Personalizing your job?

[Haaken]

I'm just curious as to how you aviod personalizing your job?

When a person you were 99% sure was guilty, turns out not to be.
When that court case you worked so hard on gets thrown out on a technicallity.
When you run into the same person over and over again, but just can't get any charges to stick.

How do you avoid these from getting to you and preventing the vengence type attitude? (Working out, talking to fellow officers, family?)

Thanks

-Haak

[Shaidon]

It's not our job to determine guilt, so that isn't difficult for me. I may have my opinions, but in the end, all LEO's learn early on to seperate your personal feelings/thoughts and your job. If you don't find that seperation, you will find that you don't last very long in LE.( I've seen it happen)

As to running into the same people over and over, yes it does happen. But most of the time, if you weren't a complete jerk to the person, it is kind of nice. I know most of the time how someone will react, what someone's history is and other things without having to do a check on them. As to "vengeance"....well if that happens to you, maybe it's time to find a different line of work. Our job is catching them, not punishing them. We're all human, but professionalism is key. Working out, talking to friends/etc. is well and good for stress, but if you can't deal with temper issues, LE isn't for you.

[Haaken]

I have read many posts from LEO that do take it personal or get vengeful and have a us vs. them attitude. I was wondering how you(LEOs) prevent yourself from falling into that trap.

Edit: wordiness

[Shaidon]

Because this is a forum that is designed to let us vent, whine, bitch and share upsetting/funny/angry stories. What you see here is what may possibly go on in our heads but we don't let the world see it. That is where professionalism comes in. Just because I say that I think a child molester should burn in hell, that doesn't mean I will treat him worse than a petty thief or burglar. We can't let our emotions get the best of us in the real world...here, it doesn't really matter and it's pretty damn funny sometimes

[MOGSOT]

I have actually arrested the same person twice in the same shift.

It can be frustrating to see the justice system not work, but you just have to think of it like a catch and release fishing trip.

The way I see it is I will always have a job. I enjoy it and am not about to get mad because some idiot got off on a tech.

I just try to do my job the best that I can. I don't even follow the cases after I file them unless they are of a serious nature.

[Mirrain]

I'm with Mogsot on that. The rare times I follow a case, it's for very special reasons. I could care less of the dispositon because I know it'd get frustrated.

As for dealing with the same losers? Better the devil you know.

[1042 Trooper]

There have been countless threads on this. Do a search and be overwhelmed with information on this.

[Haaken]

Will do

[Sabre]

My job is to investigate, and bring an offender before the court. Prosecutors have their jobs, judges and juries have their own jobs, too. I do mine, they do theirs. I try to focus on my job. If a prosecutor decides not to charge, or a judge / jury decides to acquit, that's their job. I already did mine by bringing them before the prosecutor / court.

I have run into a few people more than once. That's why I try to be somewhat pleasant to people once they are securely in custody. I don't see any reason to rile them up and be an *** to them for the sake of it. In fact, I see that as something that's going to bite me later when I run into them again. I try to be calm with people, I'll turn on whatever music they like on the way to jail, and make a little chit-chat. I've found that most (definitely not all) offenders, even if they are real asses at first, will wind down once they find out that you don't have some kind of personal grudge against them. It makes it easier once you run into them again.

I've actually had quite a few people, who I had taken in on various charges, want to shake my hand and say "thank you" once we were done booking. "Thank you" for what, I don't know, seeing as how I just locked them up. Hopefully they'll remember I wasn't a total ***** if we run into each other again, though.

[redbird07]

It's not our job to determine guilt, so that isn't difficult for me. I may have my opinions, but in the end, all LEO's learn early on to seperate your personal feelings/thoughts and your job. If you don't find that seperation, you will find that you don't last very long in LE.( I've seen it happen)

I agree with this

[J_Mann]

I know a lot of young officers get frustrated when you have an open and shut case and it turns out your case gets thrown out for some dumb reason. I'm guilty of this too, I used to get really frustrated with the court system. My job is to obtain probable cause and arrest. It's the prosecution's job to make sure they go to jail and stay there.

[LeanG]

You know what, I really got upset and frustrated the first 2 or 3 times. But you learn from others and experience that the criminal justice system is set up to let 10 guilty people go free so one innocent person doesn't have to go to jail. I've completely separated myself from the arrestee now. Once they're incarcerated, or cited or detained and charged, I can't control how they'll work their way through the criminal justice system.

[Nightshift va]

The part about a person you thought was guilty turns out not to be is not a big issue because "guilt" and what the judge or untrained jury deems as guilt are two different things. Justice however not being served is a source of stress. Technicallities are scapegoats for lawyers to make money and at times tort issue's. The us and them mindset is ironic being that we enforce laws you "them" put into the law books. But it does exist. Hard not to be of that thinking when the heavy vest I wear along with my various weapons to do my job and or help me survive are present in every day tours. The way to deal is to have hobbies and family and things that aren't Police work on your days off.

[NightStix]

OK, I guess this is where I will "open up" a little bit. I work in a city where the police are literally hated, but for some reason, I love my job. I work Non- Fatal Shootings, basically failed homicides. For some reason, I cant help but take some of these cases personally, its just me. When you spend anywhere from 1 year to several years on a case, it gets personal. You invest SO much time in a case, do everything right, buy the book, by the numbers, you want a Guilty verdict. However, here in my city, they LITERALLY look for a reason NOT to convict. Its ridiculous.

A partner of mine and I had a case. We got him to admit ON TAPE (Miranda, all legit), that he withdrew a shotgun and shot this kid in the back as he ran away (for his life) after they tried to rob him. The defendants OWN taped statement was played in court where the jury heard him LAUGH about how he shot this guy in the back, AND they found him NOT guilty. No offense, but its hard to let something like that go. KNOWING, that he did it, ADMITTED to it, and yet, the jury said NOT guilty.

NEEDLESS to say, he was released and WITHIN several DAYS, he began comitting SEVERAL armed robberies. Since the city failed me once, I decided to make a call to the Fed's. They helped me out, and the MF'r is serving 30 years STRAIGHT time. I will be long retired (I hope) before he gets out.

Long story short. I've been fortunate. ALOT of my cases, I've gotten Guilty verdicts, or pleas. I will NEVER, arrest someone I didnt think did it, or I had doubts. If I get you, I GOT YOU. If you are found Not Guilty, fine, cause it will make me try that much harder to get you on the next one.

[irishdep]

There may be people you know are guilty of things but if you get tunnel vision and focus on them and "getting them" it will eat at you and also get you in trouble. Things most always have a way of coming full circle, "what goes around comes around". Don't let it eat at you because sooner or later the bad guys get caught, whether you get them or someone else does they still get caught.