Why be a cop (women out there)?

[mmagoo]

Hey, I have a two part question. First, Iwant to hear from some of you out there as to why someone would choose to be a police officer? Why do you love it (or not)? How does one know if it is the type of work for them?

I'd also like to hear from women. What is it like working in law enforcement which is so male/testosterone dominated? What are the attitudes of other officers toward you? What are the additional challenges you face?

[K9 Police]

First of all, it is an excellent question to ask before deciding to become a police officer. I truly believe each person must ask that question to themselves and come up with a true and honest answer.

I believe that my answer is two-fold. One, as everyone says, is to help people. However, I believe that my "help" is much more exclusive than what most people think. Being a Community Service Officer, I have learned that helping someone goes from helping an elderly person carry groceries to her car to saving a pets life by bringing it to the vet. From helping someone fix a flat tire to helping people get into a car they locked their keys in.

However, there is a second part. If all I wanted to do was help people, I would have become a doctor or a paramedic. The second part is to be the calm of the storm. When there is an emergency, when emotions are high, when people need help, I want to be there. From a car accident, to a domestic abuse fight, I want to be a police officer so I can keep the peace and somehow make a difference in a person's life, no matter how small it might be. Arresting a drunk driver might of saved a persons life, checking the business at 0330 might of saved a burgulary, arresting the abuser might have saved the victims life, finding the lost child brings a family together.

I want to be a police officer to help people while making a difference in the community, one person at a time.

Now the not so great part of police work. As my Sgt said, "You are the human garbage collector of the city, only that you get paid a little more but you have a LOT more stress than garbage collectors." This statement has stayed with me for the last month. How will you know if you want to be a cop? It is in your heart, a passion. I believe many of the people on the board have that. I think as of it, as corny as it may sound, as a calling. My family has been in law enforcement and so will I. The sure way to know that it is what you want to do, become employed in a department and you will find out soon enough. Either from a dispatcher to a reserve officer to a records clerk. Any experience will give you a realistic view of police work.

As for not loving it: LEO's have the highest divorce, suicide, alcohol, substance abuse rate than most professions. Enough said. (As my mother has reminded me of this more times than I can count).

Now don't get me wrong, police work is a very thankless job. Many officers become "worn-out" over this and the politics that the job entails. I wonder to myself about how crappy of a job people say it is and how many people want to do it. It doesn't make sense if you think about it logically.

I am not female so I can not answer your other questions. Although, I hope some of this has been beneficial to you. And as always, this is all my opinion.

K9

[Sig 20]

The shear love of the job, waking up, going to do something that I have dreamt about for ten years, and getting paid for it...! I get to do, see, and hear things that regular civilians only dream of! The best benefit to me is that it seems to have filled a hole in my soul, as corny as that may sound, that I never realized was there until I became an officer. I love helping others, and whether or not I get a thank you, I get satisfaction in the knowing that I did all I could that day to make the citizen's I serve safe for that night!
Now the bad news about being a female officer, well, there are a few. I get mistrust that I can't do the job as well as my male counterpart. I approach things differently though I believe, than my male counterpart, but this is a learning experience for us both, and takes time to realize form both parties. So I am trusting that eventually they will realize that just because I may talk more than use action, its not always wrong. Don't get me wrong, if trouble comes to me, I won't run, its just that I believe in using my wits rather than my braun.
Have to utilize the latrine on a more frequent basis, which is rather involved....enough said, (it take forever!)
I just think that I will have to be 10 times as vigilant, and work 10 times as hard as my male counterpart, to prove that I am worth trusting....but ya know, I think once I earn that respect, well, I will be ten times as proud that I did! That is about it as far as the bad news goes....
So if its your dream..live it! Good luck and God Speed!

Sig 20