A Policeman's Earnings

Collected by Jessica Deutsch (jessica.w.deutsch@vanderbilt.edu)

Summary: Policemen catch young people in compromising situations and bribe them for extra money

Text: In the town where I live, Sewanee, Tn, there is a place called Green's View, where young people go to have sex and do drugs. The police know the kind of things that go on there and bust people routinely. However, if they see that thet people are students from the local university they will not make the bust. They are only interested in getting the local kids in trouble. Often, the police will bribe the young people and not file a report. This extra income is used to support the poliemen, who are not paid very well.

Notes: In Sewanee there is a lot of anymosity between locals and university students. Because the police are employed by the university they don't have a big incentive to bust students. The bribe aspect of the tale shows how the locals view the university police.

Context:

A. Brief Summary of Tale: Policemen catch young people in compromising situations and bribe them for extra money
B. Tale type and Motifs: college tale of young people with sexual motifs
C. Comments on tale: could be true, sounds somewhat plausible
D. Approximate date I first heard the tale: November 1998
E. Relationship of informant to the individual I first heard the tale from: Friend from home
F. Circumstances when the tale was heard: a party
G. Information on Informant:
Age: 19
Sex: female
Place of Birth: Sewanee, Tn.
Ethnic Group: Caucasian
Languages spoken: English
Religion: Episcopalian
Year in School: Sophmore
Extracurricular jobs: gymnastics instructor
Date collected: November 6, 1998