Sleeping on the job is apparently a large enough issue for the NYPD that certain lieutenants, dubbed “integrity control officers,” are in charge of keeping and monitoring a list of places in the precinct that are off-limits to cops for fear that they might catch a quick nap. Each morning, the integrity control officer patrols the nap zones to ensure no officers are cheating.
The 108th Precinct, in Queens, includes such forbidden nap zones as Cavalry Cemetery and Newtown Creek, as well as three “isolated dead-end streets,” according to a New York Times report. The Times details the kind of punishment a cop caught snoozing might face:
In 2011, at least four officers were docked vacation days after they were caught sleeping on the job. Punishments ranged from 15 to 35 days. In most instances, the officers were dozing in their patrol car, but one sergeant had been discovered “sleeping in the locker room,” according to disciplinary records. The sergeant in question was the only patrol supervisor working that night in his command; as a result, “he failed to visit any subordinates” or respond to any 911 calls.
Some officers told the paper the best way to catch a snooze is in the car, while you’re partner is driving. Next time you see a cop in the passenger seat with sunglasses on looking zonked, you know why.
(Photo: Sean MacEntee/Flickr)
