Some words of support would be nice right now.?

Question

I really appreciate that those who are reading this.
Okay, so I've sat my police exam on the 2nd September and I am still to book my police station perliminary interview.
Has anyone ever been put down so they are discouraged to advance with their application?
It's not like people have intentionally put me down, but they don't realise what they say and it gets me upset.
I'm half asian and half australian, I'm petite but tough mentally & phsically, when people find out I'm applying for the police they act so surprised and the first words are always "Arn't you too small" I'm approximately 158cm tall & weigh 53kg.

I get mistaken for a teenager when I'm 20 years old, people also say I'm very pretty which is flattering but I wish I was taller, weighed more so I looked solid and I wasn't so "pretty".

I guess I'm comparing myself to a stereotypical female officer who people usually say is plain australian, with a fat butt, and looks tough. What do you think? (Serious answers please)

Thanks everyone for your words of support, I'm starting to feel a lot better.
Except Eldoradoman1953 who obviously can't read/understand english when someone writes "Serious Answers Please".

I know people are thinking why are you so sensitive if you want to be a police officer, well I'm not yet and I havn't gone through the training. I can take things that a thrown at me from people and ignore when hurtful things are said to me. I'm posting this question because family mean a lot to me and it does hurt when I hear comment such as this from family because I though they are their to support you no matter what.
Believe it but police officers do have feelings too.

Answer 1

People who don't fit the traditional "police" physical mold would probably be great as an under cover officer. Since most people have an image in their minds of what a police officer looks like, no one would suspect you.

There are long lists of people in this world who persevered even though people said they shouldn't. Michael Jordan was NOT chosen for his basketball team in high school the first time he tried out. Just think what his life and the world of basketball would be like today if he hadn't tried out again. A famous hockey player Wayne Gretsky once said, "You miss 100% of the shots you never take."

Don't let what other people say make you lose your dream. If you dream is being a police officer, then do it!! If you don't make it the first time, try again. Think of Michael Jordan. Try again.

That's what makes America great.......if you have a dream, any dream, and you are willing to work hard enough towards your dream, it really can come true.

Good luck to you! Sounds like you have a good heart and any police force would be lucky to have you.

Robin

Answer 2

Girl - you ROCK!! look at all you have accomplished so far!!! That is a hard path to follow. If your worried about looking too pretty, take it down a few notches...dont wear makeup, redo your hair. Once you've established that you have earned respect then you will be seen as a person instead of a pretty face.

My neighbor is a small woman, her ex beat her to a pulp and she has two small kids. She got divorced, moved here by me and quit her job as a teller at a bank. She enrolled and studied for police and she is awesome!! She did it all alone...and is still there for her kids.

The fact that you are small - use it to your advantage.. small people can "get it done" just as good and an average or bigger person. Maybe you can use that undercover in a school setting to catch a drug dealer?? Or even for a sting on prostitution. Words are hurtful no matter how tough you think you are. I guess it comes from your confidence level in yourself as to how you can take it and deal with it....and sometimes the choice is to not deal with it..you dont have to...wether they put you down or not. You are on this path...stick with it!! Keep your chin up girl and kick some law breakers butt!!! We're all pulling for you!! GOOD LUCK!!

Answer 3

i agree with all the positive comments on here.

i would also add to take all those negative comments and turn them into motivation to do the best job you can do.

