Detroit's 17th Precinct (Thanks, CroatianAlzheimers!)

Detroit's 17th Precinct is "The Heartbeat" for current and retired Detroit cops. A retired cop created the site back in 1996, and with all the goofy animated gifs and midis you'd think he hadn't touched it since, were it not for the blinking "Updated 10/15/2012" notice at the top of page 2.

The site mainly serves as a resource for retired cops who want to find out if any of their ex-co-workers died, but it also features some delightful cop memes and in-jokes, like a "How To Spot A Veteran" cartoon ("choking arm" seems a bit much...) and the slogan "Crime Doesn't Pay... And Neither Does... FIGHTING IT!" My favorite is this amazing gif of a T-shirt:

There's also a copious amount of GOD BLESS AMERICA gifs. Wow, who knew the sassy old lady from the greeting cards was so patriotic?

Cops have been in the news lately for all the wrong reasons, so it might surprise you to learn the boys in blue are sensitive souls who write poetry. Or, rather, they use their "Poems" page to share things other people wrote, mostly FWD: FWD: FWD: chain-letter bullshit about how hero cops don't get no respect. Surely you remember the classic episode of Dragnet where Joe Friday goes on a 10-minute rant about being a police officer??

To protect the site against copyright issues, the webmaster claims "There never was a 17th Precinct in Detroit," and by jove that does appear to be the case. I'll admit that's a plot twist I didn't see coming.

– Adam "rubber cat" Jameson (@robbercat)