History Main / NoBadgeNoProblem

* ZigZagged in ''Series/{{Astrid}}''. Astrid Nielsen is an autistic AmateurSleuth whose day job is handling documents at the Criminal Records building, but, partnered with Judicial Police Commander Raphaëlle Coste, regularly examines crime scenes and corpses and sometimes even interviews witnesses (though this is rare because her challenges with social cues make this difficult). Up until the season 2 finale, this is largely let slide because she's so helpful, but then her attempt to [[ClearTheirName clear the name of an innocent woman]] turns into a HostageSituation that [[spoiler:ends with Raph getting shot in the shoulder trying to protect the real killer from the hostage-taker]], leading to Astrid getting banned from taking part in any further investigations. However, in the season 3 premiere, she manages to impress the Prefect of Police when she helps resolve a murder case that turned political. The Prefect overturns her firing, but only on condition that Astrid attend and pass police academy within the year. [[spoiler:She does, almost by accident,[[note]]She walked out of the oral exam because of a EurekaMoment in the Case of the Week, but [[BunnyEarsLawyer her willingness to prioritize solving the case over keeping her job impressed the examiners and they passed her]].[[/note]] and is given the rank of lieutenant in the judicial police, ending the show's use of the trope altogether.]]

-->-- ''Series/{{Castle}}'', [[Recap/CastleS2E14TheThirdMan "The Third Man"]]

* In ''Series/{{Castle}}'', although merely a shadowing writer, Richard Castle has been given a lot of responsibility within the unit, including questioning witnesses and examining evidence and crime scenes (albeit always with Beckett observing him). Lampshaded in one episode where he excitedly calls a newspaper to acquire confidential information after a brainwave, only to stop when they ask him who he is and hand the phone over to Beckett, sheepishly admitting that "I sometimes forget I'm not actually a cop."

** Dr. Henry Morgan, a medical examiner, isn't a cop, has no badge, and has little authority outside the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, but he nevertheless accompanies Jo to interview (potentially dangerous) witnesses and when doing things like searching Grand Central for a potential mass murderer. Occasionally justified by having an antique of some sort involved, as Henry is also part-owner of an antiques store and can serve as an expert in the field.
** Lieutenant Reece ''encourages'' Henry to visit a club owner by a suspect her detectives are barred from approaching in "Punk Is Dead," pointedly explaining she has no authority over someone who works for the OCME; again in "The Night In Question" she tells Jo that no one with a badge is allowed to interview a suspect, then when Henry agrees she tells him firmly she wasn't talking to him, and Jo jerks her head towards the interview room to encourage Henry to go in.

-> '''Rick Castle:''' ''(to the ''New York Ledger'' over the phone)'' Yes, I would like vacation hold information on two of your subscribers, please. Who am I? I... ''(to Beckett)'' I sometimes forget I'm not actually a cop.\\

!!Examples

[[folder:Film]]
* ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'': Ex-police officer (and current private investigator) Eddie Valiant is brought along to the Acme Factory crime scene by his friend Lieutenant Santino. While there he tries to steal a piece of evidence: the joy buzzer in Marvin Acme's hand. He's caught red-handed by Judge Doom but Santino explains away his action by saying that Valiant was just getting the item for Doom.

* ''Film/TheBravados'': When the surviving outlaws cross the Rio Grande into Mexico, the {{Posse}} pursuing them has to stop. Jim Douglass merely notes that that he isn't a lawman and rides across the river after them.

* In ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'', though they ''do'' have authorization to be at crime scenes under the {{Masquerade}} of "special ops", and one of their group ''is'' a trained police officer, the rest of Torchwood Three consist of a pathologist, a computer expert/hacker, and...[[WhatExactlyIsHisJob the guy who gets everywhere to work on time and looks good in a suit]]. In one episode, [[spoiler:Jack has to call the police, who are not happy with this arrangement, for help when everyone but Gwen winds up locked in the base with no power; the officer who takes the call puts it on speaker and calls the entire station over to mock them]].
%%* The guys on ''Series/{{Hustle}}'' do this with some regularity, as does the team on ''Series/{{Leverage}}''. '''ZERO CONTEXT EXAMPLE'''

