Law enforcement work is more than a job to most who get involved in it. Here are some quotes and quotations from a wide variety of people about police work, it’s challenges and rewards, and the value of law enforcement personnel. We’ve tried to find interesting quotes not just from famous people, but from average folks too. There’s also a bit of humor here to lighten things up. If you have an interesting quote about law enforcement you’d like to see added to this page, please contact us. We’d like to hear from you!

“Law enforcement officers are never ‘off duty.’ They are dedicated public servants who are sworn to protect public safety at any time and place that the peace is threatened. They need all the help that they can get.”
– Barbara Boxer

“Police officers may drive black and white cars, however what goes on in their job is a lot of gray.”
– Arik Matson

“In keeping people straight, principle is not as powerful as a policeman.”
– Abel Hermant, Le Bourgeois, 1906

“I sometimes wish that people would put a little more emphasis upon the observance of the law than they do upon its enforcement”
– Calvin Coolidge

“Go to college. Get an education. Understand the law, the profession and our constitution so you understand your responsibility to the people and the trust you are granted – and to stay true to it.”
-Sheriff Dave Brown, quoted on criminaljusticedegreeschools.com

“It’s about time law enforcement got as organized as organized crime.”
– Rudolph Giuliani

“Poverty is the mother of crime.”
– Marcus Aurelius

“Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on.”
– Robert Kennedy

“Since September 11, 2001, many in this nation and this Congress have a deeper appreciation for the importance of the sacrifices made by our law enforcement officers.”
– Jerry Costello

“Some of the bravest and the best men of all the world, certainly in law enforcement, have made their contributions while they were undercover.”
– Thomas Foran

“I had a great time on The Shield. From working on it I have a totally different view of law enforcement.”
Glenn Close

“We need safe communities that are free from methamphetamine and a federal commitment to stand next to state leadership and law enforcement in the fight against this epidemic.”
– Rick Larsen

“The backbone of our nation’s domestic defense against terrorist attacks will continue to be the men and women in local law enforcement and emergency services.”
– Saxby Chambliss

“Scandal begins when the police put a stop to it.”
– Karl Kraus

“The police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.”
– Robert Peel

“Society questions the police and their methods, and the police say, Do you want the criminals off the street or not?”
– Kurt Russell

“Police officials routinely execute search warrants on private homes and offices, and Congressional offices should not be treated any differently. There cannot be one set of rules for elected officials and another set of rules for everyone else.”
– Bobby Jindal

“We pass bills authorizing improvements and grants. But when it comes time to pay for these programs, we’d rather put the country’s money toward tax breaks for the wealthy than for police officers who are protecting our communities.”
– David E. Price

“My heroes are those who risk their lives every day to protect our world and make it a better place – police, firefighters and members of our armed forces.”
– Sidney Sheldon

“There’s only two people in your life you should lie to… the police and your girlfriend.”
– Jack Nicholson

“I’m not against the police; I’m just afraid of them.”
– Alfred Hitchcock

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Five funny quotes, actually taken off police car videos around the us (credited to http://www.tomsavoca.com/Police-work/funny-police-quotes.cfm):

“If you run, you’ll only go to jail tired.”

“No, sir, we don’t have quotas anymore. We used to have quotas, but now we’re allowed to write as many tickets as we want.”

“In God we trust, all others we run through NCIC (National Crime Information Center).”

“Relax, the handcuffs are tight because they’re new. They’ll stretch out after you wear them awhile.”

“So you don’t know how fast you were going. I guess that means I can write anything I want on the ticket, huh?”

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“Illegal immigration is a genuinely national issue, and resolving it requires a national commitment not just on health care but also border control, law enforcement and other resources.”
– Jon Kyle

“We can’t do much about ensuring that the homeland is safe if our local police and sheriffs’ departments don’t have the personnel they need to keep our streets and neighborhoods secure.”
– Dick Durbin

“You can’t expect law enforcement to provide the solution to the drug problem.”
– Bill McCollum

“When you have police officers who abuse citizens, you erode public confidence in law enforcement. That makes the job of good police officers unsafe.”
– Mary Frances Berry

“I’m told by the law enforcement officials that they expect probably 20 bomb threats a day. Hopefully, all 20 will be hoaxes, but strange people do strange things.”
– Senator Sam Nunn

“The police must obey the law while enforcing the law.”
– Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren

“As governor, there isn’t a lot I can do beyond that to crack down on crime. Law enforcement is really a local issue. It’s the cops’ job to tighten down on criminals.”
– Former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura

“No amount of law enforcement can solve a problem that goes back to the family.“
– J. Edgar Hoover

“The police are not here to create disorder, they’re here to preserve disorder.”
– Richard J. Daley

“I’m convinced that every boy, in his heart, would rather steal second base than an automobile.”
– Tom Clark

“Justice may be blind, but she has very sophisticated listening devices.”
– Edgar Argo

“Somebody recently figured out that we have 35 million laws to enforce the ten commandments.”
– Attributed variously to Bert Masterson or Earl Wilson

“It ain’t no sin if you crack a few laws now and then, just so long as you don’t break any.”
– Mae West

“It’s strange that men should take up crime when there are so many legal ways to be dishonest.”
– Author unknown

“The trouble with the laws these days is that criminals know their rights better than their wrongs.”
– Author Unknown

“We live in a stage of politics, where legislators seem to regard the passage of laws as much more important than the results of their enforcement.”
– William Howard Taft