Being THE rookie

[SWAT1088]

I was just wondering how long this "rookie" phase lasts. my fto basically told me that no one on your department will really talk to me for a while because i am the new guy. I got put with another officer, non fto, yesterday because we lacked cars. we said maybe 10 words the whole shift. do you think i should just keep my mouth shut and let them come to me or what. and by the way, how old did, "hey kid, your badge is on upside down" get. i think i got it twice yesterday. but you have to look incase someone messed with your jacket while you set it down.

[Birky]

It all depends some people won't talk to you for a while. I know I really don't talk to new people for a while just because I don't know if I can trust them. They kinda have to prove themselves to me before I talk to them. The badge upside down thing is new to me see if you can get a sew on badge for your jacket and then you won't have to worry about it.

[Tank]

Rookie time is learning time, that being the case, I plan on being a rook until retirement. My general impression of people who subject rookies to the little games and silent treatment are simply this: either they are humerous kind of people and that's just a facet of their mirth (have thick skin and hand some back-it's all in fun), or they are insecure power grabbers (have some thick skin and don't worry about it). Take things as they come and move on. Ask yourself a question "Is this guy that's giving me a hard time someone I want to emulate, is he competent and professional, and do I trust him to cover me in a stressful situation?" The ones that I have seen that act like King Friday towards rookies aren't stellar cops.

My modus operandi is simply this - I watch and I listen. I can learn something from every situation - it may be a good lesson or a bad lesson, but it is still a lesson. The senior officers I take the best lessons from seem to be those that refrain from disparaging people in general (not just rookies).

You must accept the fact that senior officers will be mentally evaluating you as well. They want to know that they can trust you and your actions/reactions to keep them safe as well.

Good luck and keep your chin up.

Tank

[CO_Hopeful]

SWAT, I can only imagine the discomfort you are feeling now. I am very apprehensive about that issue which I will be facing in 2 months. I got my first dose of a scolding the other day....

I've been in constant contact with an Officer with the agency which hired me. He subsequently did my BI, and I've been on a handful of ride alongs with him. He is very good at teaching, and explaining things thoroughly. Anyway....I felt it necessary to share my thoughts/opinions on a particular subject, with which he felt it necessary to straighten me out. :)

I felt about 2 inches tall, and ashamed that I just didn't keep my mouth shut. It was a lesson well learned, and I'm glad it happened before I was in the FTO phase....or around other officers.

Anyway, wear that thick skin with pride.....and soon enough you'll be telling other rookies their badge is on upside down. (Or, you can remember how miserable you felt, and choose to make them feel more welcome.)

[Birky]

Don't take any of this personally the jokes are just a way to break the ice. The silent treatment will go away with time and when the other officers feel comfortable around you this might take longer with some than others. But as said earlier don't sweat it listen to what is being said by all and learn from your mistakes and from others. You will be fine and eventually you won't be the new guy on the block anymore.

[stein810]

everybody goes through that...... it took me awhile to get accepted into the shift. it is like a family in a way.. and when u get a new member it takes awhile for everyone to get confortable with that new person. it took me well 6-8 months for people to talk to me and joke with me. everything will be fine. i just never talked to anyone unless i reallly had to and let everyone get used to me.





Originally posted by SWAT1088
I was just wondering how long this "rookie" phase lasts. my fto basically told me that no one on your department will really talk to me for a while because i am the new guy. I got put with another officer, non fto, yesterday because we lacked cars. we said maybe 10 words the whole shift. do you think i should just keep my mouth shut and let them come to me or what. and by the way, how old did, "hey kid, your badge is on upside down" get. i think i got it twice yesterday. but you have to look incase someone messed with your jacket while you set it down.

[stein810]

yeah i hear ya..... i HATE it when other scout cars jump my runs and then when i get there i have to RE-sort it out to get all the facts and curcumstances!!! i never jump anyone's runs... i just wait around the corner and then when they show up i also pull up....... i hate it when other scout cars pull up and jump the run then they want you to do all the damn paperwork.......







Originally posted by kthejoker
I am a rookie and I know what your saying.

The part I really hate is when my FTO jumps calls that have already been decentralized, then I show up and end up doing everyone's freaking paperwork.

I don't mind the paperwork, but If I do it, I would atleast like to do the call.