* ''Series/NewTricks'' averts this. Brian, Jack and Gerry are retired police officers and are usually pretty good at identifying themselves as such. However, they do work for the police department as investigators so they have the official authority to question people and access police records. They do ''not'', however, have powers of arrest; when Ted detains a suspect in one episode to prevent her from avoiding their questioning, he pays for it later.
* Patrick Jane of ''Series/TheMentalist'' will usually inform people that he is merely a consultant and not an actual police officer. However, when he deems it necessary he has no qualms about letting people think that he is a full CBI agent.
* In the ''Series/BlueBloods'' episode "The Uniform" Danny Reagan's Case of the Week involves an NYPD Auxiliary Officer[[note]]a volunteer reserve police force which is a subdivision of the NYPD Patrol Services Bureau[[/note]] who shot a guy trying to rob his uncle's diner. The auxiliary in question brought along his own gun, in violation of Auxiliary Police policy[[note]]Auxiliary officers in New York City are not permitted to carry a sidearm at any time on duty, even if they are independently licensed to carry a firearm, like this guy was. In other jurisdictions within New York State, some police departments do allow their Auxiliary Police officers to carry a firearm.[[/note]]. It was eventually ruled a good and justified shooting, and the auxiliary even got into the police academy later on.
* ''Series/{{Bones}}'':
** Dr. Temperance "Bones" Brennan is a forensic anthropologist who studies the bones of human remains. She works with FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth to work on cases which require her expertise, and frequently helps interview witnesses and conduct interrogations. In the pilot she even went to arrest the murderer by herself, kneecapping him in the process. (The show admitted this was technically assault with a deadly weapon and she was chewed out both for the crime and general foolhardiness, but no charges were filed.) In her case, they at least explain that her main condition for assisting the FBI is that she be allowed to do the fieldwork not just stay in the lab (because the human side fascinates her even if she doesn't understand it). The other "squints" don't get nearly as much leeway as her, as Booth is always quick to remind them of the boundaries if they get overzealous.
** A VictimOfTheWeek was a data analyst for the CIA. When his superiors refuse to investigate a possible diamond smuggling operation he discovers, he investigates it himself despite having no field experience, training, or authority. [[spoiler:He ends up getting a star on [[TheDeadHaveNames the CIA memorial wall]], an honor normally reserved for operatives, for losing his life and [[TortureIsIneffective resisting torture]] when he was captured by the enemy.]]
* ''Series/MidsomerMurders'': One episode has Barnaby be removed from a case because his wife is tangentially connected to it. His replacement being a perfectly intolerable little dipstick, Barnaby gets to the witnesses first without mentioning he's not on the case.

* Shawn Spencer from ''Series/{{Psych}}'' will often tell people he's "The Head Psychic for the SBPD" as if he's an actual officer, when he's actually a consultant/hired-on PrivateDetective. Doesn't stop him from investigating everything and everyone vaguely connected to a high profile or interesting case, even cases he hasn't actually been hired for it. DaChief puts up with it because he gets results. It's to the point cops from other jurisdictions have assumed ''Shawn'' is the boss and Detective Lassiter is supposed to answer to ''him'', rather than the other way around (though in a comedic twist, sometimes that's because Shawn ''told'' them as much).

* In ''Series/DaVincisInquest'' Da Vinci, being the coroner, is often the first person allowed at a crime scene, and gains special civilian privileges that allow him to access areas the police can't.
* Dr. Quincy from ''Series/QuincyME'' was a medical examiner who took an [[TheMainCharactersDoEverything unrealistically active]] role in investigating deaths. Within the first season alone, he interviews witnesses and suspects (in the pilot he follows a lead to Mexico!), chases and captures crooks, locks down a hotel to investigate a possible epidemic, and conducts examinations of witnesses in coroner's court. Quincy's [[DaChief supervisor]] and the actual cops frequently remind him that he isn't a policeman, but of course if he listened we wouldn't have a show.
* The unaired ''Series/WonderWoman2011Pilot'' had a particularly bizarre version of this. Wonder Woman appears to be completely above the law, while at the same time her actions have legal consequences. This allows her to torture information out of a suspect in police custody to find a secret lab. The police can't use that information because it was retrieved through torture, but Wonder Woman herself faces no consequences for torturing a man. Then she breaks into that lab. The police can then come investigate because it's now a crime scene, but again Wonder Woman is completely off the hook for committing those crimes.
* {{Subverted}} in the second episode of ''Series/{{Quantico}}''. After washing out of the FBIAgent training program Caleb comes back as an analyst trainee. He tries to follow his former classmates to a simulated bust, but is sent back to his seat by the instructors because analysts stay in the office.
* In ''Series/TheCoroner'', Jane (the eponymous coroner) tends to take a far more active role in investigations than she really should, with Davey sometimes having to remind her that she is not a cop. Of course, she sometimes takes advantage of the fact that she isn't a cop to get witnesses and suspects to reveal things they would never tell the police.

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]

[[folder: Visual Novels]]

* The ''Literature/{{Howdunit}}'' series is a collection of books meant to help writers write police and crime material more realistically. In ''Literature/PrivateEyesAWritersGuideToPrivateInvestigating'', the authors are ''very'' explicit that private detectives and investigators have no more power than the average citizen. Their advantage comes from them being able to chase a lead down -with preferably legal civilian methods- and concentrate on a single case as long as they are being paid for it.

* ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'': Phoenix does this constantly, and often ''[[KleptomaniacHero swipes evidence]]'' from the scene of the crime, and gets info out out the police. Justified in that, the in-universe laws allow for this, and Phoenix often has to prove that he's connected to the case as a lawyer by showing his attorney badge.

* {{Subverted}} in the second episode of ''Series/{{Quantico}}''. After washing out of the FBIAgent training program Caleb comes back as an analyst trainee. He tries to follow his former classmates to a simulated bust, [[RealityEnsues but is sent back to his seat by the instructors because analysts stay in the office]].

