Why I Would Be a Police Officer Most of my life my father has been a police officer, so I have grown up hearing some crazy stories; but one of the best parts is hearing how my father is able to help people whose situation is out of their control. I will go over a few reasons in this essay why the choice of being a police officer, out of the entire criminal justice system, would be an easy choice for me. Whether it be following in my father’s footsteps, or having a solid career to raise a family on, or the fact that every day presents an opportunity to change someone’s life for the better in a big way—being a police officer would be my job choice out of the whole criminal justice system. Growing up, as most anyone does, I looked up to my father. He would come home in his police uniform each day, which I thought looked very cool, and he would tell me any funny stories; like the story of a man running away with his saggy pants and going head over heels because his pants tripped him. I always thought that being a police officer would be the most fun job out there, but as I matured I realized that it’s not all fun and games. I would come to realize the scrutiny that the law enforcement is under by the public. People these days try their best to make others believe that police officers have been racist or unjust to them. …show more content…
Being able to follow in my father’s footsteps and look as cool as he always has would be a dream come true. Having job security would ease my mind and make my life a whole lot less stressful than always worrying if I will have a job in the future or not. The always changing situations would make for a great stimulant, you know, the kind of thing that doesn’t make you want to put your head through a screen. Ultimately for me, the fact that I could help make my community a better place makes the choice of a police officer an easy
...erall, I think that this interview has taught me that every law enforcement officer have a different opinion and it should be voiced. Mr. Cayette told me exactly how he felt without holding back. It was different just listening to the responses because it was said by an actual officer instead of just another ordinary person expressing how they feel. The interview also made me realize that people cannot be mad at every police officer for one police officer’s wrong doing. According to National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund, “There are more than 900,000 sworn law enforcement officers now serving in the United States, which is the highest figure ever. About 12 percent of those are female.” People should stop listening to the media all the time because it does convince people to hate police officers because there are many police officers in the U.S. with good intentions.
"A policeman’s first obligation is to be responsible to the needs of the community he serves…The problem is that the atmosphere does not yet exist in which an honest police officer can act without fear of ridicule or reprisal from fellow officers. We create an atmosphere in which the honest officer fears the dishonest officer, and not the other way around.", -Frank Serpico.
This purpose of this paper is to interview a former Sergeant (Sgt) in the New Jersey police department, James Garber, to determine his thoughts on the current state of the criminal justice system. During this interview, Sgt Garber was asked several questions regard the current state of the criminal justice system; specifically, in what ways is the system working, in what ways is the system failing, and what direction he sees the justice system going. As part of this, he explains why he feels this way about the justice system, to include specific examples to support his belief. In addition to Sgt Garber’s opinion on these matters, this analysis includes real world examples that support the problems he identifies. Lastly, this paper
When political anarchy, social injustices, and crime end up leading to civil depravities that go against the foundation of democracy, society depends on the police to come in and keep the peace, while attempting to restore the order. These officers are asked to pursue criminals in vehicles, and on foot, repeatedly expose themselves to the dangers of the crimes, and remain calm while being under pressure at all moments on the job, and even off duty. Being an officer of the law takes a special person
On Tuesday, September 23rd, I had the opportunity to do a ride along with the Takoma Park police department. My ride along was quite interesting. I rode with Officer Carl, a twenty-six-year-old officer who has been with the police department for six months. During the ride along we engaged in so many conversations concerning his work routine, and some the important things to be aware of as a police officer. Officer Carl and I were about the same age group so I felt much comfortable talking to him. Before I went for the ride along I had a different perspective about police work, I thought police work was much amusing and entertaining, but after the ride along with Officer Carl, I have realized that there is much more to police work and it often
These changes have manifested both positive and negative reverberations in the way we perform our job. Police officials have contemplated for years over the key to maintaining a positive image for their organization. Unfortunately, several incidents in the past years have altered society's perception of police in some communities. Police in America are no longer strangers to innovation born of scandal.
