->''"There are so many '''worse''' crimes! Why are you persecuting '''me'''?!"''
-->-- '''Lisa Simpson''' to Chief Wiggum, ten seconds before she is proven right by Wiggum ignoring a mass shooting, ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS17E21TheMonkeySuit The Monkey Suit]]"

The city is in chaos. Crime is rampant, surging, and shows no signs of diminishing. Bad guys walk the streets openly, assuming they don't [[VillainWithGoodPublicity masquerade as upstanding pillars of the community]] to get away with bigger crimes. The police are outnumbered, out-gunned, and completely powerless to even begin to address the city's crime problem.

That is, until the hero shows up. No, they're not going to help him. They're going to chase him down as either a traitor, a vigilante, or a loose cannon.

In the process, they're going to display such a show of force and numbers that it becomes truly baffling that the crime problem has reached these levels.

A sub-trope of the PoliceAreUseless trope, related to ArrestedForHeroism and CrimeOfSelfDefense. May be justified by AnarchoTyranny. Somewhat related is ArbitrarySkepticism; despite seeing the dead walk, or dragons fly out of holes in the sky, or even just a gunfight with [[SlowLaser Slow Lasers]], cops can be trusted to ''always'' call the hero a lunatic and attempt to arrest him rather than admit that maybe something weird is in the neighborhood. In many cases, the hero can end up having to fight cops because the ''villain'' called them, because VillainsBlendInBetter.

Also related is IFightForTheStrongestSide: Cops with any sense of self-preservation can tell that the [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections better-connected]] or even just [[MightMakesRight better-ARMED]] villain is a dangerous enemy to provoke, while heroes will either run, [[ThouShaltNotKill defend themselves non-lethally]], or even meekly submit, not realizing that the cops are fully willing to throw the hero to the wolves to save themselves. Most of the time it can be easily justified by having the [[DirtyCop cops be on a criminal's payroll]], but there are a few cases where this behaviour is purely a consequence of very, very SkewedPriorities.

Contrast CrooksAreBetterArmed, when the police may display all the firepower they have, yet ''still'' they are under gunned by the criminals, as well as IFoughtTheLawAndTheLawWon, which is the police in a video game enforcing this trope for the sake of VideoGameCrueltyPunishment or {{Railroading}}. A possible sign that the work is occurring on an UrbanHellscape.

Subtrope of ArtisticLicenseLawEnforcement.
----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* In addition to the above, ''ComicBook/AllStarBatmanAndRobinTheBoyWonder'' (which supposedly is a prequel to it) has the Gotham police (except for Gordon) as so absurdly crooked that they are willing and able to see the other way on any crime if paid well enough (even as [[WouldHurtAChild far as threatening a child with a brutal]] [[PoliceBrutality beatdown]] and probably ''even worse'' to keep him from testifying on the death ''of his own parents'') and sending kill-squads after Batman because he is willing to try and do ''something'' about crime-and because they are crooked and are being paid to take him out (handing out Uzis to ''highway patrolmen'', for example). The only reason Batman is still at large is because he is ''even better armed'' than the cops and because he is, well, ''crazier''.
* Twofold in ''ComicBook/BlackSummer'', first the police in the Seven Guns' home city were so corrupt the team had to fight them as much as the actual criminals. Second, when John Horus kills the president, far more time, effort and expense is spent hunting down his former associates than Horus himself.
* Zig-zagged during the Marvel ''ComicBook/CivilWar2006'' CrisisCrossover: some comics had the "Cape Killers" ignoring actual villains to go after heroes violating the SuperRegistrationAct, while the main series and some other comics claimed that the heightened presence of both registered and unregistered heroes was causing a record roundup of supervillains. The fact that villains joined both sides probably confused matters even further.
* In ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns'' the Mutant Gang practially controls the entire city, killing whoever they want whenever they want. The Mayor goes to the leader to negotiate, and the leader kills the Mayor by ripping his throat out with his teeth. The new Mayor still is open to negotiating. Meanwhile Batman, the ''one'' person standing up to the crimewave, is wanted by the police for his vigilante activities, and after he is mistakenly thought to have killed [[spoiler:the Joker]] a full scale SWAT Team manhunt is on for his arrest. [[spoiler:Later, the federal government sends out Superman (and some hefty National Guard support) to take him out [[TallPoppySyndrome because Gotham was the only city that (mostly thanks to him) didn't devolve into lawlessness when the Coldbringer nuke exploded]]...]]
