Any police officers/ex-police officers on here?

6StringShooter · Jul 24, 2007

Hey yall,

I'm looking at possibly pursuing an opening for a police officer in a nearby town. I've never done anything remotely related to law enforcement, but it seems like it would be very enjoyable and rewarding. I have a 4-year degree in Political Science and I'm EMT certified (which they are looking for). What would you folks on here comment about police work (to a total newbie)? What should I expect in the police academy (pending my hiring). What is your favorite or least favorite part of the job? Thanks so much!

Nashoba · Jul 24, 2007

I was a cadet in college, I worked for our university police department (yes it was a 'real' police department) as an evidence technician and clerk as well as a back-up dispatcher. When I graduated I became a dispatcher for a local city about a half hour from where I lived. I used to go out on patrol with the officers daily in college. Our academy as cadets was not nearly what it is in the 'real' world but it was still good training. I have personally found that if you go into something expecting it to be ridiculously hard, it usually isn't as bad as you thought it would be. My favorite part of being out on patrol with the officers was the uncertainty. In any given day we could be directing traffic one moment and be in a pursuit or setting up a permiter the next. The best part for me though was helping people and feeling like I was really contributing to the community. What I hated the most were the hours. I spent a few years on midnights and we worked 12 hour shifts. The nice part though was that I always had 3 day weekends

That and because I was really low on the food chain I worked every single holiday. All of them. Overall though I loved it. And I miss it. I left law enforcement right before I got married and it's one of the few things (career wise) that I truly do miss.
Just a bit of advice if you get hired. Be kind to your dispatchers. We're much happier to do things for our officers when they're nice to us

Treat your dispatcher badly and she'll be much slower in your returns and about helping you in general

Call it our revenge for being in the box for 12 hours a day lol.

ScionPI2005 · Jul 24, 2007

I may not be a police officer, but my job experience and career choice is fairly similar.

I have been a training private investigator for two years, mainly working unsolved homicides probono in the New Mexico area. My supervisor is Ex Law Enforcement and has been a PI for over twenty years.

I have also had experience working with patrol officers as a volunteer neighborhood patrolman, and also as a security patrol guard at my university where I am getting my degree.

I can tell you that what I enjoy most about my career of choice is the spontaneity. Every day is different and all cases you work on follow a different path. I also enjoy this career because I see it as one that can challenge me. I know that even twenty or thirty years down the line, I will still have many things to learn. This is not the sort of career where you learn it all within just a few years, and perform the same actions over and over again throughout your career, yielding the same results. I guess I just couldn't work that way.

Most challenging thing so far has been staying focused and staying encouraged. Investigative work takes a lot of discipline, patience, understanding, knowledge of the courts and law, as well as learning the art of report writing. I think for anyone, it can be hard to stay motivated and determined.

All in all, police/investigative work is a fascinating and respectable field.

6StringShooter · Jul 24, 2007

thank you all so much for the replies! I really appreciate all of the input. I go in for my written exam this saturday!

ScionPI2005 · Jul 24, 2007

Good luck! We shall be rooting for you!

Gaige · Jul 25, 2007

Hey there, 6StringShooter!

I am currently a Police Officer for the city of Sarasota, Florida.

Before this, I was a U.S. Marine.

I can tell you... this job is absolutely amazing across the board. As one of my Sgts put it, "...it's the front-row seat to the Greatest Show on Earth."

And he's correct.

The biggest bit of advice I can give you: Try your hardest... try damn hard... to not become jaded. You will see the worst that humanity has to offer on a nightly basis... day-in and day-out, without fail. You'll see extreme humor, then 10 minutes later something so heart-wrenching you'll have trouble talking about it weeks later. It comes with the job. You simply cannot allow this to make you bitter towards every aspect of life; I've seen it happen to others and it's a real danger. You have to take what you see and experience and allow it to enrich your personal life by not taking for granted what you and yours have.

But nowhere... and I mean nowhere, will you find the freedom you have while on patrol... and the guarantee that every night will be different.

I go home after my shift knowing that I made a difference in some way.

Try finding that at a 9-5 corporate gig.

