By-The-Book Cop: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|"I was guilty as sin, but Valentine couldn't prove it. And he was the rarest breed of law enforcement officer: the type who knew I was breaking the law, but wouldn't break it himself to bust me."|'''Yuri Orlov''', ''[[Lord of War]]''}}

{{quote|"I was guilty as sin, but Valentine couldn't prove it. And he was the rarest breed of law enforcement officer: the type who knew I was breaking the law, but wouldn't break it himself to bust me."|'''Yuri Orlov'''|''[[Lord of War]]''}}

{{quote|"Police work is as much about preventing crime as it is about fighting crime. Most importantly, it is about procedural correctness in the execution of unquestionable moral authority." |'''Nicholas Angel''', ''[[Hot Fuzz]]''}}

{{quote|"Police work is as much about preventing crime as it is about fighting crime. Most importantly, it is about procedural correctness in the execution of unquestionable moral authority." |'''Nicholas Angel'''|''[[Hot Fuzz]]''}}

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.

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{{quote|Daniel [disgustedly]: The law is the only moral code you ever need. You're always so sure about everything.

Kate: I'm sure about some things. I'm sure about murder. How can I not be? }}

* ''[[Who Censored Roger Rabbit? ~~(Literature)~~]]?'': Toon police Captain "Clever" Cleaver, working on the Rabbit murder case doesn't want any loose cannons (e.g. Eddie Valiant) wrestling the long arm of the law away from him. In the not-quite-sequel ''Who Plugged Roger Rabbit?'', Sargeant "Bulldog" Bascomb takes a similar role, but somewhat more similar to [[Da Chief]]. (though Cleaver is still mentioned as the one who habitually hounds Eddie).

* ''[[Who Censored Roger Rabbit?]]'': Toon police Captain "Clever" Cleaver, working on the Rabbit murder case doesn't want any loose cannons (e.g. Eddie Valiant) wrestling the long arm of the law away from him. In the not-quite-sequel ''Who Plugged Roger Rabbit?'', Sargeant "Bulldog" Bascomb takes a similar role, but somewhat more similar to [[Da Chief]] (though Cleaver is still mentioned as the one who habitually hounds Eddie).

* Captain Carrot of [[Discworld]], the [[Literal-Minded]] adoptive son of dwarfs, who is so consistently [[Lawful Good]] that it even rubs off on the otherwise deeply cynical city of Ankh-Morpork.

** "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.