Building a "Cop" in 5E

[Edgerunner]

I have been wanting to play a Cop type character in 5E and am wondering what would be a Solid build.

City Watch (Investigator) background. At least 1 lvl of Rogue, cause you gotta Know how the Bad Guys think before you can arrest them.

Idea #1 straight up Thief or Swash. just play them like a Cop character.

#2 Rogue1 / FighterX. Pretty much self explanatory.

#3 Rogue1 / PaladinX. Kicks in the door with a Hand Crossbow in one hand while holding up his Holy Symbol. "No one move. You are All under Arrest!"

Any suggestions would be Greatly appreciated

[Spellbreaker26]

Arcane Trickster rogue. Use Find Familiar like a spy camera.

[Edgerunner]

Arcane Trickster rogue. Use Find Familiar like a spy camera.

I did Think about it but If I can cast spells I don't want to go above a Half-Caster. That's just my personal opinion however.

[Honest Tiefling]

I reeeeaaaaally want to suggest a bard so you can attack people with one-liners, but I think my brain is stuck on Action Movie Cops.

Are you building this for a particular game, or just to have on standby? If the former, I'd suggest looking at other character builds to see what would work best. If the latter...I'd go the lazy route and ask if you see him as being a purely physical grizzled guy who does the dirty work to jail the bad guys, or a more charismatic or smoothtalker who can bluff in a pinch. What archetype are we going for here?

[Edgerunner]

I reeeeaaaaally want to suggest a bard so you can attack people with one-liners, but I think my brain is stuck on Action Movie Cops.

Are you building this for a particular game, or just to have on standby? If the former, I'd suggest looking at other character builds to see what would work best. If the latter...I'd go the lazy route and ask if you see him as being a purely physical grizzled guy who does the dirty work to jail the bad guys, or a more charismatic or smoothtalker who can bluff in a pinch. What archetype are we going for here?

Grizzled Lawful Neutral Police detective. He's no Zealot, he'll let the small fish go cause he's after the Big Fish kinda character.

[Misterwhisper]

Inquisitive Rogue would be great fo a detective type.

Fighter Knight for the idealistic beat cop.

Ranger beast master for the k9 unit.

Divination Wizard csi.

Great Old One tome lock as the creepy old medical examiner that just loves his job too much.

Vengeance Paladin as the forever pissed off captain who is so by the book everyone hates him.

[Spellbreaker26]

I did Think about it but If I can cast spells I don't want to go above a Half-Caster. That's just my personal opinion however.

Arcane tricksters are third-casters though, aren't they? They certainly aren't fullcasters.

[Edgerunner]

Arcane tricksters are third-casters though, aren't they? They certainly aren't fullcasters.

My Bad. You are Correct.

[Lonely Tylenol]

Paladin with Oath of the Crown gets Command, Zone of Truth, and Geas as "always-on" spells (Command to say "halt!" or "freeze!", Zone of Truth for interrogations, Geas to help enforce punishments and conditions for rehabilitation), and can use its Channel Divinity to prevent a creature from running from it. ("Drop your weapon and get on the ground!") Additionally, they can soak damage for others, which fits the "Protect" component of "Protect and Serve" on its own. It's at least seven levels long for a "police officer" feel.

Dirtier cops, or undercover cops, or whatever, have dipped Inquisitor Rogue.

[NecroDancer]

Rouge 2/Battle Master fighter X for a gritty street cop.

Your actions will be cunning

Your attacks can be sneaky

You are known for your expertise

You have all the maneuvers

Take magic initiate to get Message (communication device), Friends (for interrogation) and Hex (to enhance the grittiness).

If your DM let's you take Hunters Mark instead of Hex than that's better. Try to get a broom of flying (to get a segway).

[StorytellerHero]

There are a number of spells in the supplemental spells section of my artificer design book on DMsGuild (PWYW) that were designed with bounty hunting, investigation, and law enforcement in mind.

Bio Scan, Cadaver Analysis, and Rotation Sphere are a few recommendations.

http://www.dmsguild.com/product/204687/THE-ARTIFICER-5e-Revised

[Draco4472]

Inquistive rogue from the Gothic Characters UA would fit a detective perfectly. Otherwise I'd go fighter or paladin as a defender of a city.