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Are you forced to work overtime in law enforcement?
In a law enforcement depending on what you want to do with it, do you have to work over time to conclude with something important of your job.
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Dan’s Answer
Hey, Andre. Thanks for your question. The answer is: it depends. If you are in a patrol unit, where you are answering 911 calls for service, you could work passed your off time if you get stuck on a late call. You could be told to come in early or stay late due to protests or a natural disaster requiring a large amount of manpower. If you become a detective or investigator and you get a strong lead on a case, you will work overtime to pursue that lead (if you're a good detective). There is also court time which may happen during the day even though you may work night shift. You still have to go.
There are various other reasons why you may have to work overtime. Unless you're salaried (which is rare for rank-and-file law enforcement), all your overtime will be paid. Those of us in law enforcement know that our clock in time is pretty certain, but our clock out time is not.
I hope this doesn't deter you from pursuing a career in law enforcement. It is still a great profession. I still love it even after almost 30 years.
There are various other reasons why you may have to work overtime. Unless you're salaried (which is rare for rank-and-file law enforcement), all your overtime will be paid. Those of us in law enforcement know that our clock in time is pretty certain, but our clock out time is not.
I hope this doesn't deter you from pursuing a career in law enforcement. It is still a great profession. I still love it even after almost 30 years.
Updated
Walter’s Answer
Hi Andre,
My take is a little different. Overtime is sometimes mandatory but sometimes not. There are occasions where you may be required to work overtime for work extending beyond your normal work schedule, for emergency situations or on occasions when you are required to attend court. These are the mandatory situations, but there are also other occasions where it is optional. Especially as a new officer you will probably start off on patrol, depending on your shift you may have to attend court on overtime as that is just a requirement of the job. As you get some time under your belt, you get the opportunity to explore different opportunities, some of them involve working minimal overtime. But you have to remember when very bad things happen such as natural disasters, the public looks at first responders as the people who will rise to the occasion and provide the necessary assistance that these situation required. It is part of the responsibility we accept, but as Dan has mentioned, the rewards far outweigh the difficulties and don't let that discourage you from pursuing a career in law enforcement if you believe it to be your calling.
My take is a little different. Overtime is sometimes mandatory but sometimes not. There are occasions where you may be required to work overtime for work extending beyond your normal work schedule, for emergency situations or on occasions when you are required to attend court. These are the mandatory situations, but there are also other occasions where it is optional. Especially as a new officer you will probably start off on patrol, depending on your shift you may have to attend court on overtime as that is just a requirement of the job. As you get some time under your belt, you get the opportunity to explore different opportunities, some of them involve working minimal overtime. But you have to remember when very bad things happen such as natural disasters, the public looks at first responders as the people who will rise to the occasion and provide the necessary assistance that these situation required. It is part of the responsibility we accept, but as Dan has mentioned, the rewards far outweigh the difficulties and don't let that discourage you from pursuing a career in law enforcement if you believe it to be your calling.
Updated
Kim’s Answer
Andre,
If you catch a late call, yes, you need to see it through. This could include writing reports, transporting prisoners, logging evidence into the property room, etc. That usually will take 3 hours or less.
There is another kind of overtime. That which becomes available because the on-coming shift is short-staffed. Perhaps one or more officers called in sick. I can tell you about my personal experiences. When I was on 3-11pm shift, with younger officers, there were usually enough volunteers to cover the shortage. If no one volunteered, the Sgts would sometimes call officers at home who they knew usually would jump at the opportunity to work overtime. If they couldn't find volunteers, they would order someone to work overtime. This is because we were required to have a certain minimum staffing level. Some departments will simply work short.
It was strange, because, it got to where one officer was frequently getting overtime, and others were excluded. We had to create a method to share the opportunity. Yet, when I went to the midnight shift, with older officers, there was not nearly as much willingness to volunteer for overtime, so they would order us to work it. Again, a system was created to make sure this was fairly distributed.
We work 8 hr shifts. While working 16 hours might not seem that difficult, it depends on how much sleep you got before coming into work. For example, if a parent gets up at 6 a.m. to help their child get off to school, and then stays up running errands prior to working a 3-11 shift, if they must then work the 11-7 shift, they will have been awake for over 24 hrs by the time they get home!
The great thing about law enforcement is that officers help each other out. So, if an officer is ordered to work overtime on the evening of their son's performance in the school band, you would step up and cover it for them. And, if you needed to catch a quick nap while working a double shift, someone would cover your calls for you. And if you are a single person you might trade shifts on Christmas Day with an officer who has kids. And so it goes.
Many departments give you a choice when working overtime. Do you want to receive pay or "comp time?" Building up comp time is a great way for a younger officer to build up some time, to then be able to take a longer vacation.
All-in-all, you get used to the overtime side of the job!
Hope this answer helps!
Kim
If you catch a late call, yes, you need to see it through. This could include writing reports, transporting prisoners, logging evidence into the property room, etc. That usually will take 3 hours or less.
There is another kind of overtime. That which becomes available because the on-coming shift is short-staffed. Perhaps one or more officers called in sick. I can tell you about my personal experiences. When I was on 3-11pm shift, with younger officers, there were usually enough volunteers to cover the shortage. If no one volunteered, the Sgts would sometimes call officers at home who they knew usually would jump at the opportunity to work overtime. If they couldn't find volunteers, they would order someone to work overtime. This is because we were required to have a certain minimum staffing level. Some departments will simply work short.
It was strange, because, it got to where one officer was frequently getting overtime, and others were excluded. We had to create a method to share the opportunity. Yet, when I went to the midnight shift, with older officers, there was not nearly as much willingness to volunteer for overtime, so they would order us to work it. Again, a system was created to make sure this was fairly distributed.
We work 8 hr shifts. While working 16 hours might not seem that difficult, it depends on how much sleep you got before coming into work. For example, if a parent gets up at 6 a.m. to help their child get off to school, and then stays up running errands prior to working a 3-11 shift, if they must then work the 11-7 shift, they will have been awake for over 24 hrs by the time they get home!
The great thing about law enforcement is that officers help each other out. So, if an officer is ordered to work overtime on the evening of their son's performance in the school band, you would step up and cover it for them. And, if you needed to catch a quick nap while working a double shift, someone would cover your calls for you. And if you are a single person you might trade shifts on Christmas Day with an officer who has kids. And so it goes.
Many departments give you a choice when working overtime. Do you want to receive pay or "comp time?" Building up comp time is a great way for a younger officer to build up some time, to then be able to take a longer vacation.
All-in-all, you get used to the overtime side of the job!
Hope this answer helps!
Kim