Detective Jacob "Jake" Peralta is a good enough NYPD cop.
Description
Peralta is a cop that has never had to work that hard or follow the rules too closely. Perhaps because he has the best arrest record among his colleagues, he's been enabled - if not indulged - throughout his entire career. That is, until the precinct gets a new commanding officer, Captain Raymond Holt, who reminds this hotshot cop to respect the badge.
Physical Appearance
Jake is an Ashkenazi Jewish male with dark brown hair and brown eyes.
He is often seen wearing a button-down plaid shirt, a hoodie, jeans and a stylish, black leather jacket. At Captain Holt's request, Jake has taken to sometimes wearing a tie. He used to wear a watch on his left wrist in the earlier episodes, his police badge on a chain around his neck and starting from the Season 5 Finale a wedding ring on his left finger.
Personality
Jake is a very competent detective with an incredibly immature, yet charming personality. He often butts heads with authority and teases his partner, and later wife, Amy Santiago. He has trouble expressing his emotions, preferring to crack jokes, but always shares his feeling eventually. He is extremely intelligent and calculating, but his intelligence is more focused on humour than his work.
He is a very laid-back individual, and takes his job seriously but likes the arresting-bad-guys part the most. Jake clashes with Captain Holt because of the latter's practical, down-to-earth methods against Jake's wisecracking nature. Jake Peralta has abandonment issues, given that his father left him at an extremely young age.
Biography
Jake was born sometime between May 21 and June 20, 1981, in New York City. He is a Jewish New Yorker, raised by his mother after his dad walked out on them when Jake was only seven years old.
As a child, Jake was the shortstop on his little league team. His dad was the coach, and after every game would take the team to Sal's Pizza. Halfway through their last season, Roger Peralta left his wife and son.
Jake attended the same elementary school as Gina Linetti. As children, the two would hang out after school at Jake's Nana's apartment after school.
Young Jake "playing chess."
In Halloween, it is revealed that Jake has an Uncle Bob who taught him to shoot chess and backgammon pieces with a BB gun.
When he was 13, Jake had a crush on Jenny Gildenhorn. They attended his Bar Mitzvah together, where she broke up with him in favor of Eddie Fung. Since then, Jake has continued to hold onto hope that he and Jenny would reunite. He claims that Jenny dumping him is his worst breakup of all time.
Rosa Diaz and Jake were classmates in the police academy. They bonded over their hatred of the training drills. Later, as detectives, they made a pact to trust each other fully when one offered to do 1,000 push-ups if proven wrong.
Jake 8 years before Unsolvable.
Jake has been working at the 99th Precinct for at least 8 years prior to the first season of the show. Before Raymond Holt took over as captain at the Nine-Nine, Jake enjoyed that Captain McGintley would allow him to get away with anything while on the job. He took advantage of McGintley's lax attitude and would participate in games with his coworkers, including The Jimmy Jab Games.
Nicknames and Aliases
Season One
- JP (by Terry)
- Meep Morp (by Holt)
- Detective Right-All-The-Time
Harvey Norgenbloom
- Harvey Norgenbloom: CPA, recently divorced father of two with a dark sexual secret
- Jake-in-the-Box (by Charles)
- Jake Hammer (by Charles)
- Jake Rabbit (by Charles)
- Joke Peralta (by Dustin Whitman)
- Death Wish: because he's always first through the door
- Pineapples (by his grandma and Amy)
- Detective Bart Barley: tightly wound, hates violence against animals
Carl Mangerman
- Carl "Mangy Carl" Mangerman: homeless gentleman, personal assistant to Doug Judy
- Roger Strikewell: won a radio contest to be a guest auctioneer
- Rex Buckingham: British secret agent, ballistics expert, and ladies' man
- Vic Kovac: Ex-Navy SEAL who is double-crossed and left for dead
Dave Blathis
- Dave Blathis: nationally-recognized Fox-Trotter
- Duncan Buck: raised on an oil rig by 90 men and 1 prostitute
Season Two
- Vaughn Tom Tucker: A gruff, spitting, punch-you-in-the-gut sailor man who's taking a little break on dry land, but just until his girlfriend, Cangela, gets out of lady jail.
- Dante Thunderstone: Stole his first car at the tender age of nine. Has had to fend for himself since his mother was struck by lightning while she was pregnant himself. She passed, he lived. Some say that makes Zeus his dad.
- Captain Spike Masters
Season Three
- Sherwin Lemonde: sculptor, painter, full-time barista. But once he sells his first piece, part-time barista.
