Officers of the law

So we've listed our top "upholders of the law" whether they're undercover cops or detectives or some other police workers. We've rated them according to their efficiency, tenacity, smarts and interpersonal skills. The main idea, though, is thinking who you would rather have investigating, say the murder of your parents (assuming you're not the culprit). You won't see eg. Ed Exley or Bud White, since they work better as a team so you wouldn't want just one of them: you want them both.

1. Det. Lt. Mark McPherson from Laura. He is THE detective. Super efficient, all around good cop and also can show compassion towards victims and those affected by the crime without having his judgment clouded by emotions. You just know he's gonna solve whatever case he's on. In addition, he's a very compelling character.

2. Deputy Molly Solverson from Fargo. Okay, so McDormand is a great character in the movie too, but we just felt that Molly was a little more persistent and stubborn. We also related to her a lot a lot. She would definitely not give up on any case.

2. Det. Jack Vincennes from L.A. Confidential. He's very much on par with McPherson and Molly in the smarts department, but his motives are more affected by self-interest. He has a strong sense of justice, though. He's so committed that he would make sure that his case would be solved even if his own death intervened. 

4. DCI Carol Jordan from Wire in the Blood. She's an amazing team leader and not afraid to be tough with the people who work under her. She has good intuition and skills to read different situations. She's a bit of a workaholic, but of course, you'd want that from a cop.  

5. Nikolai Luzhin from Eastern Promises. It's difficult maybe to say what he'd be like as a normal cop, but he's pretty damn awesome as an undercover one, so we figured he'd probably be the same whatever he did. Out of all the others, we'd say his character is definitely the most intriguing one, as he has to commit some very gruesome and unsavoury acts in order to succeed in his job. 

6. WDC Annie Cartwright from Life on Mars. She's the one you'd want to break the bad news to you. She has hands down the best interpersonal skills and she's very good at reading people. She's incredibly compassionate without being naive. 

7. Detective Somerset from Se7en. This man is the no-nonsense, hard-boiled, bordering on cynical, police officer. He's seen so many bad things in his job though, hence it's no wonder he can seem even pessimistic at times. 

8. Federal Agent Eliot Ness from The Untouchables. He's the "by-the-book" guy, even though in the end he is a bit more flexible in that department. Also a good team leader.

9. William Costigan Jr. from The Departed. He's much like Nikolai apart from being a little more unstable. It's quite understandable, though, undercover jobs must screw with one's head. Also, it's kind of the point of the film to have such a protagonist....We'd still take him as our case officer, though, since he'd get results for sure.

10. Leigh from Assault on Precinct 13. We don't really know what her position in the police force is, but heck, we'd take her working our case any day! She keeps her cool, no matter what, and is undoubtedly efficient and thorough. 

11. John McClane from Die Hard. Now, we're not so sure about his policing skills (and definitely his interpersonal skills lack a certain something), but he is one tenacious bastard. His head is so thick that it would break through any obstacle thrown his way.

11. Ichabod Crane from Sleepy Hollow. He's sharing this spot with McClane as Crane's physical skills are lacking that something (which McClane in turn has). There's nothing wrong with his detecting abilities though. He's an agent for reformation and new practices, which is always good.