By-The-Book Cop: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

The '''By-The-Book Cop''' is a stock character in [[Cop Show|police shows]] and crime fiction in general. They're the older (and usually whiter) cop, who believes in following the law as it is written, playing by the rules even when the criminal scum they're after does not. A stickler for procedure, the BTBC is quick to chide their rookie partner for playing fast and loose out in the streets, and when they're [[Da Chief]], you'll see them constantly threaten to [[Turn in Your Badge|suspend]] the loose cannon for their impulsive heat-of-the-moment shoot-first-ask-questions-later behavior. If they deem that the situation warrants it, they may ''bend'' the rules slightly, but they'll never go so far as to break them; they are, after all, honest and incorruptible.

 

{{examples}}

== Anime and Manga ==

 

** He slips once when [[The Joker]] was on death row for a crime he might not have committed {{spoiler|and didn't}}. He suggested to Batman that they let Joker fry despite the possibility that he's innocent of this particular crime. Batman tells Gordon that he's going to pretend he didn't say that, and the matter is dropped.

* ''[[Gotham Central]]'' is a [[Police Procedural]] focusing on the Major Crimes Unit of the Gotham City Police Department. Each member of the MCU is hand-picked by the Commissioner of Police in order to insure their integrity and commitment to honest police work, and the series follows them as they try to act honorably [[Bad Cop, Incompetent Cop|in a police department filled with corruption and graft]].

* The title character of ''[[Judge Dredd]]'' is about as extreme as this trope can get. However the the character does grow to question the law every once in a little while, notably just before the "Necropolis" arc and the ongoing issue concerning mutant rights.

 

== Film ==

* ''[[Osmosis Jones]]''. Drix is the BTBC, Osmosis is the [[Cowboy Cop]].

* Sergeant Roger Murtaugh in ''[[Lethal Weapon]]'', at least initially.

* Lt. Ed Exley in ''[[L.A. Confidential]]''. {{spoiler|at least at first}}.

* Inspector David Tosci in ''[[Zodiac (film)|Zodiac]]'' is very by the book both in life and in the film. The film shows all the steps he goes through while pursuing a key suspect in a pretty fair aversion of [[Hollywood Law]], and even in the end he knows there's no smoking gun to prove the killer's identity.

 

== Literature ==

* Geoffrey Briggs, [[Da Chief]] of the NCD in Jasper Fforde's ''[[Nursery Crime]]'', always does things by the book... the crime fiction book, that is. He habitually suspends the detective once in every case for intentional dramatic effect, and trains his cops for the job by making them watch reruns of ''Columbo''.

* In P D James comparatively realistic ''Adam Dagliesh'' series, Kate and Dagliesh both fit this trope well. When Daniel, the third member of the squad, lets a suspect commit suicide rather than face prison, it really shines through. Daniel is disgusted by their (especially Kate's) belief of absoluteness the law, and they actually have an intelligent conversation about it. Paraphrased a little:

** "The Book" in this case being ''The Laws and Ordinances of The Cities of Ankh and Morpork'', published some six generations previously. Carrot isn't just the only copper who follows the book, he's probably the only one who's ''read'' it, since the equally [[Lawful Good]], but much more pragmatic, Commander Vimes got the Librarian to hide it because it was just causing trouble.

* The ''[[In Death]]'' series. Eve somehow manages to be '''both''' this and a [[Cowboy Cop]]! Peabody is a straighter example of By-The-Book Cop but not entirely.

* [[Sano Ichiro]], in the series bearing his name, is an interesting twist as he is also a [[Samurai]]. Unlike many of his compatriots, he actually follows the code of Bushido and is an honest man.

 

* ''[[Alien Nation (TV series)|Alien Nation]]'': George Francisco.

* ''[[The X-Files]]'': Not quite a cop, but a similar example: Director Walter Skinner of the FBI likes things clean and easy, with Mulder and Scully turning in matching reports, preferably with no mention of aliens, [[Mad Scientist|mad science]], or [[Monster of the Week|miscellaneous monstrosities]]. In a way Scully herself plays stern By-The-Book Cop to Mulder's enthusiastic [[Cowboy Cop|cowboyesque]] shenanigans.

