LEO Off-Duty and Retired Carry %

[SuperMan]

Have asked these questions to many LEOs over the years so I thought I would throw it out here....

For present or past LEOs:

Do you carry:
All the time
Some of the time
Rarely if ever


Your Department:
What percentage of the officers carried OD:
All the time
Some of the time
Rarely if ever


Retired officers you know:
What percentage carry:
All the time
Some of the time
Rarely if ever



For non-LEOs:

The people you know in LE active or retired, do they carry:
All the time
Some of the time
Rarely if ever



Answers for me:
Have carried every day I legally could since 1970 when I got my first CC license. That was in Connecticut when most of the rest of the country never heard of CC.... Have my LEOA certification and still carry everywhere I go.

Was with three departments in my career:
Larger city, 2500 officers, mandatory carry while OD if in the city
Small City, 40 officers, myself and one other officer carried OD
State Agency, 70 officers, myself, the other officer from the previous department who also changed jobs and the chief firearms instructor

Retired officers I know who carry:
The guy I worked with retired and I know he has a gun on or about him always. Another guy I worked with in the large city department who was my shooting partner I know always carries....but the rest of the retirees I know rarely if ever carry.


Any time a I meet a new person who I find out is an officer I ask these same questions....and at least here in New England it seems to be between 5-10%. I've asked at least three different LEO firearms instructors over the last couple of years and the absolute most and very "optimistic" estimate for their department was 50%...and I think this was "some of the time" vs. "all of the time".


Anyway your answers would be appreciated...

Bob

 

[Muss Muggins]

I would advance the theory that, unless required by the agency or there is a significant culture of off-duty carry, the percentage of officers who carry off-duty is about the same as the general population. Likewise for the percentage of retired officers who carry . . .

 

[18DAI]

Working I carried 100% of the time. So did all the guys in the squad.

Now, retired from Investigations, but working part time at the LGS and as a Magistrate at night (where I have "bodyguards" ) I carry 100% of the time.

You never know who or what you will run in to. So, always be prepared. For anything. Regards 18DAI

 

[lawandorder]

Retired
Carry 100%
Retired Guys I know pretty much 100% then I mostly am friends with folks who know and enjoy firearms.

When working carried 100%
Other LEOs maybe 25% of the department carried most of the time.

 

[Ziggy2525]

For non-LEOs:

The people you know in LE active or retired, do they carry:
All the time
Some of the time
Rarely if ever

I've posted this a couple times before in different threads, so apologies for the repeat. For quite a few years I was in a social group that was mostly non-LEO's, but also had quite a few active LEO's. Mostly from a 900 officer city department.

Other than pheasant and deer hunting they weren't any more gun guys than they were baton guys or handcuff guys. Pretty sure the ones I knew well weren't carrying off duty. They were deep into kids sports, adult fast pitch softball, and riding motorcycles. Everyday guys with a job that required them to carry a weapon at work. Just another work tool. Off duty they were no more likely carrying than a lumberjack would be toting his chainsaws.

 

[blues7]

Currently retired from LE. Carry virtually 100% of time I'm out of the house. Often in the house if I'm in and out.

Formerly, on the job, 100%. Most other agents the same, both on and off duty.

Can't speak for too many other retired LEO's, I know my former partner carries routinely.

 

[Murdock]

My brother was an LEO for a large (1500 sworn personnel), progressive department in the South for 30 years. Off duty he always carried when out and about with his family. When alone, frequently but not so much. This may have been because he was very good at unarmed combat, and in fact was an instuctor at the academy in that subject.

For myself (retired military, almost half of my career in specops and now a health care professional) I have carried daily since 9/11, even at work. To do less is dereliction of duty IMO, because you just never know.

 

[SuperMan]

Thank you for all the answers...

Muss...I think you hit it on the nose... The local officers are nothing more than a reflection of the general populous because they come from the general populous....