* In ''ComicBook/MilesMoralesSpiderMan2022'', Agent Gao makes it very clear that she intends to put Spider-Man in handcuffs for his destructive superheroics... while also hiring known assassin and mercenary Taskmaster as part of her Cap Busters even while Taskmaster is making jokes about stabbing people.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Outlawed}}'', C.R.A.D.L.E. mobilizes a ''massive'' anti-teen hero coalition in a matter of days, patrolling towns with military helicopters, arming themselves with sci-fi weaponry, and quickly establishing posts in every major city in America. They also create fake crime sting operations to draw teen heroes out of hiding before taking them to what amounts to concentration camps to be brainwashed and tortured into compliance. Where is all this equipment and planning when actual supervillains attack and {{Alien Invasion}}s begin? Who knows? TheReveal [[spoiler:that C.R.A.D.L.E. is actually [[CorporateConspiracy a Roxxon operation]] to hurt the superhero community]] just doesn't help, considering that this is the exact same demented amount of overkill S.H.I.E.L.D. has deployed [[ComicBook/CivilWar2006 twice]] [[ComicBook/CivilWarII already]].
* Justified in several Creator/GarthEnnis stories about ComicBook/ThePunisher, where gangsters pay off the police or blackmail politicians to ignore them and focus on catching the AntiHero Frank Castle. Also subverted in that most of the police actually side with the vigilante and don't exactly work overtime trying to catch him.
* In ''Comicbook/UltimateSpiderMan'', one of Parker's first big wins as a superhero is releasing - on ''[[CantStopTheSignal nationwide television]]'' -- a video of Kingpin crushing a man's head between his palms. Between his [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections connections]] and a ''really'' good lawyer, the video is [[OffOnATechnicality ruled inadmissible]]. Parker tries to bring it up during class, and the teacher gives him detention. The implication is that everybody knows he bought the cops off, and is therefore the de facto master of the city -- and their lives are at risk if they bring it up.
* ''ComicBook/WonderWomanTheHiketeia'' revolves around Franchise/WonderWoman and Franchise/{{Batman}} coming into conflict over the former protecting a woman named Danny who has killed four men. The men in question were responsible for raping and abusing Danny's sister Melody as well as getting her addicted to drugs which resulted in her death. The apathy from the cops lead to Danny deciding to take matters into her own hands by killing the men which resulted in her being wanted for murder. Note that it is never once shown or mentioned that Batman investigated Melody's death yet he pursues Danny with a zeal that he usually reserves for the likes of ComicBook/TheJoker. [[ItsPersonal It is also implied he's pissed that Danny got away from him twice.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''FanFic/KingsOfRevolution'': Downplayed with the usually heroic [[Franchise/LyricalNanoha Time-Space Administration Bureau]], which has them unable to make progress of the BigBad due to the restrictions of the AlienNonInterferenceClause on Earth. Yet, they focus on hunting down [[Anime/CodeGeass Zero]] just because he is violating that clause, despite him making far more progress than they are and saving the Japanese from the Britannians in the process.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
* ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan'': "There's a bipedal lizard man rampaging through New York and is carrying a mutating chemical weapon? SCREW THAT! Lets go shoot at Spider-Man.''
* The Joker in ''Film/Batman1989'' is able to murder a man in broad daylight and walk away with minimal henchman intervention. But when the Batmobile guns through the streets, the Gotham City Police Department remembers how to make roadblocks.
* ''Film/TheBigBoss'' has Creator/BruceLee's protagonist, Cheng Chao-an, swearing off violence and turning a blind eye even after repeated incidents where his friends are murdered in the ice factory he works at, until the villains decide to slaughter his family, killing everyone save for the LoveInterest. But after Cheng Chao-an pulls a RoaringRampageOfRevenge, executing the titular villain and all his cronies, he's quickly arrested by the police.