** Skinner is no stranger to cowboyish attitude but he is also perfectly aware how dangerous is the environment he is moving in.

* ''[[Due South]]'': Mountie Benton Fraser. Not just that, he goes by [[Fish Out of Water|a completely different book than people might expect]].

* P.C George Dixon of ''Dixon of Dock Green'' is a British example.

** With a rather lax interpretation of the Bill of Rights, however.

* Just about every police officer in a [[Dragnet|Jack Webb]] production. When an exception shows up, it's usually the main characters who have to catch or stop him.

* Signalman from ''[[Gekisou Sentai Carranger]]'', oh so very much. [[Played for Laughs|Played to the hilt for laughs]], of course.

* Sky from ''[[Power Rangers SPD]].'' Constant head-butting with the much more laid-back Jack, naturally.

 

== Radio ==

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

* In ''[[Feng Shui]]'', the By-The-Book Cop is usually a Karate Cop. He may bend the law to serve higher justice, but only if he has no other choice.

 

== Video Games ==

* Katsuya from ''[[Persona 2]]'' is by-the-book to a ridiculous degree, even in supernatural situations where the law shouldn't really apply. (In a reversal of the usual way of this trope, he's quite young; his rule-breaking, dubious-method-using foil, Baofu, is much older.)

* Citadel Security (C-Sec for short) in ''[[Mass Effect]]'' is apparently made up of nothing ''but'' By The Book Cops, if the player is to believe their leader. The outwardly-reserved [[Cowboy Cop]] on your crew split with the force over increasing frustration with C-Sec's regulations; [[Player Character|Commander Shepard]] has the option to either encourage him in his [[Cowboy Cop]] behavior or convince him of the value of doing things by the book.

* Your squad in ''[[SWAT 4]]'', the best score will be awarded to players who follow this trope—handcuff and report all suspects and civilians, subdue suspects with non-lethal methods and bring them in alive unless they're openly hostile, and confiscate all firearms and other evidence.

* ''SWAT'''s predecessor ''[[Police Quest]]'' is similar, docking points or giving game overs for violation. This even extends to procedure that isn't related to handling criminals such as an infamous early game over if you failed to inspect your car exactly as the book says prior to use.

** One might file the judge under this trope. He responds only to presented evidence and testimony, despite his senile appearance.

* Detective Gurski from the [[Murder Mystery]] [[Visual Novel]] ''[[Jisei]]'' spends most of his time guarding the crime scene and making calls to get a background on the victim. He will not hesitate to arrest you if he manages to see you trying to get another look at the body. However, he does defy this trope by encouraging the protagonist to do most of the questioning on his own.

 

== Web Comics ==

** Major Alexia Murtaugh of [[Law Enforcement, Inc.|Sanctum Adroit]]. Naturally, she joined the action as a [[Hero Antagonist]]. After it turned out that their current job stinks and her detachment is set up as the collective [[Fall Guy]], she [[Silent Scapegoat|sacrificed her reputation and was fired]] to set things somewhat right. Later joined the Toughs and tried to somewhat improve the new company.

** Jurisindependent Security Covenant - Sol System's [[Martial Pacifist]] police who are "more like a religion than an armed force". Of course, many thousands of them ended up backstabbed and dead, so there's that.

 

== Web Original ==

{{quote|'''Perfect Partners:'''

After Danny Rizzo loses yet another wisecracking maverick partner to an explosion, he dreads being paired up with still another loose cannon who gets things done. Instead, he gets James Flynn, a cop who likes to do everything the same way he does. When they find themselves reading suspects their Miranda rights in unison, they know this partnership was meant to be.

* Zachary Foxx in ''[[Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers]]'' defaults to this, and was much more "by the book" at the start of the series. His more "colorful" [[Badass Crew]] sometimes rubs off on him, though.

* ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1987]]'' has the Shredder's brother.

 

== Real Life ==

 

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