Since I have already covered Robbers, I thought it was time to talk about Cops!  The Police career gives you a surprisingly high rate of pay (compared to real world cops), some spiffy extras, and of course that nice healthy glow that comes from doing the right thing!

Success in the first half of the Law Enforcement career depends on keeping up your Athletic skill, making friends with your partner (and keeping that friendship level high), bringing up your Logic skill, and writing reports.

Reports can be a little frustrating at first.  Writing a report is a two step process: first you gather the information, then you write the report.  There are two ways to gather information: by questioning another Sim in person, or by rummaging through their garbage can.

To have your police officer Sim question someone, click on them and choose Friendly -> Question.  Let this interaction play out; the other Sim will start talking while your Sim nods and writes things down in a little note pad.  If the interaction is successful, you will get a pop-up message that you have gotten all the information you need.  If the interaction is not successful, they will get annoyed and walk away before you get all of your information.

(I tried questioning three Sims before I gave up on this route. Pro tip: interrogating your friends and random acquaintances makes them a little cranky! Turns out people don't like to be questioned.  Who knew?!)

It is a lot easier to (literally) dig up the dirt on a Sim by rummaging through their trash can.  I have rummaged through several trash cans, even in the middle of the day, and the homeowners have never noticed or complained.  (But seriously, how freaked out would you be if you looked out your window and saw a cop going through YOUR trash?)  

To get information from the trash, just click on the trash can from any occupied residential lot and choose "Rummage."  Your Sim will rummage through the trash until the game tells you that you have collected enough information.  They will also have collected a lot of stuff in their inventory (backpack), and you'll want to be sure to clean it out promptly.  (My Sims usually pick up between three to five units of plain old garbage in one "rummage" session.)

Once you have the information you need for your police report, it's time to write that report!  Click on a computer and choose Writing -> Write Report On… -> click to choose a Sim.  (If you don't have this option available, then you didn't gather enough information, and it's time to start over again.)

The Law Enforcement career, like the Criminal career, is a branching career path.  After the fifth level promotion, you will be asked to choose between the Special Agent branch, or the Forensic Analyst branch.  Both branches essentially earn the same pay (Special Agents make more per hour, but Forensic Analysts work an extra hour per day).  

Both branches require a high Logic skill, so start working on that early!  The Special Agent branch requires Athletic skill, while the Forensic Analyst branch requires Painting skill.