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Police impersonation is an act of falsely portraying oneself as a member of the police, for the purpose of deception. In the vast majority of countries the practice is illegal and carries a custodial sentence.

Impersonating a police officer is sometimes committed in order to assert police-like authority in order to commit a crime. Posing as a police officer enables the offender to legitimize the appearance of an illegal act, such as: breaking and entry, making a traffic stop, or detaining.

Dressing up as a police officer in costume, or pretending to be a police officer for the purpose of play or a harmless prank toward an acquaintance is generally not considered a crime, provided that those involved recognize the imposter is not a real police officer, and the imposter is not trying to deceive those involved into thinking he/she is.

The following impersonations class as the offence:

• Verbal indentification: The imposter announces to the unsuspecting victim that they are a police officer.
• Fake Badge or Warrant card: The imposter, though not in any special clothes, displays a police-like badge or identification card to the victim. Sometimes a real police officer will not even be able to differentiate between the real and fake badge, as some duplicates are very, if not exactly alike.
• Fake uniform: The imposter wears a uniform that looks very much like that of a police officer.
• Fake vehicle: The imposter places lights, decals, or other equipment on a personal vehicle to disguise it as a police car and enable the offender to make arrests or traffic stops.

Much of the equipment described above is available for purchase to the general public, thereby enabling imposters to obtain the necessary materials to commit such a crime. While the equipment will not bear the name of a specific law enforcement agency, the unsuspecting victim may not notice the difference.

In an extreme case, a Hempstead man set up a legal police station in addition to the above, where he interrogated those he arrested.^[1][2]

Some of the following crimes have been committed while impersonating a police officer:^{[citation needed]}

• Home invasion, by gaining entry under the guise of a police officer, followed by theft from the premises, rape, or in rare cases, murder.
• Theft and Grand Theft Auto - approaching a victim, explaining that an item or a vehicle is stolen. The impersonator will then seize the "evidence" and never return it.
• Armed robbery, following a traffic stop
• Kidnapping following a traffic stop or false arrest
• Fake authority, in which the officer attempts to extort money from the victim, claiming it is a fine, or can be paid on the spot to avoid further legal consequences.
• Prank phone calls and other fraudulent / deceptive electronic communications, where one might make a comment about a group that invites retaliation.

History

Possibly the most famous incident of police impersonation was during the Saint Valentine's Day massacre, where two hitmen were disquised as police, pretended to arrest 7 rival gang members and killing them with two other hitmen.

References