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Britany
Student
Kankakee, Illinois
3
Questions
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I'm very interested in learning about what a day in the life is like for a police officer?
I know that being a police officer takes a lot of hard work and determination, but I would like to know
What are the hardest tasks that police officers face each day? What are the easiest? What kind of trouble do you deal with every single day? Do police officers train every day and learn something each day? If so,what kinds of things and what kind of training?
I'm interested in this career because it involves helping people and making sure that people and their kids feel safe. I would like to know more about police officers and what they do.
#Policeofficer-lawenforcement-helping people-everydaytasks-cops
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1 answer
Kim Igleheart
Career Counselor | Police Officer
1750
Answers
San Antonio, Texas
Updated
Kim’s Answer
Hi Britany!
Helping people to feel safe is an important aspect of the law enforcement role. I was an officer for 25 years, however, I was at an airport, where, quite honestly, not much usually happened.
One of the most dangerous situations a police officer faces is "complacency." Example: Every time there is a storm, the alarm goes off at the warehouse. It is storming outside, and you get sent to investigate that alarm. As you approach the building, you aren't really looking for getaway cars or anything criminal-related. You are planning to check it out real quick and tell the dispatcher you did not find anything amiss. But this time, there's a getaway car leaving as you pull up. Mentally, Tactically, you are totally unprepared to react to that. Not to be overly dramatic, but that kind of failure to be prepared can easily cost an officer their life. Or, you make a traffic stop on a car with a lady and 4 children, you don't expect her to do anything wrong while you speak with her. . .
The hardest task for me was making arrests that I did not want to make: Example: a man with a warrant for not paying child support. He and his wife both agreed they were back together and he was supporting the family. It was an old warrant. But valid. Or, arresting a man on the way to his mom's funeral (parole violation).
Boredom also made the job difficult at times. Walking or driving around, just waiting for something to happen, when nothing ever did.
Since you mentioned training, that will vary by agency. We did one week of in-service training each year. Sometimes there were other courses during the year, or, you could go on your own to training at other departments or schools. When you don't do a lot of training, and rarely have to handle anything, when something does happen, it is not always easy to remember what to do.
Sometimes your decisions are questioned after the fact, and the department will conduct a major investigation. It will feel like they are turning against you when they call you in and order you to write a statement. These situations usually resolve in favor of the officer. Our department had a lot of citizen complaints. They usually complained that we were "rude" if we simply told them they could not park. We had to write written responses to all of these allegations.
The easiest part of the job? For me, it was the report writing. And there is a lot of that! I like writing, and consider myself fairly good at it. In fact, other officers would ask me for help writing reports and answering complaints!
I will stop for now. An average day is difficult to describe, as each day is different.
I encourage you to keep doing some research so you can make an informed decision!
Kim
Helping people to feel safe is an important aspect of the law enforcement role. I was an officer for 25 years, however, I was at an airport, where, quite honestly, not much usually happened.
One of the most dangerous situations a police officer faces is "complacency." Example: Every time there is a storm, the alarm goes off at the warehouse. It is storming outside, and you get sent to investigate that alarm. As you approach the building, you aren't really looking for getaway cars or anything criminal-related. You are planning to check it out real quick and tell the dispatcher you did not find anything amiss. But this time, there's a getaway car leaving as you pull up. Mentally, Tactically, you are totally unprepared to react to that. Not to be overly dramatic, but that kind of failure to be prepared can easily cost an officer their life. Or, you make a traffic stop on a car with a lady and 4 children, you don't expect her to do anything wrong while you speak with her. . .
The hardest task for me was making arrests that I did not want to make: Example: a man with a warrant for not paying child support. He and his wife both agreed they were back together and he was supporting the family. It was an old warrant. But valid. Or, arresting a man on the way to his mom's funeral (parole violation).
Boredom also made the job difficult at times. Walking or driving around, just waiting for something to happen, when nothing ever did.
Since you mentioned training, that will vary by agency. We did one week of in-service training each year. Sometimes there were other courses during the year, or, you could go on your own to training at other departments or schools. When you don't do a lot of training, and rarely have to handle anything, when something does happen, it is not always easy to remember what to do.
Sometimes your decisions are questioned after the fact, and the department will conduct a major investigation. It will feel like they are turning against you when they call you in and order you to write a statement. These situations usually resolve in favor of the officer. Our department had a lot of citizen complaints. They usually complained that we were "rude" if we simply told them they could not park. We had to write written responses to all of these allegations.
The easiest part of the job? For me, it was the report writing. And there is a lot of that! I like writing, and consider myself fairly good at it. In fact, other officers would ask me for help writing reports and answering complaints!
I will stop for now. An average day is difficult to describe, as each day is different.
I encourage you to keep doing some research so you can make an informed decision!
Kim
Thank you so much for taking your time to answer my question. It really helped me to think about the career that I want and you're such an interesting person. Thank you so much!
Britany