i was a correctional officer in a maximum security prison. 75% of the inmate population in the 4500 bed prison where i worked were in there serving 25yrs+ for a crime that included an aggravated charge because a victim got hurt. that is not the reason they were in a maximum facility though, their custody level is based on behavior in prison including violent behavior. we had over 800 criminally insane offenders as well. i can tell you without a doubt that the female officers handled the aggressive inmates far better than the male officers did and were able to difuse situations more often and more quickly. however, when muscle was required, they would suit up a 5-'man' team (that included women) and go in on an inmate in full riot gear. i also had a friend on another shift that was attacked by an inmate, she beat him down and walked away unharmed. i worked through two pregnancies and even went into labor with my first kiddo while i was at work but i kept doing my job until i could be relieved by another officer. yes, i was threatened by inmates on a daily basis. yes, i had inmates attempt to attack me. however, not once did i have to put my hands on an inmate to defend myself because i used my brain to solve the problem instead of my body. i did the job because i knew without a doubt that while i was on shift, no inmate ever left the fence, no inmate hurt a free-world (non-inmate) person. the prison in texas where i worked has never had a sucessful escape attempt and there were two attempts made while i was at work but neither got out of the fence. i am proud of the time i spent working there.

good luck to you. i hope they realize what an asset you will be to the department.

Answer 4

Schedule your interview. What are you waiting for? Since this is what you want to do then get that interview scheduled. When you go to the interview look as professional as possible. Besides the longer you put off having the interview the more of these comments you will hear

Ok I understand about other people's comments and they can hurt. But you need to learn to set them aside and do what you want to do.

When some one says anything about your height, tell them you are just the right height for the job and smile.

It is good to be mentally strong but it sounds like you need to toughen up a bit so rude comments don't hurt so much. I don't mean to sound callous or cruel but you need to toughen up a bit so you can learn to ignore or let other people's comments wash over you.

Otherwise some of the comments criminals make to your or about you may get well rude or crude and will bother or upset you. I know some of the comments my husband hears when he stops or arrests people are really nasty.

I am not saying don't do the job. Just the opposite. I think you can it and do it well. Go for it. Best of luck

Answer 5

I gotta say, I'm on both sides of the fence on this one. Sometimes I think women shouldn't be police officers simply because of the physical danger. Fact of the matter is, no matter how tuff a woman is, they can (in most cases) be overpowered easily by a man. When I work with women on my shift I am very conscious about getting to them quickly to provide backup, even when they come on the radio and say there's no problem.

On the other hand, I've seen how people react different to female officers. I'm 6'4 / 225 and some guys challenge me on the street just to prove they're tuff guys. That same guy, with a female officer, will calm down and act very civil. It's almost as if they are hearing their mother's voice in their head saying, "always be kind and respectful to women". I work with a female who is often able to calm down an intense situation and she's about 5'02.

If it's what you want to do, GO FOR IT. Don't let other people's opinions stop you. At the same time, remember, you are going to be in a profession dominated by men. You may always feel like you are proving yourself to people on the street and your fellow officers.

Just do me a favor....always be aware of your tactics and don't ever become complacent......that's when we (male & female) get ourselves hurt or killed

Answer 6

It's wonderful that you KNOW what you want to be at age 20! So many young people don't have a clue at that age! Instead of partying or wandering, you have a focused goal and you should be very proud of yourself!

So you shock a few people when they find out what your goal is - so what! If anyone starts giving you a hard time tell them, "when I start living my life to please you, I'll let you know. Until then, I'm doing what I want to do with my life!"

Beside, I know from my husband's point of view, he'd rather be pulled over by a pretty female cop that an old, grungy guy!

Go for it girlfriend! You're going to do an awesome job!!!

God bless!

Answer 7

I know this must be a tough thing to deal with but, hang in there and never give up. I wish you all the best!!!It doesn't matter what size a person is at all so don't worry.

Answer 8

Don't let someone else define you. You know you can do this so go for it! People don't think before they open their mouths.
You could always come back 'Yes, nice things come in small packages, but so does dynamite."

Book that interview and good luck!!

Answer 9

they say that now, but wen u will be givin them tickets they will be beginnig u not to stop em no more. im a female too, im small ( wish to be taller) n i was thinkin bout becomin a cop too....so yea dream on!

Answer 10

if your this sensitive now maybe you should not be a cop..you are thinking of quitting or your feeling are getting hurt,,trust me this is nothing compared to when you are an officer