Policophobia

[MVLaHearse]

I have a very specific phobia of police officers and law enforcement. It isn't just a "I don't like cops". This is a full blown panic inducing fear. Anytime I'm even near a police officer or think about police coming to my house, stopping me, or talking to me I start freaking out. My heart pounds, I can't breathe, and my stomach starts hurting. I completely tense up and I can't help it. This, in turn, makes everything worse because they think I'm acting weird because I'm doing or have done something wrong even when I'm innocently going about my business.


Apparently, I've been like this since I was little. I don't recall anything happening when I was small to cause this although I've had run ins as I got older that cemented my phobia. I'm not a criminal, either petty or felonious. My dad is military so I learned to be respectful but I just didn't fit in with the people in the little stuck up town I lived in and the police in the entire county were aggressive and bored. I live in a big city now and the cops don't pay any attention to me so it helps but I still stiffen up and the panic begins.


​​​​​​​Does anyone else have this? I told someone else about it and they said "don't break the law. That's not helpful since I'm not and I'm still dealing with this debilitating fear.

 

[RichE8475]

MVLaHearse I honestly thought that I was the only person in the world that had this irrational fear. My family and friends think I am a little nuts about it, but there are days when I am in my bed under the covers and have my headphones in. I do this because I get it in my head that the police are going to be knocking on my door, and they are going to take me away. My parents were also military, and my mom now works as a nurse at a prison. They say "serve and protect" , but I feel it is "we have power and no one can stop us".


It is funny that you say it has eased up on you since you live in the big city now. I do not think I had as much of a problem with it when I lived in Columbus, but moving back to my hometown in WV I think I am their target. I have never made sense of it myself. Hope you are able to find an answer as to why we feel this way about the police. You are not alone in thinking this.

 

[Corzhens]

I think this phobia is normal for children. When I was young, my mother would always scare me with the cops when I would not eat my meals or when I would commit a mistake at home. Not only in our house but that may be the culture in those days - parents were using the cops to scare their children. Maybe you did not outgrow that phobia hence it lingers. I cannot say what hangup you have with that kind of phobia but definitely you are afraid of doing any crime or even misdemeanor. That attitude may be caused by the vestiges of your childhood that you were trying your best to be a good child so as not to be punished by the police. I'm sure you can easily shed off that phobia by associating or socializing with the cops.

 

[SFOMH88]

Living in a big city probably helps because you tend to blend in with the crowd more and not stand out as much as you would in a less populated area.


Could you go more in depth to what your "run ins" were like? Also, I'm curious, is it just specifically for police officers or is it for any authority figure with a uniform? Like security guards, military, etc.

 

[Panic57]

I don't think that it's irrational anymore to fear cops. With so many of them breaking the law and emptying their guns into citizens, the government lost control of their guard dogs. I think it's completely illogical and unfair that judges and cops are on the same side. There is always going to be a bias for the cops even if they are lying through their teeth. So if they do something wrong, the likelihood they will actually get held accountable is microscopic. Where I live, there was this homeless woman who was walking with her bags and they stopped her for walking. They did a 'body search' that was practically sexual harassment. There are to many cops in my area and they spend most of their time picking on the homeless. So I don't like them but I get that fear when they drive behind you.

 

[Sue]

I have this fear some what but not to the extent that many of you have described. I get really bad aniexty if I have a police car driving behind me. I have such a fear of getting pulled over or doing something wrong. A few months ago I ended up getting a traffic ticket. The police woman who pulled me over was very rude and unprofessional. I was in tears. I ended up with a $300 fine. I went to court to fight it and she got up on the stand and lied about everything. Of course the judge is going to side with the police officer. It was the worse experience ever. Now I am even more fearful when out driving. I see them everywhere and it makes me very anxious even though I am not doing anything wrong. Even talking to a police officer stresses me out.

 

[John Snort]

There are people I know who are very much afraid of cops. And their fear can (when they are around cops) make them act suspicious and the ensuing interview would make things even worse for them and give them a good reason for fearing cops. Come to think of it there is this one movie where some villains convince a new a member of their "crew" that cops are not to be feared because they just are nice guys in uniform. Try to picture them that way. Nice people in uniform. They certainly do have some authority but you fear them less when you "humanize" them.

 

[kgord]

I actually have a small phobia of the police since I have had so many speeding tickets. I usually prefer them to be going int he opposite direction when I see them. It has nothing to do with individual police men and women, but just the chance of being pulled over. This is something I really don't like. I think humanizing them might not work for me because I don]t see them as bad people, I just would rather not interact. Maybe it is a guilty conscience!!!

 

[Laneorexorcist]

I haven't heard about this phobia before but I don't think that is irrational, I don't know what is that fear is related with but I think that we all have our personal fears that doesn't really need or have an explanation.


I don't suffer from this phobia but lately I have been untrusting them way too much, and sometimes when I see them in the streets makes me feel desperate and frustrated. I think that this is more related to the "I don't like cops" kind of thing.

 

[AnnArkist]

I have this too, after being wrongfully jailed and treated badly. I developed PTSD and now anytime I see a cop or cop car I full out panic.

 

[Shweepea]

I have a very specific phobia of police officers and law enforcement. It isn't just a "I don't like cops". This is a full blown panic inducing fear. Anytime I'm even near a police officer or think about police coming to my house, stopping me, or talking to me I start freaking out. My heart pounds, I can't breathe, and my stomach starts hurting. I completely tense up and I can't help it. This, in turn, makes everything worse because they think I'm acting weird because I'm doing or have done something wrong even when I'm innocently going about my business.


Apparently, I've been like this since I was little. I don't recall anything happening when I was small to cause this although I've had run ins as I got older that cemented my phobia. I'm not a criminal, either petty or felonious. My dad is military so I learned to be respectful but I just didn't fit in with the people in the little stuck up town I lived in and the police in the entire county were aggressive and bored. I live in a big city now and the cops don't pay any attention to me so it helps but I still stiffen up and the panic begins.


Does anyone else have this? I told someone else about it and they said "don't break the law. That's not helpful since I'm not and I'm still dealing with this debilitating fear.

I get this too! Although it has been recently. I am a law abiding citizen, but for whatever reason, I have become SO afraid of cops, I never wanna leave the house. I don't even have to see them to get this way, I just think "they are coming after me" "I'm going to be walking and then they will arrest me" the list is ENDLESS!!! I don't know what to do anymore about it. :/

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