Question

[Sarah83]

Officers, what do you enjoy most about your job? What do you dislike about it?

[EMVAMPYRE]

Officers, what do you enjoy most about your job? What do you dislike about it?

Well, those 2 questions sound easy to answer but really are not.

I love this job because it is different every single night. It's exciting (yet boring) and I guess I get more than a little adrenaline high from it. It's a great game, hunting for bad guys and catching them in the act of some crime and taking them to jail. When I win this game, someone may sleep better at night because a rapist, or abuser, or murderer is off the street and can't prey upon them. And yeah, I do like helping people, I know it sounds a bit trite and is the ultimate cliche, but it really is the truth. (And, of course, the county gives me a fast car with cool lights and a bunch of guns to go and play cops and robbers with!!!)

As for the dislikes, there are many. One is that we usually only get to see the worst side of humanity. We deal with those who prey upon their fellow man, and the victims of these predators. We see all the pain and suffering and see very little of the good. The sad thing about that, is when we are at the scene of these crimes, too often we are not only unappreciated (sometimes by the very individuals that called us there in the first place) but we are attacked, physically as well as verbally, and all of our motives and reasons are called in to question. We are always guilty until proven innocent by the media, regardless of the facts. If we write a citation, or give a warning, our jobs are threatened by the offender, we are told that we will be sued and our families ruined on a daily basis. The city/county/state/ we work for has no problem distancing it's self from all of us when 1 or 2 bad apples in a department of thousands is found to be in the wrong. But begs us to come in everyday with a smile while they kick us around on the op/ed page of the local newspaper. When one of our members is murdered in the line of duty, only 1 or 2 of these politicians bother to come to pay their respects to their fallen officer/deputy/trooper.

These are not all of my likes and dislikes of this job that I've been doing for close to 20 years, and I'm sure you will get a ton of answers. I can't wait to read them.

[ArkansasFan24]

The task I most like about my job is what I call the "mind game." Essentially, it's figuring out who, what, where, when, why, and how; out-thinking suspects/criminals; applying appropriate statutes; rationalizing how everything I do could be "attacked" in court; and how I can circumvent this.

The work environment aspect I most enjoy is being in total control of what I do. I can be as aggressive or passive as I feel, and I can change my surroundings quite readily.

What I least like about it is the slow opportunity to progress in the organization couple with the "extra" (and I'll go no further with what I really mean by that) to get advancement.

[Sarah83]

Well, those 2 questions sound easy to answer but really are not.

I love this job because it is different every single night. It's exciting (yet boring) and I guess I get more than a little adrenaline high from it. It's a great game, hunting for bad guys and catching them in the act of some crime and taking them to jail. When I win this game, someone may sleep better at night because a rapist, or abuser, or murderer is off the street and can't prey upon them. And yeah, I do like helping people, I know it sounds a bit trite and is the ultimate cliche, but it really is the truth. (And, of course, the county gives me a fast car with cool lights and a bunch of guns to go and play cops and robbers with!!!)

As for the dislikes, there are many. One is that we usually only get to see the worst side of humanity. We deal with those who prey upon their fellow man, and the victims of these predators. We see all the pain and suffering and see very little of the good. The sad thing about that, is when we are at the scene of these crimes, too often we are not only unappreciated (sometimes by the very individuals that called us there in the first place) but we are attacked, physically as well as verbally, and all of our motives and reasons are called in to question. We are always guilty until proven innocent by the media, regardless of the facts. If we write a citation, or give a warning, our jobs are threatened by the offender, we are told that we will be sued and our families ruined on a daily basis. The city/county/state/ we work for has no problem distancing it's self from all of us when 1 or 2 bad apples in a department of thousands is found to be in the wrong. But begs us to come in everyday with a smile while they kick us around on the op/ed page of the local newspaper. When one of our members is murdered in the line of duty, only 1 or 2 of these politicians bother to come to pay their respects to their fallen officer/deputy/trooper.

These are not all of my likes and dislikes of this job that I've been doing for close to 20 years, and I'm sure you will get a ton of answers. I can't wait to read them.

That makes me really sad that you guys get treated that way. I feel lucky I was brought up in a fairly small town where most people respected police officers. I've seen how hard the officers in my town work, and I'm thankful every day for them. Just know that there are many people out there that support you in the job you do, and are thankful to have you!

[EMVAMPYRE]

Well thank you Sarah, I appreciate that. We don't get to hear that too often, and it's actually nice to read it once and a while.