* In the early Creator/JetLi film, ''Film/BornToDefense'', the Qingdao police post-WWII are depicted to be hopelessly incompetent and all kinds of corrupt, allowing a trio of American punks to terrorize Li's surrogate family and cause ruckus in the streets on a daily basis, to the point where one of them ends up killing Li's uncle / surrogate father. The police then intervenes... to arrest Li for disturbing public peace, while turning a blind eye on the foreigners. It's a pretty {{Anvilicious}} film, all things considered...
* Played for laughs in the 1985 UsefulNotes/NewZealand film ''Film/CameAHotFriday''. An old lady, disgusted with the partying going on at an illegal casino, knocks on the local policeman's door late at night to report it. When he tries to go back to sleep, she angrily throws a rock through the policeman's window to grab his attention. She gets on her motorbike, with the policeman pursuing her all the way to the casino.
* In ''Film/TheCrow1994'', Detroit has a one-night surge of arson the cops can't do a thing about. A double-murder of a public advocate and her boyfriend rates a couple of squad cars that only show up long after the violence. Start killing off criminals, though, and we have multiple squad cars, a large armed response, a ''helicopter''...
* ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'' had a particularly bad example. Batman is chasing Bane's men (who just five minutes ago had taken the Gotham Stock Exchange hostage and were now on the run with hostages) and the police abandon chasing Bane to go after Batman instead. Even with the justification that [[CopKillerManhunt the police believed that Batman had murdered Harvey Dent and committed the murders Harvey himself was responsible for]], John Blake is completely livid and calls out his superior on the fact that he has such SkewedPriorities.
* The ''Film/DeathWish'' series of movies depict the police as having given up on controlling gang crime, yet hounding citizens who actually defend themselves (even across jurisdictions). In the first film the justification is given that 1) the cops need to show that nobody is above the law, 2) they fear that the vigilantism will escalate and 3) they fear that the crooks will become more brutal in retaliation, but in the following films, the cops are either dirty and looking to eliminate a threat or are taking it personally (either because they think that Kersey is showing them up or in one case are avenging cops that Kersey killed -- who were dirty (which they obviosuly didn't know)).
** Demonstrated with great drama in a single scene on [[Film/DeathWish3 the third film of the series:]] when gang members barge into the apartment of an old man and his wife, the man fears enough for his life that [[WeaponForIntimidation he draws a gun and intimidates the criminals into running away.]] Alas, an "anonymous call" informs the police that the man owns the gun (it was unlicensed) and a cop comes to take it away, disregarding the old man's flat-out tear-filled ''pleading'' for help (the neighborhood is so crime-ridden that "CrapsackWorld" is just not a strong enough term to describe it) and only telling the old man in response (and with a bored tone, at that) that he's lucky he (the cop) is letting him off with a warning. The ''same gang members'' come back ''that very night'' to take everything that is not nailed down in the apartment.
--->'''Gang Member''' (to the witnessing old folks): We'll come here '''whenever''' we want, and do '''whatever''' we want!
*** It is also implied early on in the movie that weapons are confiscated by the police if they catch wind that you own them, registered or not.
* In ''Film/District13'', the hero Leito and his sister Lola flee a heavily-armed gang to a police station. The gang intimidates the police into not only imprisoning Leito, but surrendering Lola to them. The police captain pleads with Leito that he and his men are going to be [[{{Retirony}} withdrawn from the district]] later that day, and are afraid to die. Leito yanks the captain's head between the bars of his cell and [[PayEvilUntoEvil crushes it under his knee]].
* Justified in TheFilmOfTheBook ''Film/KissMeDeadly'', where the police go after Literature/MikeHammer and ignore the true villains because Hammer is unwittingly complicating matters related to [[spoiler: a miniature A-bomb]]... and because the police hate him [[{{Jerkass}} with good reason]].
* In ''Film/LastActionHero'' the villain realizes he is in "the real world" because this suddenly applies. He can shoot someone and then yell that he has shot someone with no consequences.
* ''Film/RoboCop1987'': The second-worst beating poor officer Murphy gets during the course of the movie is from the armory's-worth of guns of his own fellow officers when the Big Bad declares him a rogue. The same officers who are mysteriously absent during the crime wave in Old Detroit.
* The police in ''Film/SinCity'' are incredibly corrupt and as such, pretty useless. However, they sure shouldn't be able to send off 20-30-plus-men kill squads in full SWAT gear so freely...