Good luck, and if you have any questions at all, please let me know. I'll do what I can to assist!

Regards,
-Derek

Nashoba · Jul 25, 2007

I fully agree about becoming jaded. It's really really hard. Also if you don't have a dark sense of humor already, the people around you may notice a change to that direction. Just a coping mechanism.

And don't forget!
Be nice to your dispatchers

Gaige · Jul 25, 2007

I agree... however, sometimes it's hard, depending on who happens to be working...

Me: "Ah, Zone 8, dispatch..."

Dispatch: "Go ahead, Zone 8"

Me: "10-4... you just sent me to a call in Zone 1; I'm still on my traffic stop and Zones 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 are all available..."

Dispatch: "10-4, Zone 8"

- silence -

- a few seconds pass -

Me: "Zone 8, dispatch, did you copy my last?"

Dispatch: "10-4, Zone 8, are you enroute?"

Me: (ready to bash my head against the steering wheel) "Um, no, dispatch. I... am.... on... a.... traffic... stop..."

Dispatch: "10-4 Zone 8. Zone 2, can you respond to a..."

You get the point.

akaBruno · Jul 25, 2007

Gaige said:
Hey there, 6StringShooter!

I am currently a Police Officer for the city of Sarasota, Florida.

Before this, I was a U.S. Marine.

I can tell you... this job is absolutely amazing across the board. As one of my Sgts put it, "...it's the front-row seat to the Greatest Show on Earth."

And he's correct.

The biggest bit of advice I can give you: Try your hardest... try damn hard... to not become jaded. You will see the worst that humanity has to offer on a nightly basis... day-in and day-out, without fail. You'll see extreme humor, then 10 minutes later something so heart-wrenching you'll have trouble talking about it weeks later. It comes with the job. You simply cannot allow this to make you bitter towards every aspect of life; I've seen it happen to others and it's a real danger. You have to take what you see and experience and allow it to enrich your personal life by not taking for granted what you and yours have.

But nowhere... and I mean nowhere, will you find the freedom you have while on patrol... and the guarantee that every night will be different.

I go home after my shift knowing that I made a difference in some way.

Try finding that at a 9-5 corporate gig.

Good luck, and if you have any questions at all, please let me know. I'll do what I can to assist!

Regards,
-Derek

Thanks for that post, Gaige. It was enlightening.

Gaige · Jul 25, 2007

You're more than welcome.

I try to educate folks as to what we do and how we do it when I can; I often do this on a traffic stop, or speaking to someone in line while in uniform, etc.

I find that most people simply don't understand why we do things certain ways, and once I've spoken to them about it, they understand and generally walk away with a new outlook.

And, really, I understand why there's so much confusion; our career is essentially a subculture which most people never have a glimpse at.

I had a gentleman last night complain due to having 2 extra patrol cars arrive a few minutes after he was pulled over. I simply explained to him that most LEOs in this country are killed on traffic stops; we have no idea who or what's in the car, it's the most dangerous thing we do (statistically) and due to this, other Officers will swing by a traffic stop to make sure the primary Officer is okay... because we're going to make sure we all go home every night. He didn't have a whole lot to complain about after I explained this.

www.odmp.org can put this into perspective much more than I; we've lost 103 this year.

Big Man · Jul 25, 2007

If you want a real, honest, respectable job, forget Police and take a real man's job as a Fire Fighter.

Just kidding. It's an inside joke between Firemen and Policemen.

I've worked in Safety/Security at a large state psychiatric hospital for almost 30 years. In doing so, I've have an extremely close working relationship with Law enforcement on all levels, and would recommend that profession as a good career choice. Aside from the benefit of being able to help your fellow man on a daily basis, Cops, Firefighters, and EMS folks really know how to have fun!

Nashoba · Jul 25, 2007

Gaige said:
I agree... however, sometimes it's hard, depending on who happens to be working...

You get the point.

