I saw this on a TV show. And it was a lawyer who gave this advice. Spotting an undercover cop. He'll never have a full beard growth. Cops are usually clean shaven, but they want to look scruffy for the undercover sting. But they shave just before the trial. And their clothing seems so neat and pressed. And lastly, they seem unusually talkative. This is because they're trying to get you to incriminate yourself for other crimes. Of course the obligatory advice is if don't break the law, you don't have to worry about being arrested by an undercover cop.
They tend to stand out from the crowd due to their crew cut or close-cropped orthodox hairstyle, athletic bearing and erect posture. I used to find this odd and even stupid as they still looked conspicuous, but I suppose it could be because they were being supervised by superior officers and didn't want to look sloppy even in civilian attire. I find them silent and observant rather than talkative. I suppose it depends on the situation.
so then by these definitions i could almost be mistaken for an undercover cop (when im' fully dressed anyways). except i always shave, never any facial hair
My advice is to never get involved with any cops and do not trust strangers. You never know who is looking to hurt you , kill you or jail you.
My father was an undercover cop. He looked homeless during those years. Scraggly beard, long hair, and wore beat up old clothes. He didn’t look anything like a cop. He worked on the same Task Force as his brother who definitely looked like a stereotypical cop. This was back in the 80’s when cocaine was wreaking havoc. He had some interesting stories about working his way up the ladder to get to the traffickers, but also a lot of horrific stories about junkies and how the Colombian cartels took care of business. The funny thing is he didn’t like cops. He didn’t have any cop friends or hang out with cops and told me about all the tricks they use to manipulate people. He told me a million times not to trust cops or ever tell them anything. He was a city kid who grew up in the projects. My mother moved us out of Boston after their divorce and I remember him being disappointed saying, “I can’t believe any son of mine is growing up in the suburbs”. I got his personnel records after he passed away. His last disciplinary action was a suspension for telling a Captain to go fuck himself.
This should prove interesting. I personally know of at least four officers, 2 street level, (1 patrol and 1 motor officer) and 2 plain clothes officers with full beards and they don't shave before court. The policy is that it be maintain neatly and trimmed. I've never known any of them to be overly talkative, but one thing to remember is that The Police can lie to you during the course of an investigation and they don't have to read you a Miranda warning. (1969 Frazier v. Cupp, upheld the use of deceptive interrogation tactics, such as falsely telling a suspect that a co-defendant had confessed or other deceptive techniques.) In Illinois v. Perkins statements made by a suspect to an undercover police agent are admissible, even if the suspect was not given a Miranda warning, when the suspect did not know they were speaking to the police. These statues were decided in the United State Supreme Court Cases so they do apply to all 50 states. You also shouldn't believe everything you see on TV and just like Hugh Laurie only plays a Doctor on TV, so there are a multitude of TV Lawyers that aren't really lawyer. Check the disclaimer of the show you watched. Also, YouTube Lawyer aren't always lawyers either, and the ones that ARE will tell you straight away, that their content should not be considered ACTUAL Legal Advise and that you should seek advise form a lawyer local to you and certified under the Bar Association in your state. Being a Lawyer does n't automatically give them the right to practice in other states nor does it mean they have full knowledge of that State's Laws. If an Undercover Police Officer doesn't want you to know he or she is police, you'll never find out unless they themselves tell you or screw-up on procedure so badly that their case is blown.
