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The Officer UFO Witness
Copyright (C) 2008, Richard A. Jones.
Why is the police officer considered a special witness to UFOs? Why are police officers important to the investigation of UFOs?
Nowhere else in the UFO phenomenon is more attention given than to that of the UFO witness. The witness lies at the core of the phenomena, if indeed it isn’t the core itself. In classic UFOlogy the witness is the sole source of data on the topic, providing the raw descriptions of sightings and experiences. Of all the studies and literature on the topic of UFOs, no subject dominates like reports from witnesses. Not all detailed witness reports are considered worthwhile however. More often than not the weight of the report will rest upon the credibility of the witness and the reliability of the witness to observe. Enter the police.
This section provides a review of what makes the officer such a critical observer at the core of UFO phenomenon, an introduction to the police witness/sighting saga, and touches on what progress has been made in providing a system to afford the officer-witness to come forward in order to contribute to the subject. As good a place to start as any, the witness experience provides a practical foundation on which to gradually expand.
2.1. THE WITNESS PROFILE
It cannot be stressed enough that police rank as amongst the highest of credible and reliable witnesses in the UFO field, in literature being compared to astronauts, pilots, and engineer-scientists. Dr J Allen Hynek, in his 1975 FBI briefing, goes so far as to suggest his belief that police are the best witnesses, when he states:
“Experience definitely shows that the best reports, those with the greatest information content, come from technically trained, professional people, especially law enforcement personnel.” [1]
Bill Birnes, chief editor of UFO Magazine, makes the case explicitly in the television show “UFO Hunters – Cops vs UFOs”, that “Police officers are the most credible witnesses who are trained to observe.”[2]
In terms of rating our witness sources, when we talk of the ‘police witness’ we are profiling. Like law enforcement agencies, UFOlogist have long known the importance of witness profiling, but reports, reviews and catalogues on the subject are difficult to obtain because of the security involved in protecting the witness.
However the casual assertion that police are the best UFO witnesses has become so prevalent that it has almost assumed a sense of cliché amongst the UFO research community. Questions and discussion do arise, and since the police witness is so critical to our inquiry, it seems fitting to elaborate on those two basic assumptions: That the police officer is credible, and that the police officer is a reliable observer.
2.1.1. Credibility
The public will admit the obvious authority that comes with the uniform, and also in a court of law. Many have argued that should the UFO debate ever make it to a fair court of law, the issue would have been resolved long ago. There are obviously those who do not agree that authority in itself is enough to consider the officer to be a credible witness.
What comes with the authority however, is a deep requirement for responsibility and accountability. Experienced officers have a lot to loose in coming forth with their amazing stories, or as Hynek calls, “credible people with incredible stories”[3], in the eye of the public, professionally and in the eyes their peers. We have mentioned earlier the culture of policing in general, and so it is not lightly that the officer makes a report. Outside of formal research, this credibility quickly comes into question. Bill Birnes, in the same UFO Hunters episode, makes the case that, "These are the people whose eyewitness testimony we trust is credible, 'except' when it comes to UFOs, and that's what's so frightening to me."[4]
And yet their stories continue to go on record, and this in itself leads one to consider that something extraordinary is going on. What profound and very real experiences are these officers having?
And it is for this reason more than any other, one might ultimately confess, that the officer does, albeit in general, make a rather credible witness.
2.1.2. The Reliable Observer
Does the officer make a good UFO observer? The police officer is definitely a trainer observer, and many police can rightly claim also to be experienced observers, so we are half way there. But does this qualify the officer as the best observer, and more remarkably, a good observer of unusual aerial phenomena? The answer is not always straightforward.
We must take into account the experience of the particular officer. For example an officer with many years of night surveillance, maybe near an airport, or perhaps even a previous history in avionics, would certainly make the case for a good UFO observer.
The public has not considered all the avenues, if it has assumed that the officer is not a special observer of unusual aerial phenomena. There is another characteristic of the officer that makes the case for a strong observer. When Hynek was referring to his list of good observers, including law enforcement personnel, the point he was making was that the experienced professional mind was most capable of articulating the observation in detail. And therefore, it is the ability and experience of the officer to reliably report the observation that makes the reliable observer.
There is, further, yet another important aspect that must be considered. If by “reliable observer” we were to interpret that the officer is in a position that is fortunate for the observation of UFO phenomena, then this too clearly suits our nocturnal police patrols, or fits the bill, one might say. It must be acknowledged that the night-shift officer on the beat is certainly at a statistical advantage for witnessing strange nocturnal happenings.
Blogging on Nicholas Redfern’s site, regarding this issue, Bill Hancock stated: "All told, I’d say the law enforcement agencies have a HIGH LIKELIHOOD rate of seeing “off-the-wall” things and investigating them. How much of that gets to the public through the media is problematical, but if you tell me a UK police official has a lot of saucer stories to tell, I’ll believe it in a heartbeat. Same for France, Belgium, or anywhere else you’d care to name."[5]
2.1.3. Response, Coordination and Investigation
The mere sighting of an anomalous object by one officer might be easy to dismiss. However, the officer is part of a team, and UFO sightings are often made in response to call-ins from the public, coordinated alongside reports from other officers and investigated with nearby weather and airport RADAR facilities and military bases. In other words, the officer who sights a UFO is able to coordinate a response with other police units, respond, and even investigate. The UFO sighting in such cases becomes a correlated event, holding even more credence.
Based on an excerpt from "Australian Policing and UFOs".
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1. Hynek, J. Allen, “FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin”, February 1975.
2. William J Birnes, "UFO HUNTERS - Cops Vs UFOs", History Channel.
3. Hynek, J. Allen, "The UFO Experience”.
4. William J Birnes, "UFO HUNTERS - Cops Vs UFOs", History Channel.
5. Bill Hancock's Blog, February 14th, 2007, 8:37am, UFO Mystic, The Redfern Files, Nick Redfern
See Also ...
Are Military and Police Witnesses Any More Reliable Than Civilians?
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