiveEnforcement
13	** The police have good intentions, and are reasonably competent in their own milieu, [[OutsideGenreFoe but are woefully unprepared to deal with]] {{supervillain}}s, [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]], [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves]], {{alien abduction}}s, {{eldritch abomination}}s, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and]] {{leprechaun}}s.
14	** Rachel tries to contact the police, but she only receives help from a FriendOnTheForce using their off-duty hours to assist her investigation.
15	** The police have a habit of inappropriately responding to emergencies in ways that fail to accomplish anything, like sending a ''single patrol officer'' to deal with a bank robbery that's escalated into a hostage situation, or deploying a SWAT team to hand out a speeding ticket.
16	* '''Justified''':
17	** The police are protected by a powerful union of police across the country that has vested interest in keeping them powerful and untouchable by the law, and combined with them selectively enforcing the law depending on [[VillainWithGoodPublicity which places would make them look good]] (and thus make anyone calling out their crimes [[CassandraTruth look like liars]]), the masses who support them keep them from being held accountable, and thus only further ensuring they have no incentive to change.
18	** The police department in Rachel's city is notoriously incompetent, [[DirtyCop corrupt]], [[BigotWithABadge prejudiced]], or [[PoliceBrutality violent]].
19	** Some of the officers have a vested interest in ensuring that Rachel's report is dismissed, [[TheBadGuysAreCops because they're behind the crime (or otherwise involved)]].
20	** The then heroic police faced a similar crime in the past and did their best to put a stop to it. But they ended making several mistakes that caused them to suffer major public backlash. So they are worried about repeating what happened.
21	** Rachel is extremely poor and/or a member of some marginalized social minority group, and the police (like many other citizens) express prejudiced attitudes against people like her.
22	** The city that Rachel lives in has its budget so much in the red that they decide to cut off funding for many services, including the police department. Thus, the police go on strike and are completely unable to do the usual job of protecting and serving the citizenry.
23	** Rachel has a history of CryingWolf by making false reports, or is screaming YouHaveToBelieveMe while acting like a complete lunatic. The police don't believe her because she's not a credible source to start with; unfortunately, [[CassandraTruth this time she's telling the truth]].
24	** Rachel's claims involve supernatural creatures or phenomena (e.g., supervillains, vampires, werewolves, aliens, eldritch monsters, leprechauns, etc.) which the police are unlikely to believe because very few other rational people would.
25	** The cops are completely overshadowed by threats that include monsters that are almost impossible to defeat just using bullets.
26	** Rachel has been framed for murder. Since all the evidence seems to point to her, she's the prime suspect and the cops are therefore trying to arrest her.
27	** Most of the available law enforcement is preoccupied with another case, possibly one that is much bigger than Rachel's situation, and can't spare any units.
28	* '''Inverted''':
29	** The police are all [[BadassArmy hyper-competent]], [[OneManArmy nigh-unstoppable]] [[IFoughtTheLawAndTheLawWon professionals]] that can always be expected to do things better than the [[FakeUltimateHero main characters]], to the point of always [[TheCavalry being the ones to rescue them]].
30	** Police ''are'' useful to stop whatever threat is happening... unfortunately [[UnscrupulousHero the heroes]] [[ShootTheDog have done]] [[DestructiveSavior many bad things]] [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption in the path to survival]] and are risking getting ArrestedForHeroism [[CavalryBetrayal or even killed as collateral damage]], because -- at least in the eyes of the resident InspectorJavert -- they ''[[DisasterScavengers are]]'' [[CrimeOfSelfDefense criminals]], no matter [[ScrewTheRulesItsTheApocalypse however]] {{justified\|Criminal}}.
31	** StupidCrooks
32	* '''Subverted''': Rachel goes to police officer Simon for help, not expecting him to believe her. Simon takes her seriously and helps her.
33	* '''Double Subverted''': Turns out that Simon was just putting on an act for Rachel's benefit. As soon as she's gone, he throws her statement in the trash and ignores it.
34	* '''Parodied''': The police refuse to acknowledge and act upon a crime that's being committed right in front of them.
35	* '''Zig-Zagged''': Rachel goes to report a crime to the police, only to be dismissed. After she's gone, however, officer Simon finds that Rachel's report keeps nagging at him, and he goes through the records and discovers reports of a similar crime. Deciding that Rachel was telling the truth, Simon acts upon Rachel's report in a competent and effective fashion. However, the threat that Rachel reported turns out to be more than Simon can handle...
