A question for police officers and detectives?

Question

I have a good life, not many regrets. The one career I wish I'd pursued would have been either forensic science or criminal psychology. I know I don't have what it takes to be a police officer or detective. My question is: How has your career affected your life? Your relationships? The way you view society as a whole? How do you deal with the things you've seen? I realize that the most jaded ( for lack of a better word at the moment) may not feel compelled to answer my question, but it is you I'd most like to respond.
I have a profound respect for what you do, I'm simply curious about how pursuing the above stated would have changed me as a person. Thank you in advance... and thank you for doing what you do!!!

Answer 1

We all have a few regrets in our lives.

I served with the military law enforcement field for 20 years and the past 14 years in civilian enforcement.

Being officers, we have to maintain close relationships with co-workers in order to avoid conflicts of interest that could jeapordize our positions of employment.

I view society as a majority of good people. That bad folks just seem to be unable to improve their lifestyles therefore making contact with law enforcement more frequent. This accounts for one reason why so many think cops are egotistical when in fact they are only being cautious in their activities.

My position in law enforcement has given me a major satisfaction in that helping others and my community is a sure fire means of living in a better community.

Seeing the darker side of life frequently certainly makes it easier for an officer to appreciate the good people and things in life!

As for what I do see while performing the job...it's not easy. Some don't understand how officers can appear to be so uncaring, however, one has to disassociate themselves from the situation mentally in order to deal with the stress.

Thank you for asking and caring!

Best wishes.

Answer 2

Angelina Jolie is a police officer in Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a 2005 American romantic action comedy movie, directed by Doug Liman and written by Simon Kinberg. the unique track score change into composed by John Powell.

Answer 3

I'm a police officer working in the Arctic region of Canada. This area of the country has the highest crime rates for ALL of North America. Not only that, but we are away from home for almost 4 months at a time, working in villages with one partner (yes we are only 2 in the villages), the villages are accessible by plane only, and we don't carry sidearms/tasers. Yet I LOVE my job.
As the first officer answered before me, looking at the bad makes us realize all the good we have. It is very hard sometimes to deal with certain situations, especially when children, elderly people, or innoscent people are involved. There is a common trait that is found in us police officers that let us seperate ourselves from the situation when it is happening. This protects us from freezing or overeacting in a given situation.
I want to speak about fear because it is a common question from people. Do we have fear when we answer calls. The answer is YES. It is necessary to have some fear. But too much fear and you freeze, not enough and you get killed or injured trying to be superman (or woman). There is a necessary amount of fear needed to keep you grounded and on your toes as we are in a business where ANYTHING is possible such as : suspect posing as victim and then trying to harm you, victim turn into suspect (especialy found in conjugal related calls where the victim turns on you becuse she doesn't want to look like she called you and get beat up more when he/she gets out) etc...
As far as social impacts go, some officers love to tell their stories and others are quiet about them. It all depends on how they deal with their emotions. There are some stories that touch us and others that are funny ones to tell your buddies. The key to being happy, in my opinion, is to have a supportive wife/husband, who can listen to you when you need to vent out/let it all out. Mental support is the most important thing from someone you love. Even if it's just a friend, it's there. This is why we have a high divorce rate with civilian marriages and a lot of police officers marry/date other police officers.
To end this (and I hope I answed your question) I will quote my college teacher Robert Binnette (a veteran Montreal police officer) "Policing is 98% routine/regular duties and 2% shear terror, but there is something about the job that keeps us going..."

if you would like to know more, you can write to me on my blog and I'll be glad to answer more of your questions...
http://magnumshowtoguide.blogspot.com/

Answer 4

Like everything else in life it has its ups and downs. You are loved by some and hated by others. There really is not any glamor in it just a lot of hard work and alot of disrespect.