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I was going to post this yesterday and forgot. Enjoy:
Here in Portland we have something... odd. Along with the *actual* police, we have the Transit Police. They work for Trimet, which is the company that owns and operates the buses and the light rail (kind of an above-ground subway system). I've been living here since August 2007 (3 years) and all I've ever seen the Transit Police do is ride around in their fake cop cars looking like they serve a purpose. But as far as I can tell, they don't actually do anything else. Mall cops, pathetic as they are, at least guard things and work security. The Transit Police seem to be a large hole which Trimet throws money into (because it seems to be some requirement that all large agencies, especially ones that work with the government, must have some kind of useless thing to throw money into). I've never actually seen a transit cop come out of his or her fake cop car, or pull anyone over, or do anything except take up space and consume gasoline. They don't even seem to hand out fines for breaking transit rules; that's what Fare Inspectors are for. Their fake cop cars are just realistic enough to fool you for a moment, so that in a real emergency it'd be like, "OMG call the cops! Oh hey, there's one! Wait... fuck, it's one of those useless Transit cops. Call a real cop!"
So... yeah. If you thought being a mall cop was sad and pathetic and you couldn't possibly sink any lower, you were wrong. You could be a Transit Cop. You could be a member of the "police" force where the hopes and dreams of wannabe cops go to die, where you get paid to do nothing more than look like you serve a purpose.
All this is kind of frustrating, too. They keep raising the fare prices and cutting service and bemoaning the state of the economy. Makes me want to scream at them, "SO DROP THE FUCKING TRANSIT POLICE! They aren't doing anything but draining money anyway!" Sheesh.
Here in Portland we have something... odd. Along with the *actual* police, we have the Transit Police. They work for Trimet, which is the company that owns and operates the buses and the light rail (kind of an above-ground subway system). I've been living here since August 2007 (3 years) and all I've ever seen the Transit Police do is ride around in their fake cop cars looking like they serve a purpose. But as far as I can tell, they don't actually do anything else. Mall cops, pathetic as they are, at least guard things and work security. The Transit Police seem to be a large hole which Trimet throws money into (because it seems to be some requirement that all large agencies, especially ones that work with the government, must have some kind of useless thing to throw money into). I've never actually seen a transit cop come out of his or her fake cop car, or pull anyone over, or do anything except take up space and consume gasoline. They don't even seem to hand out fines for breaking transit rules; that's what Fare Inspectors are for. Their fake cop cars are just realistic enough to fool you for a moment, so that in a real emergency it'd be like, "OMG call the cops! Oh hey, there's one! Wait... fuck, it's one of those useless Transit cops. Call a real cop!"
So... yeah. If you thought being a mall cop was sad and pathetic and you couldn't possibly sink any lower, you were wrong. You could be a Transit Cop. You could be a member of the "police" force where the hopes and dreams of wannabe cops go to die, where you get paid to do nothing more than look like you serve a purpose.
All this is kind of frustrating, too. They keep raising the fare prices and cutting service and bemoaning the state of the economy. Makes me want to scream at them, "SO DROP THE FUCKING TRANSIT POLICE! They aren't doing anything but draining money anyway!" Sheesh.
