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What is a typical day or week for you? What kinds of decisions do you make? What are your main responsibilities as a police officer?
i would like to talk with a police officer, sergeant or captain since that's what i am pursuing
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Adrian’s Answer
I work 5 days a week and I have Tuesday and Wednesday off. I work day shift from 7 am to 3 pm. I am a patrol officer. Every time someone needs a police officer they send me to the person that called. I help the public solve issues. Most calls I get are when citizens need help for car accidents, assault cases, missing persons cases, disturbances, loud noise calls and safety escorts.
Thank you, Adrian!
carlos
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Andy’s Answer
Carlos,
I am a day shift sergeant now, but have served as a night shift sergeant prior to this. In total I have been in law enforcement for almost 17 years and each day is not the same. The biggest daily assignment I have is staff assignments and how to properly staff and run our facility. Depending on the day depends on what decisions I have to make. On extremely busy days I might be jumping from incident to incident determining how best to handle each. On slower days it’s mostly just doing staff assignments and making sure each deputy gets a lunch break.
I am a day shift sergeant now, but have served as a night shift sergeant prior to this. In total I have been in law enforcement for almost 17 years and each day is not the same. The biggest daily assignment I have is staff assignments and how to properly staff and run our facility. Depending on the day depends on what decisions I have to make. On extremely busy days I might be jumping from incident to incident determining how best to handle each. On slower days it’s mostly just doing staff assignments and making sure each deputy gets a lunch break.
Updated
Daniel’s Answer
I am a patrol Lieutenant assigned to day watch Sunday through Wednesday. In my agency, patrol Lieutenants are Watch Commanders over the shift and station. Lieutenants are considered middle management and do little street work, at least in California. I help supervise the shift of officers but our patrol sergeants have direct supervision of the officers in the field. As the watch commander, I am responsible for our jail, the station and administrative duties.
Updated
David’s Answer
I have been a police officer since 2009 and have worked as a patrol officer, school resource officer, community services officer, patrol sergeant and community services sergeant. I have worked for three agencies in this time, with agencies as small as 10 full-time officers and as large as 39 full-time officers.
Depending on what job you're doing, your day can vary pretty wildly. If you're starting a career in law enforcement, you'll likely be a patrol officer. Your primary job will be responding to 911 calls for service, so what you do will be dependent on where you work. I work in a small-to-medium sized city; we have up to 6 officers working at any given time and typically respond to 25 to 40 calls per shift. Most of the calls are just general helping people with minor things. We do respond to a disproportionately high number of calls with subjects with mental illness, as we have two major hospitals very close by that have extensive mental health & wellness units.
The number of calls and total officers working leaves us enough time to do self-initiated activity, like stopping cars, doing foot patrols, meeting with business owners, etc. I enjoy a combination of traffic stops, warrant services and meeting with business owners or employees to find out what's going on in the area I work.
If you haven't done so already, I'd strongly suggest doing ride alongs with agencies near you. Every officer has their own unique way of doing things, so its very valuable to see it in-person.
Depending on what job you're doing, your day can vary pretty wildly. If you're starting a career in law enforcement, you'll likely be a patrol officer. Your primary job will be responding to 911 calls for service, so what you do will be dependent on where you work. I work in a small-to-medium sized city; we have up to 6 officers working at any given time and typically respond to 25 to 40 calls per shift. Most of the calls are just general helping people with minor things. We do respond to a disproportionately high number of calls with subjects with mental illness, as we have two major hospitals very close by that have extensive mental health & wellness units.
The number of calls and total officers working leaves us enough time to do self-initiated activity, like stopping cars, doing foot patrols, meeting with business owners, etc. I enjoy a combination of traffic stops, warrant services and meeting with business owners or employees to find out what's going on in the area I work.
If you haven't done so already, I'd strongly suggest doing ride alongs with agencies near you. Every officer has their own unique way of doing things, so its very valuable to see it in-person.
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