36	* '''Averted''':
37	** Rachel goes to report a crime to the police. The police immediately act on her report.
38	** Suspecting that the police wouldn't believe her from the start, Rachel doesn't even bother reporting the matter.
39	** There are no cops around because [[ClosedCircle the crime takes place in the middle of the woods on an uninhabited island in deep space]]. [[AnthropicPrinciple Don't]] [[RuleOfDrama even ask.]]
40	* '''Enforced''':
41	** The writer has a low opinion of the police force, and this comes out in the story.
42	** The writer wants to write Rachel as an AmateurSleuth, but needs to deal with the fact that the police would normally handle the matter Rachel is investigating.
43	* '''Lampshaded''':
44	** "The police in this city couldn't catch a cold."
45	** "You cops have a right to remain useless. Any attempts to make yourself worth a damn in this force can and will be used against you in a [[KangarooCourt court of law.]]"
46	* '''Invoked''': The murderer is a police officer who takes on Rachel's case so that he can bury it...[[HeKnowsTooMuch and Rachel]].
47	* '''Exploited''': The city's criminals dress up as paranormal creatures to commit their crimes, because any victims who attempt to get help will be dismissed as crazy by the police.
48	* '''Implied''': Rachel's friend Bob tells her to call the police when she's arming herself to fight a vampire. Rachel just gives him a glare that has "Are you effing crazy?" written all over it and carries on like he never said anything.
49	* '''Defied''':
50	** Rachel goes to report a vampire attack to the police, suspecting that they won't believe her. As soon as he hears her report, however, Simon transfers her to the police department's Anti-Paranormal Threat Task Force, which [[CrazyPrepared they have set up for just this eventuality]].
51	** The city has passed an ordinance meaning that the police must investigate every matter that is put before them, no matter what.
52	** Maybe the desk cop doesn't believe the "vampire" part of Rachel's claim, but she's obviously distressed, something bad happened, and the "attack" and "tried to kill" part of her story are worth investigating.
53	** Rachel instead reports [[MetaphoricallyTrue "There's some nut job dressed up like Dracula going around attacking people."]] The police would consider "a dangerous and delusional person" more plausible than "a real-life vampire."
54	* '''Discussed''': "You don't report vampires to the police; everyone knows they won't believe you."
55	* '''Conversed''': "It's a wonder that the city in this story hasn't completely burnt down already, given how incompetent the cops are."
56	* '''Deconstructed''':
57	** The failure of the police to act on Rachel's report means that a criminal gets away with a crime. The criminal murders Rachel to keep her silent.
58	** The failure of the police to act on Rachel's report leads to Rachel considering to become a VigilanteMan and [[PayEvilUntoEvil murder criminals on her own]], and other people can no longer trust the police.
59	* '''Reconstructed''':
60	** It later turns out that Rachel [[FakingTheDead faked her death]] to call attention to the incompetence of the law enforcement system. This allows a new commissioner to be elected to clean things up and get personnel to take crime reports more seriously.
61	** But then Rachel decides to [[StartMyOwn join the police]] and build a competent role model for the others.
62	* '''Played for Laughs''':
63	** The police aren't inclined to act on Rachel's report...until she mentions that it took place at a [[DonutMessWithACop donut shop]], at which point they spring into action.
64	** The entire police force is deployed to give someone a speeding ticket, all while other, more serious, crimes go completely unnoticed.
65	* '''Played for Drama''':
66	** The police fail to act on Rachel's report, and she is later found murdered. Rachel's family sues the police department for their failure to act. This then prompts a thorough investigation of the department, and the incompetent officers are sacked.
67	** Rachel reports someone being attacked and apropos of nothing [[CassandraDidIt they put the blame on Rachel and arrest her]], leaving the murderer unpunished.
68	* '''Played for Horror''':
69	** The police is not only incompetent, they prefer to kill people (alleged criminal, eyewitness and victim alike) to keep the crime numbers down. Ironically, [[EvilerThanThou they may even be more evil than whoever was initially threatening Alice]].
70	** The reason the cops are not going to help Alice is because they are in league with whatever evil is hounding her. She may as well have rung a dinner bell the moment she dialed 911.
71	----
72	You'll have to go back to PoliceAreUseless yourself. We're too busy eating donuts.
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74	%%Optional items, added after Conversed, at your discretion:

Context PlayingWith / PoliceAreUseless