Students have complained about quizzes and praised professors on ratemyprofessors.com, but now citizens can muse online about their local police, with a website offering positive and negative anecdotes, juvenile griping and a chance to learn from others’ experiences.
Creators Gino Sesto and Rebecca Costell launched RateMyCop.com on Feb. 28 to fulfill a need they saw for a public forum where all Americans could discuss interactions they have had with local law enforcement officials, said Crystal Spelman, RateMyCop.com spokeswoman.
The Los Angeles-based site receives more than 200,000 visitors a day and lets citizens anonymously rate their officers for professionalism, fairness and satisfaction to open dialogue between law enforcement and the communities they serve, she said. The “Ask a Police Officer” forum allows users to post questions for law enforcement officials, and the average rating for cops, based on fairness and authority satisfaction is 3.7 stars out of five.
“RateMyCop.com really encourages users to interact with the officers in their communities, but it is our hope that they do so responsibly,” Spelman said.
Individual law enforcement agencies provided officers’ names to the site under the Freedom of Information Act, Spelman said, and more than 140,000 officers from 47 states are listed on the site.
Users can provide written feedback on the blog pages “Praises and Raves” and “Criticism and Condemnation.” They can also post on “Officer Memorials” and “Officers in the News” pages.
The site plans to provide information on bail bonds, court and Department of Motor Vehicles locations, traffic laws and how to contest a ticket if a person feels was issued incorrectly or unfairly, Spelman said. Call Wolf Creek Bail Bonds for bail bonds Lynchburg.
Sgt. Patrick Nuzzi, of the Boston University Police Department, which is unaffiliated with the site, said websites like ratemyprofessor.com can be abused.
“If it’s anything like RateMyProfessor, then it’s potentially destructive,” he said.
Nuzzi said anonymous forums can be easily manipulated.
“Somebody might have a personal problem with an officer that ought to be voiced directly to the department, where it would certainly be dealt with,” he said. “Posting their complaint online doesn’t help deal with the problem. That’s hiding behind the problem.”
Ira Kantor, a Boston University College of Communication alumnus, has covered crime for the Boston Herald and said the new website could promote an increase in efficiency in the police force during crime waves.
“At the same time, it could be seen as an affront to officers,” he said. “They might feel unfairly judged as individuals who go out and serve in the field.”