 

[PawDawg]

I'm a retired LEO (ten years now), and carry 100% of the time. Before retiring, I also carried 100% off duty.

I've always lived by the motto, "You can't choose when you may be a crime victim, but you can choose to always be prepared."

 

[Ziggy2525]

Thank you for all the answers...

Muss...I think you hit it on the nose... The local officers are nothing more than a reflection of the general populous because they come from the general populous....

Not trying to drive this in a political direction, but as a non-LEO, one thing I've noticed is the impact the mayor has on the police department. At least here, when we've had Democrat mayors, they've tended to bring in a police chief from outside the department that used to be a cop, but now has some sort of academic background in policing. When we've had Republican mayors, they've tended to pick police chiefs that are current cops in the dept and came up through the ranks in the department.

Not sure if that's common or not, but from the outside (at least to me) it seems to make a difference in how the department runs.

 

[The Big D]

All the time then, most of the time now.

Carried off duty the vast majority (99.9%) of the time when a LEO. Had to carry when in primary jurisdiction.

Did not carry for a month or so after retirement until being LEOSA qualified. In retirement I carry just about every single day when I leave the house. Let's say 98% carry.

I don't carry sometimes when traveling...but those times are rare even though I travel regularly. e.g. Will be in Las Vegas for five days next week. Never carry there but I did when working.

Have carried in all 50 states.

Be safe.

 

[NYlakesider]

As a none LEO but a long time CCWP holder let me say. I still know a bunch of active LEOs and most of them carry very regularly off duty!

I have breakfast one morning a week with a bunch of older retired guys, three of the regulars are retired LEOs. (we used to have 5 retired LEOs at the table but 2 have passed on) Two of our present officers served out of state but now live here and the other retired fron NYCPD.

All carry very constantly that I know about. We do talk guns on occasion but rarely mention our carry guns or carrying unless talking about a new holster or weapon carried.

 

[GerSan69]

I worked for a department in Colorado where off-duty carry was encouraged, so I'd say most of them did/still do. Maybe 90+%.
Among retirees, it seems to be generational. The older ones, aged 70+, maybe half still go down to the range annually to qualify back there, but among the ones I know who've also moved to Phoenix, I don't think any of them do, which is odd considering AZ is a constitutional carry state. As for the ones under 70 back in CO, most still do. I'm one of only two that I know of down here under 70, and we both do.

 

[safearm]

Suburban Chicago Department - maybe 50% carried off duty.
Medium size County Sheriff's department - closer to 75% carried off duty.
Retired - I carry 100%; some of the guys I associate with I think it's closer to 75%.

 

[Old cop]

Started my LEO career in 1968 when we were required to carry off duty, retired 30 years later and still carry every day. Most of my retired buddies carry too but not sure what others do. My agency dropped the requirement to always be armed in the early '90s.

 

[keith44spl]

Retired 01/01/2019

100% before and after.

.

 

[SuperMan]

I'm a retired LEO (ten years now), and carry 100% of the time. Before retiring, I also carried 100% off duty.

I've always lived by the motto, "You can't choose when you may be a crime victim, but you can choose to always be prepared."

...and what about those you worked with or other retirees you know...

Bob

 

[Smoke]

Retired 01/01/2019 100% before and after.

.

Congratulations on your retirement

 

[mdf9183]

I retired after 30 yrs. with a large city PD. and always carried off duty, it was required in the city. When I retired I do not carry but keep a weapon in my truck. As I get older I have mellowed a lot and find there are less reasons to shoot someone.

 

[AimHigher]

I would almost always carry whenever I went into the city (SF), and would pack a gun when I took a road trip. But carrying off-duty routinely, was not part of my routine. I did carry a Charter Arms Bulldog .44 in my glove box off and on. Most the guys I hung out with off duty, did not routinely carry. I would guess that about 15-20% of the officers in my first department carried off duty, and about 80-85% carried at my 2nd department. My 2nd agency was in the greater Los Angeles/Orange County Metroplex.