How do police determine direction(north, etc.)?

Question

I'm watching cops and the cop says "he's running northbound".

Answer 1

most officers are pretty familiar with thier cities and know what direction they are headed at all times.  It goes along with officer safety, so other officers can find them.

Answer 2

Sense of direction.  Lots of people have it.  Start out with knowing where the sun comes up and where it goes down...and work around that throughout the seasons.

Answer 3

It comes from a familiarity with your surroundings.  You know where you are, what direction you came from, and where you are going.  Once you know that, you have a pretty good idea of which direction you are going.  I can tell you with great accuracy no matter where I am driving or walking within seconds of which direction I am facing/heading.  

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

We make wild guesses and hope we get it right. We determine it by the direction were running. North is North and South is South. Duh!!  

Answer 5

They wet a finger and hold it up.  

Answer 6

It's all about orienation. If you know what roads run north and south east and west you can cordinate with other units. Think about it from our perspective if you said he is going left now right ect... how long would it take for you to get someone to help you. Now say something like Northwest of the stop... at least any jo smuck with a sense of bearing can start working his way in your general direction.

Of course us county boys can always turn to the stars on a cool, crisp night.

Answer 7

They know their area very well, or if its anything like my car, theres a little screen above the rear view mirror that says N Nw E  etc for the directions.