The negative views of everyday people often make work hard for officers, adding more stress to their careers. The general public regularly criticizes officers for using excessive force and brutality, especially when a police officer ends up killing a suspect or criminal. Oftentimes, especially when a white police officer shoots a citizen of a minority race, the general public is quick to find faults in the officer, blaming the officer for being racist. However, cold, hard statistics show that the majority of police officers are, in fact, white, and the neighborhoods in which these officers are placed in tend to be high-crime areas with many minority citizens living there (Miller “When Cops Kill”). In addition, people might say that a citizen who was shot was not armed; however, almost anything close to the shot individual could have been turned into a deadly weapon that he or she could have used to wound or kill the officer involved. Whenever officers are in this position, the natural reaction is to defend themselves. Everyday, police officers confront the most aggressive, immoral, and sick-minded individuals of society. Officers jeopardize their own lives every time they report for work. Officers witness things that no person should ever have to encounter. They see the most horrific and gruesome scenes that the general public turns away from and
It is a myth to believe that an officers job is spend fighting dangerous crimes, in reality officers spend more time handing smaller cases. For example, police officers spend a lot of time doing daily tasks such as giving speeding tickets and being mediators in disputes (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Handing out speeding tickers and handling minor disputes are far from fighting crime. Police officers spend more time doing preventive measures (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Preventive measures involve officers intervening to prevent further altercations. Victor Kappeler and Gary Potter discussed the myth of crime fighting as invalid and misleading notions of an officer’s employment.
At some point in our lives, everybody eventually comes in contact with a law enforcement officer, some people for different reasons. Law enforcement officers work around the clock to keep citizens safe. Many people do not know a lot of things about law enforcement, some of those will be discussed. Those topics are agency administration, issues with law enforcement in today’s society, and law enforcement history.
It is easy for police to get caught up in the idea that it is them against the rest of society (Barkan, 2012). Many citizens in today’s democratic society have a negative or fearful view of our law enforcement. Think back to grade school, who was that one kid in class that everyone was annoyed by or despised? Most people would answer the teacher’s pet or the tattletale. We have grown up from a young age to have a negative view towards those that get us into trouble when we think we can get away with something we know is wrong. In the adult world, the police force can equate to those tattletales.
While growing up I did not know exactly what I wanted to be when I became an adult. My parents came from good backgrounds, my mother has a Ph.D. in education and my father is retired from the United States Army. It was not until my eight grade year in middle school, when I figured out what I wanted to do in a career field. Parent career day was the special event, and all the classmates’ parents came to speak about their careers or jobs. The career field that caught my attention was the police officer. He explained the everyday expectation of a police officers, the mental and physical challenges an officer goes through while on duty. The police officer continued to give examples and show us common mistakes citizens have about police officer. He explained the task of a police officer varies from day to day. The career of a police officer brings a different challenge every day and you have to be mentally and physically ready for anything and anywhere. He furthered explained, one day as an officer you might be in court all day or the next day you might have to chase a suspect on foot. ...
My internship at the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Department made me realize that I am searching for a career that has high intrinsic value. This is probably the reason why I am in the military and most likely the reason why I can now envision myself as a police officer, because I want to serve my community and give back. According to Boal (2004), “In Order for police officers to be effective they must have the support of the community. All Involved parties should understand their role and obligations in providing for the safety of the community”. From what I saw this department was doing a good job of community policing and it’s something I would be very passionate about if I was an officer. Not only did this internship open me to the possibility of becoming a police officer, it also helps shape my current career
In my opinion, the many different views of police culture can vary in many different situations. I say this because of the many different views this can be misleading at times. I think what's needed is reform of a police culture that has often infected relations between police and blacks, destabilized respect for cops and the law, and set the basis for the many deaths. The overall image of the police offers is an overview of the public’s perception of the police in reality. Without the public’s view of this police culture wouldn’t have the look it has now. Specific characteristics of the publics, association, or foundation remain interchangeable. Actions of the overall image are valuable because they
My plan in life is to become a Police Officer. Not only would that give me the opportunity to help other people but becoming a Police Officer also gives me the opportunity to follow in my Uncles footsteps and do something that I have wanted to do my whole life. I have always wanted to make a difference in the world, and this gives me the chance. Performing justice the right way and making sure that the laws of the government are obeyed is the job that I want to pursue. Being a Police Officer is a challenging job but also very rewarding. There would be a number of skills I would need to learn, not to mention that every day on the job would be a learning experience itself. Every single day that I would go to work, I would potentially be saving someone’s life. Stopping a speeder, arresting a criminal, preventing harmful attempts, they are things that would save someone’s life. Even if my actions were not as simple as that, for example, if I were to witness an accident or arrive onto the scene of one, just being there gives me the opportunity to take preventative measures. When I become a Police Officer, it woul...
In the past eight years as a police officer for the City of South Salt Lake, I have found that personal growth and achievement in my career have been based on certain past experiences. Such experiences have molded what my personality is today. I have found that in order to be triumphant in my personal and professional goals, it has been necessary for me to reflect not only on my strides, but also my mistakes.