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What is it like in the life of a cop?

What happens on a general basis for the life of a cop #law-enforcement #political-science

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Scott’s Answer

Being a police officer can be a very rewarding experience. If you have a passion to serve people, you will find many different ways to have an impact on peoples lives. Different people in the general public have various experiences with police. Unfortunately sometimes cops get bad press because of a few bad cops, but that is only a very small portion of the police population. 99.9% of cops are very good people, that do good things. If you have an interest in the career field, remember that. There are many different areas or expertise you can go into as a police officer (i.e. investigations / detective, SWAT, juvenile , evidence technician / forensics, training, etc). I was a juvenile officer, which meant I worked with delinquent kids that maybe didn't have a good stable home life that found the streets, or crime, or gangs as a way to make up for that. As a juvenile officer I was also the head of the local police basketball league (and a coach) where we brought kids in from the streets. This gave the kids the opportunity to do something they liked (basketball), have fun and also provide structure and support for them in lieu of having to find it on the streets. I remember one kid that I always ran into out on the street, and he was a tough kid, but after forming a bond and relationship with him, he joined our basketball program. I coached him and he found passion within the team, and was our star player and ended up being the team captain. I think this experience changed his life and hopefully led him down a more positive path. It is the small things that you can do as cop that make a difference and can change peoples lives. Check out this video. This is a great story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt83CS1DxGI
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Mike’s Answer

The life of a police officer can be a rewarding one, but you have to go into it for all the right reasons or it will eat you up. You have to want to help and be willing to see the worst of people. You have to remind yourself you didn't go into the field to make money, because you surely won't as a street cop. Again you have to have a commitment to serve and protect those who cannot protect themselves. You have to remember to leave the job at the station and not to bring it home. When you start bringing it home that is where the problems in your home-life begin. Divorce rate among cops is high and I would venture to say it is because for some it became difficult to leave the job on the street.
However if this is a career field you want to pursue then by all means go for it. 99% of the cops on the streets are great people who only want to do the job and make a difference. The media likes to focus on the 1%.
As Scott said above there are many different areas you can go into. As an officer I started on the streets, then I went to helicopters, mounted patrol, undercover narcotics, special events, community service and crime prevention and became a police instructor. When I got promoted to Sergeant I was in and supervised the following units, DWI, Radar, SOLO's (Motorcycles), Special Events (i.e, planned our PD's involvement and supervised personnel assigned to the Texaco Gran Prix, Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, NFL Games, Superbowl's, and any other significant event that came up), SWAT (Supervisor), Bomb Squad, Anti-Terrorism Unit and Emergency Management. I had a very rewarding career and my abilities carried me where I went. It is a great job and the sky is the limit on where you can go, Chief of Police is always attainable. Just don't let anyone tell you that you cannot do it. If this is what you want go for it.
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