* ''Film/TerminatorSalvation'': Though not technically cops, the human resistance has a similar problem, barely able to summon a poorly-armed token force to deal with the machine incursion but sending out a battalion to deal with the mistakenly-villified hero.
* ''Film/{{Wonka}}'': This is lampshaded by Officer Affable after the Chief of Police, [[spoiler:who has cut a deal with the Chocolate Cartel to eliminate competition]], orders that more officers and resources be allocated towards arresting Willy Wonka for illegally selling chocolate:
-->'''Affable:''' Sir, shouldn't we focus on those unsolved murders?\\
'''Chief of Police:''' No, this takes priority!
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* In the magazine ''Magazine/{{Cracked}}'', a bunch of baddies are about to rob a bank. A Clark Kent lookalike thinks it's a job for "Cracked Man" (non-recurring character). "Clark" enters a phone booth to change costumes. But when an older lady sees Clark in his boxers and screams, two cops immediately appear on the scene to arrest him.
* In ''Literature/{{Victoria}}'', the police are useless for cleaning out the criminals and drug dealers the vigilante protagonists are trying to get rid of, but spring into action as soon as the criminals' own "rights" are violated by the heroes. Justified, since the mob has highly-placed allies in the legal system.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* [[RuleOfFunny Not surprisingly]], this turns up in ''Series/AngieTribeca''. A SWAT team raids a home and ignore a drug lab, a counterfeit operation, and a man who's been held against his will for six months. Instead, they arrest the homeowner for illegally owning a ferret, and the man is later told he'll face up to fifty years in prison. [[RealityIsUnrealistic Oddly enough, it]] ''[[TruthInTelevision is]]'' illegal to own a ferret in California, but RuleOfFunny is what merits such overkill.
* Occurs frequently on ''Series/{{Arrow}}'', most egregiously early in Season 2. The Arrow is trying to stop the Triads from stealing medical supplies bound for a beleaguered hospital in the earthquake-ravaged Glades district of Starling City. When the police arrive on the scene, do they focus on the people robbing doctors? No. They attempt to capture the only person capable of bringing China White and Bronze Tiger in non-lethally, allowing those two to escape and attempt another heist.
* ''Series/TheDefenders2017'': Detective Misty Knight is an ally to Luke Cage, but she's out of the loop regarding the Hand and faced with pressure from an anti-vigilante superior, so after Stick is killed and Danny is kidnapped, she's forced to detain Luke, Jessica, and Matt because they won't explain what the hell's going on.
* The whole set-up to the GrandFinale of ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' occurs because a police officer [[SkewedPriorities sees it as more important to arrest the cast]] (that were [[{{Jerkass}} snarkily jeering at a guy getting mugged and videotaping the robbery]], and thus allegedly violating a "Good Samaritan" Law [[HollywoodLaw that somehow is structured to force people to help, rather than freeing them from liability]] ''[[HollywoodLaw if]]'' [[HollywoodLaw they help]]) than ''actually chasing after the mugger himself'' (or, if he doesn't wish to give pursuit, ask them for the videotape).
* In ''Series/SheHulkAttorneyAtLaw'', the Department of Damage Control is a whole lot more concerned about Jennifer Walters hulking out and smashing a television than the fact the television was showing a video of her having sex with a member of the Intelligentsia (evidence of rape by deception plus she did not agree to either being taped having sex or having it broadcasted, as well as clear evidence of the Intelligentsia -- an anti-feminist group who does not likes the superheroines of the world, She-Hulk topping their hit list -- being more than just a bunch of idiots in a forum), and make clear after they let Jen go that the group is a low priority for them because they don't have superpowers, if they actually decide to do anything about it at all. This utter lack of care incenses Jen so much that [[spoiler:when she smashes through the fourth wall in the season finale, [[RageAgainstTheAuthor she makes clear to the Marvel writers that they better stow that crap plotline ASAP]].]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/TheAmazingSpiderMan2'', if the Task Force that relentlessly pursues Spider-Man for [[KarmaMeter falling from Hero to Menace]] gave the ''actual criminals'' that much trouble, Spider-Man could probably retire or at the very least start taking days off and vacations.