Yeah, well not all dispatchers are worth their weight in anything. But good dispatchers

those are the ones you want to be kind to. I've worked with some idiots that believe me, I was sitting next to them in the box and I wanted to reach over and whack them upside the head. that being said the road goes both ways

I had an officer who would get into foot / vehicle pursuits CONSTANTLY but didn't always like to tell me where he was. He would just start in "P-18 in pursuit on Main"
Great. Main and what? Where am I supposed to send your fill unit?
Or they would read me a plate and expect their returns in 3 seconds, key back up while I'm waiting for them and ask why they hadn't gotten them yet

And I've had officers where I've had to repeat everything I say because they 'didn't hear me' or who didn't want to go to the calls that we got and would dawdle.. So it goes both ways. But I adored my officers for the most part. They were good to me and brought me treats from the outside world when we were on midnights....I've always worked in small depts usually under 50 sworn where everyone really knows each other (good and bad to that). So when it was slow or if they were at the station for report writing they'd come visit and bring me cocoa or dinner. I was spoiled, but I like to think I was one of the good dispatchers

Man, I really do miss law enforcement. If I could ensure we'd be in one spot for any length of time I'd go back. But I just can' justify going through testing, backgrounds, FTO/CTO, and probation every couple of years. It's not fair to the department and it's not fair to me. I love the marine corps...I love the marine corps....

akaBruno · Jul 25, 2007

Nashoba said:
Yeah, well not all dispatchers are worth their weight in anything. ....

heheheh

... I think that we are all getting the feeling that you are worth more than your weight in gold, Nashoba.

Nashoba · Jul 26, 2007

akaBruno said:
heheheh ... I think that we are all getting the feeling that you are worth more than your weight in gold, Nashoba.

nah....I certainly didn't mean to make it sound that way..

..I just tried really really hard to make sure my officers had what they needed. After all I was safe in the box and they were out in the big scary world. I've screwed up too...I once told an officer that his vehicle returns were clear and current out of TUCKSON, Arizona.....he came back over and asked me if that might be TUCSON.....

oops

Gaige · Jul 26, 2007

The only times I've really wanted to throttle a dispatcher is when a new one is being trained on a primary channel. But, obviously they're bound to make mistakes, so we deal with it... they'll catch on in time.

Nashoba · Jul 26, 2007

Gaige said:
The only times I've really wanted to throttle a dispatcher is when a new one is being trained on a primary channel. But, obviously they're bound to make mistakes, so we deal with it... they'll catch on in time.

Yeah trainees can be pretty bad. Until you remember that you were once in FTO and I'm sure there were a few officers and dispatchers that wanted to throttle you lol I'm sure I had an officer or two when I was in training that wanted to bang their head against their steering wheel. Not too many though. I back-up dispatched all through college when I was a cadet and in evidence so I had a pretty good base training to go from

btw: LOVE the new Avitar

6StringShooter · Jul 26, 2007

Nashoba said:
btw: LOVE the new Avitar

Definitely...looks really cool!

ShortClara · Jul 27, 2007

I am not involved in the public safety world at all, but I just wanted to say thanks for the great job and for all the information. It's interesting to an outsider

Well done!

Gaige · Jul 27, 2007

Nashoba said:
Yeah trainees can be pretty bad. Until you remember that you were once in FTO and I'm sure there were a few officers and dispatchers that wanted to throttle you lol I'm sure I had an officer or two when I was in training that wanted to bang their head against their steering wheel. Not too many though. I back-up dispatched all through college when I was a cadet and in evidence so I had a pretty good base training to go from

btw: LOVE the new Avitar

Yeah, I made my fair share of mistakes during FTO....

And thank you for the last comment; I was lounging in my living room and had just received that hat in the mail...

6StringShooter: Thank you as well.

ShortClara: You're more than welcome.

Gideon Ashe · Jul 28, 2007

Any ex/former/retired Police officers here? Yeah. sorta, kinda, if......

...thirty fours on the job, means experience.
What do you want to know? Caveat: I will NOT sugarcoat ANYTHING.
I think this will be the start of a Q.& A., but I'll try to make it interesting, so others will not make rude noises when they hit the floor, napping.

By the by. This is my first post/reply, so if the norms are breached or not met, a huge "sorry", right up front.

Ask away,..............................

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