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'', Spongebob is made a hall monitor by Mrs. Puff. He then thinks that he can use the authority to help people outside of his boating school, so he goes to the Bikini Bottom city and finds that the traffic light's broken. Then he steps up as a traffic police and helps the boats cross the crossroads in his usual haphazard fashion. Nothing seems to be bad, until he goes off and it's revealed to the audience (unbeknownst to him) that those cars he helped are piling up in a giant crash. [[RealityEnsues He's then wanted by the police for this.]] To compound this, [=SpongeBob=] deputizes Patrick, who puts on an ice-cream cone in lieu of an uniform. When the real police arrive, Patrick calls them "brothers" and points at the cone as if they would instantly know what it means.

* CopsNeedTheVigilante: The cops are secretly allied to a vigilante who breaks the rules that they cannot. Unlike this trope, they don't have any official ties to the police.

* CopsNeedTheVigilante: The cops are secretly allied to a vigilante who breaks the rules that they cannot.

* ''Series/NewTricks'' averts this. Brian, Jack and Gerry are retired police officers and are usually pretty good at identifying themselves as such. However, they do work for the police department as investigators so they have the official authority to question people and access police records.

* ''Discworld/MenAtArms'' offers the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' example of Corporal Carrot Ironfoundersson, who in the absence of Captain Vimes assumes command not only of the night watch, but also the whole City Watch and an increasingly large and well-armed Citizens' Militia. He does this by force of personality and the (unspoken) fact that he is the heir to the throne of Ankh-Morpork. Effectively he is assuming a police rank he has no official title to, but he is only called out twice: once when Sergeant Fred Colon attempts to re-assert ''his'' superior rank (but Fred bows to the inevitable and ends up calling Carrot "sir" and taking his orders -- at least partly because he quickly decides that whatever's happening, he does ''not'' want to be held responsible for it). A second attempt is made by the soon-to-be-disgraced Captain Quirke, but Carrot deals directly with this. The next morning, even Lord Vetinari is certain Carrot is out to usurp ''his'' rank too...

* Shawn Spencer from ''Series/{{Psych}}'' will often tell people he's "The Head Psychic for the SBPD" as if he's an actual officer, when he's actually a consultant/hired-on PrivateDetective. Doesn't stop him from investigating everything and everyone vaguely connected to a high profile or interesting case, even cases he hasn't actually been hired for it. DaChief puts up with it because he [[ButHeGetsTheJobDone gets results]]. It's to the point cops from other jurisdictions have assumed ''Shawn'' is the boss and Detective Lassiter is supposed to answer to ''him'', rather than the other way around (though in a comedic twist, sometimes that's because Shawn ''told'' them as much).

* In ''Series/DaVincisInquest'' [=DaVinci=], being the coroner, is often the first person allowed at a crime scene, and gains special civilian priviliges that allow him to access areas other policemen can't.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'', Spongebob is made a hall monitor by Mrs. Puff. He then thinks that he can use the authority to help people outside of his boating school, so he goes to the Bikini Bottom city and finds that the traffic light's broken. Then he steps up as a traffic police and helps the boats cross the crossroads in his usual haphazard fashion. Nothing seems to be bad, until he goes off and it's revealed to the audience (unbeknownst to him) that those cars he helped are piling up in a giant crash. [[RealityEnsues He's then wanted by the police for this.]]
** To compound this, [=SpongeBob=] deputizes Patrick, who puts on an ice-cream cone in lieu of an uniform. When the real police arrive, Patrick calls them "brothers" and points at the cone as if they would instantly know what it means.

* In ''Series/TheListener'', Toby is a consultant for the IIB because of his mind reading powers. As a consultant, he's at the IIB's beck and call, but sometimes it seems like he is just another law enforcement officer: he often directs other police officers, executes warrants, leads interrogations, etc.

* ''Film/TheThomasCrownAffair1999'': Catherine is working on behalf of the insurance agency responsible for the stolen painting, essentially a property bounty hunter. However, she behaves as if she's a sworn police officer, being allowed to interrogate suspects, but also performs actions that range from the stupid (informing Thomas Crown that he's the primary suspect, then later sleeping with him), to the outright illegal (copying Crown's keys so she can break into his mansion). She does get called out on some of her actions, but nothing really comes of it.

Related but different tropes:

----

* Dr. Quincy from ''{{Series/Quincy}}'' was a medical examiner who took an [[TheMainCharactersDoEverything unrealistically active]] role in investigating deaths. Within the first season alone, he interviews witnesses and suspects (in the pilot he follows a lead to Mexico!), chases and captures crooks, locks down a hotel to investigate a possible epidemic, and conducts examinations of witnesses in coroner's court. Quincy's [[DaChief supervisor]] and the actual cops frequently remind him that he isn't a policeman, but of course if he listened we wouldn't have a show.

[[folder: Video Games ]]
* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'': Phoenix does this constantly, and often [[KleptomaniacHero swipes]] ''[[KleptomaniacHero evidence]]'' from the scene of the crime, and gets info out out the police. Justified in that, the in-universe laws allow for this, and Phoenix often has to prove that he's connected to the case as a lawyer by showing his attorney badge.