* In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'', the ''entire'' GCPD save for Gordon is [[DirtyCop on the take]]. Not helping this is the fact that this takes place early in Batman's career, with him being seen as a dangerous vigilante who takes the law into his own hands.
* In ''VideoGame/EarthBound1994'', the Onett Police do nothing about the Sharks -- a gang that not only acts as the RandomEncounters in town, but has a ''combat robot the size of a tank'' (badly) hidden behind their hangout -- but they zealously oppose Ness after he defeats the Sharks by arresting him under false pretenses and forcing him into a MookChivalry battle.
* ''VideoGame/EasternExorcist'' does this with Shu the Water Demon's backstory. She's a widow who lose ''everything'' - her husband, child, and pride when three punks ganged up on her to [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil have some fun]]. When the village elders found out about the incident, they... have Shu sentenced to drowning instead, in order to "preserve the village's reputation".
* ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'': Commit any sort of crime in front of city guards and they will be right on top of you, but if you're the ''victim'' of a crime, say if you're attacked by thugs (usually in retaliation for stealing, but the guards wouldn't know that), suddenly they can't see or hear anything. At least one mod made it so if you're attacked in front of guards (and didn't do anything in that moment to provoke it), they'll actually do their job and help you.
* A staple of the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series. Running for your life because a bunch of gangsters are trying to kill you? Sorry, boy, we aren't equipped to deal with that. Accidentally scrape a police car because you were trying to avoid hitting a pedestrian?? [[DisproportionateRetribution You are going down, you bastard]]. Fortunately, in later games they begin to act against other criminals, although they still will go after you for the smallest thing.
** In the ''Videogame/GrandTheftAutoIII'' era, police would completely ignore all crimes committed by NPC's. In ''Videogame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'' there was an exception, a random event where a police officer would chase down and eventually [[PoliceBrutality kill]] a generic NPC, and in ''Videogame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' police officers would open fire on any NPC that hurt them or crashed their car. The trend continues to a lesser extent into ''Videogame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' and ''Videogame/GrandTheftAutoV'', while nearby officers will now react to NPC violence it still a differing level of force than what is used against the player. Most notably they never escalate, if the NPC's kill all the cops the fight is over. If the player shoots a police officer, expect half a dozen squad cars and a police helicopter to respond in seconds. In a strange inversion, police in GTAV will always react with lethal force to NPC's regardless of their crime (in GTAIV they can arrest them), while the player can be arrested for minor crimes.
* In ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'', the cops are more dangerous than the serial killer everyone is hunting. On one occasion, Ethan Mars is ordered by the Origami Killer to RaceAgainstTheClock to a certain location -- specifically, five miles along a freeway ''against traffic'' -- and the police response time is measured in ''seconds.'' And if Ethan [[spoiler:arrives at the final confrontation alone, the cops kill him as he leaves after rescuing the victim]]. However, a secondary protagonist actually kills over ''two dozen'' other people -- eighteen in a single massive shootout -- and never sees a scrap of blue uniform. [[spoiler:He's actually the Origami Killer]].
* ''VideoGame/NoMansSky'': A baffling example comes from the Sentinels' approach to Space Pirates, considering how omnipresent they are in the universe and their firepower. The Sentinels do not care whatsoever if the player is getting chased by 4 to 6 Pirate ships, leaving you to fend for yourself. They also don't help alien ships that are getting attacked by a Pirate squad, forcing you to step in. But if the player so much as scratches the paint on an alien ship by accident, the Sentinels will attack the player immediately. [[spoiler:Possibly justified, as the player is an Anomaly, which the Sentinels seem to particularly dislike.]]
* ''VideoGame/SpiderManPS4'': Sable International, a private military contractor, is brought into Manhattan to reinforce the police after a terror attack. They are so incompetent that if any sort of problem arises in the city, nine times out of ten, Spider-Man has to handle it... and the tenth time, the problem is their fault anyway. Their only real display of competency is trying to arrest Spider-Man.
* Notably averted in ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRage 4'': the cops will attack your character, but they'll also attack the ''other'' enemies if they get close enough (with a few exceptions implied to be [[DirtyCop on the take]]). That the police are coming after you at all is completely justified given the massive civil disturbance your activities cause, and [[spoiler:after the Chief of Police realizes you're actually trying to ''stop'' the local crime problem the cops leave you alone thereafter]].
* ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'' has Aidan using some of the features of ctOS not yet released to the police, such as the crime-prediction system. In addition, if Aidan uses the ctOS to raise traffic barriers, the police will radio to dispatch to request them lowered. Yet the police will never think to have dispatch ''raise'' them to cut you off.
* ''VideoGame/WelcomeToTheGameII'': Clint is in an apartment building occupied by no fewer than ''three'' serial killers, and an assassin is stalking the halls. Who do the NYPD target? ''Clint'', for the crime of... going on the Deep Web. One of the most-mocked parts of the game is that you need to keep moving your VPN from hotspot to hotspot or else the cops will nonchalantly waltz past repeat murderers to kick your door in.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* The police in ''VisualNovel/SpiritHunterNG'' are ignorant of any supernatural happenings and can't do anything to prevent the various grisly murders at the hands of spirits. Nor do they ever bother to go after the human criminals in the various spirit backstories. However, they have much less issue finding evidence that Akira was at the scene of the crimes (''stopping'' said spirits and saving lives), and promptly haul him into the station during the Killer Peach case.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In a strip of ''Webcomic/OzyAndMillie'', their regular JerkJock bully, Jeremy, [[http://ozyandmillie.org/2008/01/15/ozy-and-millie-2030/ keeps pushing Millie into a pool of mud]], [[http://ozyandmillie.org/2008/01/15/ozy-and-millie-2031/ knocking her over every time she tries to get up]]. Finally, she snaps and socks him in the face... at which point [[http://ozyandmillie.org/2008/01/16/ozy-and-millie-2032/ a teacher immediately spots her]], and hauls her into the principal's office for "[[CrimeOfSelfDefense starting a fight]]". (The injustice inherent in the school system is a frequently visited theme). Upon being questioned by Millie's mom, the teacher pretty much admitted [[http://ozyandmillie.org/2008/01/25/ozy-and-millie-2039/ she saw the whole thing]] and only punished Millie because ''it was easier than dealing with the REAL bully.'' Quoth Millie's mom: "Did it hurt having your soul extracted?"
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* In the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/BeeAndPuppycat'', Bee is walking home and stops at a crosswalk, waiting for the light to turn so she can cross because she can't afford a jaywalking ticket. As if on cue, a cop shows up to authoritatively stare her down...all the while ignoring three children running across the street to chase a duck.
* {{WebAnimation/RWBY}} deconstructs this trope during the course of Volumes 7 & 8. General Ironwood and the Atlas military focus entirely on arresting RWBY and their allies while ignoring the real threats in their path. This is made evident with a battle between [[TheCynic Qrow]], [[TheAce Clover]], and [[SerialKiller Tyrian]], in which Clover [[SkewedPriorities prioritizes more on arresting Qrow than re-apprehending Tyrian]]. This results in [[spoiler:Clover being killed via an EnemyMine between Qrow and Tyrian]]. By the end of Volume 8, [[spoiler:Atlas had been mostly destroyed thanks in large part to this trope, since Ironwood wastes all his energy on RWBY and forcing them to resolve all the crises themselves, all while the villains move with their plans ([[XanatosSpeedChess mostly]]) unimpeded.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
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%%% Please put your choices in alphabetical order.
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* Think [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries animated Batman's]] life is easier than his comic-book counterpart's? Think again -- when he's framed in the series pilot [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE1OnLeatherWings "On Leather Wings"]], and again in ''[[WesternAnimation/BatmanMaskOfThePhantasm Mask of the Phantasm]]'', the GCPD almost immediately bust out the kind of firepower that, consistently applied, would've reduced the Joker and 90% of the other supervillains to a fine red paste ages ago. [[Recap/TheNewBatmanAdventuresE12OverTheEdge "Over the Edge"]] teeters on this too, but does involve the GCPD seeking ''[[RecruitingTheCriminal help]]'' from a supervillain instead of relying on its own muscle, and in any case [[spoiler:it was AllJustADream.]]
