How do cops know they are going West/East/North/South on streets?

Question

When i watch Cops or a TV show/Movie with cops, they always state if they are going West/South/north/East on what ever street they are on, what i want to know if how do they know what direction they are going on the streets?

I use something thats called a in dash car GPS, i also go by street names or landmarks in my area.

I just dont know if i am going south, north, west, east on a road, except if its an high way since it basically tells you.

Answer 1

As far as on foot is concerned (not in a car and without a compass) its just general awareness and familiarity with the territory. Surprisingly, its not an ability all Police Officers have (keeping direction on foot), but the ones who have it and use it are very apt to keeping track of surroundings. I do it by comparing the way I'm facing with the bay nearby (the bay is always due North, so if i know my back is to the bay, I must be going south) Also note, the bay doesn't have to be in view either, as long as there is some land mark (house, building, etc) I can place it in relation to where the bay is (miles away) and in relation to me so I know which direction I'm going. Also, in car chases direction isn't true direction. For example, I could be driving on 28 North, but really I'm moving in an Easterly Direction, but overall 28 travels North to South hence why its 28 North, not 28 East.

Answer 2

When direction is so important for getting help and back up to you, you learn which direction is which, also streets only run two directions, it's not like one day it runs north/south and the next it's east/west...

Answer 3

Dont you ever watch the sun set? It sets West, so if your going anywhere near that you know in your mind your going West. If you cant figure out the rest of the directions from there, its maybe a good thing you have GPS or you would be lost all the time. I never heard of anyone that just srictly relies on their handy-dandy GPS system.

Answer 4

Freeways obsivously are clearly marked for direction. City streets aren't. So when we get onto city streets, we mostly use surrounding freeways direction to determine the direction we are heading. But in some events, you use actual direction. If your next to the coast and your heading towards the coast, you will say "westbound".

Answer 5

After a while you just figure it out. I had it rough at one time. I went from a precinct where the main streets went E and W....I go transferred to a precinct where the main streets went N and S. It had me a little confused for a few days.

Answer 6

Are you serious? Do you have that poor of a sense of direction? I always know what direction I am traveling. Not to mention having been in law enforcement, when you drive the same streets every night, you better know which way you're going.

How do you find you way anywhere if you can't tell what direction you are going?

Answer 7

They probally have GPS, something people put in their cars for navigation and they probally know the streets where they work very well just like the pizza delivery boy and taxi drivers or bus drivers.

Answer 8

If you do anything all day every day for years, you can't help learning what you are doing. Patrol officers spend much of their time on the streets. They can't help knowing there way around.

Answer 9

They drive up and down those streets every day. A lot of it is familiarity.
Part of ensuring your own safety as a police officer is knowing exactly where you are at all times.

Answer 10

How can you NOT know what direction you are going on streets, or anywhere else for that matter?