A police officer has helped you and had a profound impact on your life. Whether it was a serious issue or something minor, you may be thinking about giving a gift.
But is it appropriate to give law enforcement officers gifts, and if so, how do you give a police officer a gift?
The answer to the first question is yes and no. It can be interpreted as a bribe, which is why many will say that thank you is enough.
To help you make the best decision, we are going to discuss various aspects of this subject.
Can You Give the Police Gifts?
Yes, but you need to follow the rules set in place.
After all, the last thing you want is for the police officer into trouble when all you want to do is show your appreciation for their hard work.
A gift of relatively small value that you can prove may be offered with no strings attached can be acceptable, as long as it is given the okay from the police chief.
The rules and regulations about what is okay and not will differ from station to station, so it’s best to check with your local police department regarding the rules and policies.
You also need to be very clear about why you are giving them a gift.
Rather than just giving a gift or card without explanation, provide the reason for why you want to thank them.
Perhaps they helped you or a family member out or perhaps they performed a good deed, or you are seeing improvements in the local community being made by their department.
Regardless of what they did, you should include an explanation of this in a letter alongside the actual gift or card.
Here are some gift ideas for police or alternatives to gifts for police:
Use Yor imagination
As most gifts of any real monetary value are not allowed, and it’s likely you are unable to take the whole local police department out for dinner, you need to use your imagination when showing appreciation.
Some ideas of gifts you could give a police officer or their department include?
Small Tokens of Appreciation
As long as you have the permission of the police chief or relevant department head, you could give a small token of your appreciation to a specific police officer.
Perhaps a coffee gift card or notebook and pen.
You need to be extremely careful, though to ensure that the brand, type, and value of the gift are all approved before giving it to the officer in question.
Donate in Their Name
One clever way to get around the rules about gifts is by finding out the police officer’s favorite police charity and then donating on their behalf.
Just make sure you note that it is given as a token of appreciation for that officer, as the police department may want to return their appreciation in kind to the officer.
Write to the Police Chief
Another great way to show your appreciation that could have an impact on the officer’s career is by writing to the police chief or an appropriate superior.
Again, try to be as detailed as possible and their superiors may public acknowledge their good work and will likely be taken into consideration when it’s time for awards and promotions to be given.
What Are Gratuities for Police Officers?
With regards to law enforcement, gratuities are gifts given to individuals based entirely on their line of work.
Gratuities are often given to police officers by service industry workers, like bartenders and waiters.
They usually are given for either service that has already been rendered or services that are expected at a future date.
The main reasons why gratuities are given to police officers are as follows:
- With the theory of reciprocity in mind. This is where individuals feel they need to give something back when they receive a gift.
- To make sure they get cooperation in the future.
- As a means to advertise to customers and patrons that their business is a safe environment because police officers attend, attracting to the free coffees or drinks.
- To stop potential troublemakers from entering because the place is known to be frequented by police officers looking for free coffee.
When and Why Police Should Not Accept Gratuities
As they are professionally employed individuals performing their jobs law enforcement officers generally should not take gratuities.
Why?
People will start to expect different and preferential treatment and it could compromise the police officers’ integrity and impartiality and in the worst-case scenario, lead to more corruption.
Pros and Cons of Police Gratuities
To understand the complexities of police gratuities and why you should be careful in offering them to law enforcement officers, we are going to highlight some of the pros and cons.
Pros
Police work can be very risky work.
When it comes to measuring how well a law enforcement officer is doing at their job, it is measured by the number of arrests and the amount of drugs and/or weapons recovered.
Given the risks involved, a form of appreciation like a gratuity may show their hard work is not going unnoticed.
Shows appreciation for services out with the line of duty.
When a police officer helps to assist in a non-criminal car accident, it could be considered rude for law enforcement officers to refuse gratuities.
Gratuities could be considered too small to cultivate any real favors.
A cup of coffee on a rainy day is not a large gift and could be considered a reasonable show of appreciation for law enforcement officers’ hard work.
Given too those small gratuities are given in an official capacity by some companies, shows they are genuine, and no level of personal benefits can result.
There is already a culture of gratuity in place.
It may lead to thoughts that police officers are unable to be trusted because they can’t exercise proper judgment if they stop accepting gratuities.
Cons
As we have already noted, there are several cons to police accepting gratuities.
These include:
Law enforcement officers are professionals employed to perform a service.
Professionals don’t generally get gratuities for doing something they are employed to do.
People could start to expect preferential treatment.
Although it could be argued that a cup of coffee here or a free donut there is hardly a big incentive, people may start expecting preferential treatment in exchange for offering gratuities to police officers.
Could damage public trust and confidence in the police.
Many with good intentions offer gratuities to police officers because they are genuinely grateful.
However, if police officers are seen to be getting too many gifts for their hard work, the general public may start to feel that they only do it for what they can get, rather than to do a good job.
The slippery slope to further and greater corruption.
The biggest concern, as we have highlighted earlier, with police officers accepting gratuities is the fact that it could lead to corruption or more corruption.
FAQ’s
Can Police Officers Accept Gifts?
Yes and no. It depends on the type of gift, the reason it is given, and how it is given.
Can Police Officers Accept Tips?
No, unless otherwise permitted by the local department chief.
Is the Acceptance of Gratuities “Corruption”?
Although it may not be seen that way initially, it could lead to more obvious forms of corruption.
Can Police Officers Accept Cookies?
Due to health and safety, unless you are offering pre-packaged food, you can’t give law enforcement officers homemade food.
Summary
How to give a police officer a gift is a question that needs to be approached carefully. It depends on many things including the state you live in and the individual police department policies.
A law enforcement officer will certainly be appreciative of the thoughtfulness of a gift but their chief of police may not be as accommodating (and for good reasons we mentioned above).
Ultimately, gifts for police are not expected throughout their policing career and there are plenty of imaginative ways to show your appreciation besides a monetary gift which can be misinterpreted as a dollar bribe, which leads both parties down a slippery slope.
A donation to their favored charity or a well thought out “thank you” note or card will be more than enough to put a smile on the face of any receiving law enforcement officer who got into their career to help people.
Read Also: Gifting Cryptocurrency