* The titular team of ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6TheSeries'' is the group most capable of handling the various criminals and supervillains of San Fransokyo, but Chief Diego Cruz cares more about arresting the team for vigilantism, even setting up a fake hostage situation to do so. Justified in that Chief Cruz has a personal ([[InsaneTrollLogic if entirely misdirected]]) grudge against superheroes and can't keep his personal feelings out of his work.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'';
** In "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS7E12Episode420 Episode 420]]", the police couldn't care less that Peter is driving drunk or that he has a blood-soaked trash bag in the back of his car, but they go ballistic when they find out that Brian has "a small amount of pot".
** In "Back to the Woods", James Woods steals Peter's identity simply by stealing his ID. Instead of arresting him for identity theft, Joe claims he has no choice but to treat James Woods as Peter and arrest ''the real Peter'' for "trespassing" in his own house.
* ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget:'' The rest of the Metro City police only turn up at the end of the episode, except for the two or three shows where Inspector Gadget is framed; then the entire department turns up to arrest Gadget himself.
* Police in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' are usually [[PoliceAreUseless flat-out useless]], and even the protagonists escape the law because of it. However, when the episode calls for extreme PoliceBrutality [[BadCopIncompetentCop or]] CorruptCop show-offing, suddenly the Springfield Police Department has ''some'' degree of competency, fully-equipped SWAT Teams (and/or more men than Wiggum and ThoseTwoGuys, period), automatic weapons (and ''automated batons''), chopper support, ''[[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill tanks]]'', etc.
** In [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E21MargeInChains "Marge In Chains",]] the sheer exhaustion of the rest of the family being sick causes Marge to accidentally shoplift a bottle of cheap bourbon from the Kwik-E-Mart. She makes perfectly clear that she didn't mean to and that she will pay for the bottle immediately. Apu still presses the silent alarm and multiple patrol cars arrive within ''seconds'' and the officers aim their guns at Marge like she was armed and dangerous. Later in the episode, Snake '''[[StealTheSurroundings steals the whole damn Mart building]]''' with a flat-bed truck and nothing happens.
** [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E18HomerVsTheEighteenthAmendment "Homer vs. the Eighteenth Amendment"]] has Agent Rex Banner pushing his DryCrusader agenda to the hilt, with his enforcement methods being brutal at best and lethal at worst. However, when Fat Tony tells Banner to his face that the mob is going to give up on beer smuggling in favor of heroin smuggling, Rex simply says, "See that you do." (After all, he's not here to enforce ''that''.)
** When Homer leads a violent band of vigilantes in "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E11HomerTheVigilante Homer the Vigilante]]", the police don't do much of anything. In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E19SimpleSimpson Simple Simpson]]", Homer's much more benign form of masked "vigilantism" -- a PieInTheFace for people who deserve it -- causes the cops to shoot to kill so he can't pie [[MayorPain Quimby,]] who unapologetically bulldozed an orphanage to build a plastic surgery clinic. Lou points this out to Wiggum, but he doesn't want to hear it.
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS11E21ItsAMadMadMadMadMarge It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge]]", Marge is afraid the family's house guest Becky is trying to murder her to take her place, and goes to the police. Wiggum refuses to help unless she's ''already'' dying ("Let me tell you what I tell everybody who comes in here: the law is powerless to help you.") When Marge threatens Becky, having [[MistakenForCheating mistaken]] her [[KissOfLife resuscitating Homer for kissing him,]] the police arrest her immediately.
--->'''Marge:''' I ''thought'' you said the law was powerless.\\
'''Wiggum:''' Yeah, powerless to ''help'' you, [[ExactWords not punish you.]]
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS17E21TheMonkeySuit The Monkey Suit]]", Lisa rebels against Springfield Elementary stopping teaching the theory of evolution and switching to Creationism thanks to [[TheFundamentalist Ned Flanders]]. She starts an underground reading circle of the theory that is barged in by the Springfield Police with guns out and [[ClickHello ready to fire]], and when she asks why so much overkill as she's being arrested, Wiggum plainly tells her (and is embarrassed to admit) that the Springfield Police only has enough budget to enforce the ''latest'' law passed... and to make things more blatantly unfair, he [[JustIgnoreIt doesn't care about]] Snake going on a killing spree ''right outside the room''.
--->'''Wiggum''': ''(chuckles, then non-chalantly)'' In the old days, we would've been aaaaaaa-llll over that! ''(continues to watch the shooting)''
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