- Brent Kennedy: OB-GYN
- Larry Sherbert: After being placed in the witness protection program and relocated to Coral Palms, Florida.
Season Four
- Henri Renault: Cat burglar on vacation from France who went to an elite international school so he doesn't speak with an accent.
The Fugitive Pt. 1/The Fugitive Pt. 2
- Carl Mangerson: Lawyer of Maxime Dubois
Season Five
- Det. Jacob Sherlock Peralta: Jake claims to have changed his name legally.
Relationships
Amy Santiago
See Jake and Amy's Relationship
Though Jake and Amy are partners, they have a very competitive relationship. They often try to one-up each other or participate in bets. Though they argue and tease each other, it is clear they have mutual respect and share a close friendship.
As the series progresses their friendship develops into a romantic interest, but they have yet to engage in a relationship.
In the first episode of season 3, they both claim they want to be more than colleagues.
As of season 3, episode 1 titled "New Captain", they are officially dating.
Jake says he figured out he wanted to marry Amy on April 28th, 2017, while they were in bed and Amy pointed out that there was a typo in her crossword puzzle.
As of season 5, episode 4 titled "HalloVeen", Jake and Amy are officially engaged to be married.
As of the season 5 Finale titled Jake & Amy, Jake and Amy are officially married.
Captain Holt
See Jake and Holt's Relationship
Captain Holt and Jake have a very complex relationship. Upon the Captain's arrival, Jake did not make a good impression on him, but the two are shown to warm up to each other throughout the season. It becomes apparent over time that Jake begins to view Holt as a father figure.
Charles Boyle
See Jake and Charles' Relationship
Charles is one of Jake's best friends. Though at time, Charles can be ridiculous, the two look out for each other.
Charles is Jake's biggest cheerleader, often rooting for Jake on almost everything, including his relationship with Amy.
In "The Bet", Charles starts to tease Jake that he may have a crush on Amy. He does the same in "Tactical Village" and encourages Jake to ask out Amy.
Jake is also there to help Charles when he goes "Full Boyle". Later, when Charles gets engaged, he asks Jake to be his best man. Jake is also the one to convince Charles to stand up for himself and tell Vivian that he doesn't want to move to Canada.
Gina Linetti
See Jake and Gina's Relationship
In "The Apartment" it is revealed that Jake and Gina have been friends since childhood. As children, the two would hang out at Jake's nana's house after school. Jake helped Gina get her job as administrative assistant at the precinct. When Jake has trouble raising money to keep his apartment, Gina offers to help him out and the two eventually switch living quarters.
Rosa Diaz
See Jake and Rosa's Relationship
Rosa and Jake met and became friends when they were classmates at the police academy. As detectives, they made a pact called "1,000 Push Ups," as seen in "Pontiac Bandit," where they promised to trust each other's instincts. Since Rosa is a very private person, Jake claims to only know three facts about her personal life.
Gallery
Trivia
- In The Swedes, Jake reveals to Rosa that he is mortally allergic to bees.
- He claims he is physically incapable of growing a moustache. In The Big House Pt. 1, however, Jake is shown having grown a beard and moustache.
- Jake has never been to Florida (until the end of Greg and Larry). He says Pitbull's videos make it seem muy caliente (Very Hot).
- It's implied that his "type" is Latina women.
- He knows the names of all the Transformers.
- Jake is a big fan of the Die Hard movies.
- Jake is half-Jewish.
- Jake is right-handed.
- He loves nachos.
- His favorite musician is Taylor Swift, as revealed in Unsolvable. It is revealed in Mr. Santiago that Jake is not allowed within 500 feet of her, and that the reason why was a misunderstanding.
- Jake might be afraid of heights, as he said that it was "super scary" to look down from the building in The Bet.
- Jake's blood type is revealed to be B+ in Coral Palms Pt. 3.
Quotes
"This job is eating me alive! I can't breathe anymore. I spent so many years trying to be the good guy, the man in the white hat....I'm not becoming like them. I am them!" - Jake quoting Donnie Brasco to a video camera in "Pilot"
"I don't know what's gonna happen on this assignment, and if something bad goes down, I'd be pissed at myself if I don't say this: I kinda wish something...could happen...between us...romantic-stylez. And I know it can't, 'cause you're with Teddy, and I'm going undercover, and that's just how it is. Anyway, we're not supposed to have any contact, so I should go." - Jake to Amy in "Charges and Specs"