Something I never understood about cops in movies....

because in movies the cops are cooler, in better shape, can act better, and oh yeah, it's a movie...they can wear what they what.

 

Detectives can wear plain clothes and stuff.


Police detectives are often assigned to wear plainclothes instead of the uniform typically worn by their peers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plainclothes

 

Maybe he's a detective sergeant.

 

The cops on the Law and Order series' don't wear uniforms either.

 

When you first see him, he is wearing blues.

I think you start off as an officer and with certain college certifications, you can become a detective, which may or may not start off at Lieutenant.

 

You usually start off as a beat officer. Detectives require a certain ammount of time in the department before they become eligible to take the exam (anywhere from 2 to 6 years usually) and then you can take a test. Detectives dress casually (though there is usually some dress code, business casual perhaps). They can't come in looking like bums as some movies portray (unless they are undercover operatives). But yeah, unless it is a formal occassion, usually only the beat cops wear their uniforms.

And you mentioned Gordon was a sargeant. There are different ranks of detective. Just because someone is a detective does not mean they have a high rank.

 

Dirty Harry Callahan was an Inspector. Wonder what that means? You can shoot punks, ramble off with cool one-liners that your friends will repeat ad nauseum, all the while stuffing your face with hot dogs!

 

Only normal officers are permitted to wear uniforms daily.

 

Columbo was badass thats why

 

You can't really dispute John McClane's outfits since he wasn't on-duty in any of the movies, except maybe in Live Free, but even then it would have been a major goof to see McClane in a police outfit.

I believe he was Detective in Live Free, so it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

 

Because they keep getting into gun fights and getting police uniforms dirty! so they said "Were not paying for anymore uniforms, bring your own clothes to work from now on!"

True story

 

I'm a cop in the KC metro area and I don't wear a uni. Patrol officers and others who interact with the general public frequently wear them. I work for Investigations and the Crime Lab. We don't have to.

 

For plain clothes detectives, is a suit optional ?

 

Plain clothes! That was the term I was gonna drop, but hunter beat me to it!

 

Hell, you can even look at the Rush Hour series....Carter was a detective for the first two and got busted down to a traffic cop, which was the first time you ever see him in a uniform.

 

Who in their right mind would want to do that?

 

Hey, they can't all be gems. Why do guys that do well in life occasionally get high?

 

I would love to see a cop movie about a cop who actually wears a uniform... that would be kinda cool...

 

^Callahan = the hottest cop ever.

Citizens on Patrol when she was in the pool.....

 

Police Academy

 

That's NOT a comedy.

 

Doesn't the same thing happen in Lethal Weapon 3?