When and where do police officers get to smoke when on duty?

Question

I saw an old episode of COPS and saw an officer smoking in his cruiser? Does the law differ by state?

Do detectives get to smoke when they want to?

Answer 1

If they can munch on donuts non-stop then surely they can further damage their healths by smoking in the cruisers

Answer 2

Depends on the department.

The city I was chief in went on a health kick and the Mayor and City Counsel wanted all the department heads to make the employees cut back on their smoking. Most simply made the smokers smoke outside the building. I ordered that no one smokes while on duty or in uniform. I only had about a dozen smokers in the department but I caught more Union flack for that order than for anything else I did for the 10 years I was Chief. I managed to get the order to stick.

Answer 3

There is a policy in place here that there is no smoking in department vehicles or buildings.

But the Chief is a smoker, so those rules are largely ignored.

Lots of departments are moving towards policies of not allowing officers to smoke on duty. Some are going to the extreme of not hiring smokers.

Answer 4

It depends on department policy. My department has a policy no tobacco products should be used while in public view, but most officers that smoke do it in their cars.

Answer 5

it is a departmental thing, in our department, they would get a day off without pay if they got caught doing that.
They are not allowed when talking to anyone. Normally most are not suppose to while in uniform, but most take a break somewhere out of main public view.

Answer 6

Most police dept. have a no smoking policy and the only place they can smoke is when they are off duty