O well...... just babling..........

[pintsizedpi]

i have a hard time getting "instructed" in front of the complaintant or suspect/violator. i don't know.....it just makes me look stupid in front of someone/something i'm supposed to be taking control of. i wish they would just wait till we were alone to "instruct", so to make it at least look like i know what i'm doing. :mad:

[BVG819]

SWAT1088,

Everyone gets the rookie/silent treatment when they start. As Birky mentioned, no one knows if they can trust you, so they will be stand-offish for a while. Keep your mouth shut, speak only when spoken to, and you'll be fine.

One bit of advice I will offer you is to lay low when you get cut loose. DO NOT try and solve the cities' crime problem single-handedly. I'm refering to the desire some new guys have to arrest everyone in sight, write more tickets than the entire state police, and respond to every call dispatched in the city/county. When your new, you are going to make mistakes. The more contacts/arrests you make, the more opportunities you create to embarrass yourself. Take things slow for the first year and learn what's going on. That way you can avoid citing the Mayor's wife for an illegal lane change, or jacking up a undercover narc officer in the middle of a drug transaction. If your going to be a cop for 25 years, you will have plenty of time to get into everything you want to.

[wellcraft]

I'm sure it will wear off soon enough and you will have another batch of new guys to take over the rookie title. You will look back at this and think, was all of that rookie complaining even worth the energy.

By the way, congrats on your new job too!

Good Luck.

[Joe159]

I'm creeping up on 2 years now with my dept. I still very much consider myself to be a rookie. Still have so much to learn. One thing I dont do anymore is take other lazy officers' arrests anymore.

[Gar]

Guys are quiet for two reasons. One is because they don't know you. Remember back when you were in school, the 1st day of class no one spoke if they didn't know each other. Now if you ever moved to a new neighborhood and got placed in a class mid-term(your situation) , it's even worse. Because now all the kids know each other, but they don't know you. So you can be isolated for a while. It's the same shit 20 years later.

I wouldn't go trying to befriend any and everyone. Because you might befriend a real asshole or a **** up. I say just watch and listen and develope a hierachy for people according to their personalities and work ethic. Before long you will gravitate towards the people you are most like.

Another reason is you can be a snitch for IAB or a similiar organization. Everyone that did police work for some time has some kind of dirt on them. And with you coming right out of the academy with alot of the protocol fresh in your mind and your wanting to change the world attitude, it can be a conflict with the old timers that know some of that academy stuff doesn't fly out on the streets.

Only one thing can help this whole process go faster, and that's if another recruit class comes in after you. They can't come in right after you, becuase then they will be associated with you. But a good 5 or 6 months of space in between you guys, well turn that 5 or 6month into a year just becuase new rookies are coming. Only the dirtest cops would still be giving YOU the cold shoulder after 6 months with a set of fresh rookies coming in. And in any case you dont need to be associating with him anyway.

[njpo]

hello all,


From day one everyone in my department made me feel like part of the family. Of course eveyone has to prove themselves, but as soon as you hit the steet your all on the same team. I have six months on the street and i feel like my partners trust me and i can trust them. On the other hand for those people about to get ot of the academy and onto the street it is very very very very important as all the other posts have already said, keep your mouth shut and your ears and eyes open. Just remember you all have the best job in the world and the only way for all of us to keep this job is to learn and to learn from or mistakes everyday.

BE SAFE
NJPO

[jaybird]

As for how long being given the silent treatment or having jokes played on you will last, I guess it all depends on who you ride with and hang out with at work.

I've been on for nearly two years now and with the pace that our department is growing, I'm already riding with people who have been on the force less time than I have.

I will always ask them where they are in phases just to get a gauge of where they are in training. Then after that I'm tell them this, "look, feel free to talk, ask me questions about what we're doing when we get done or when we're on scene if you don't know what to do. I'm here to learn too, and if you know something I don't, I want to know so I can learn."

I see no need in being a harda$$ to anyone. I always ask when we get in the car from a call and its all done if there is anything that happened that we ought to talk about because I don't want any misunderstanding. I guess a lot of times things happen fast and there isn't time to discuss, but just act.

Anyway, I'm about learning and understanding, not being a dick to a new guy. I'm still a new guy, and I'm sure as heck still learning.

Anyway, I probably just ramble on about nothing,

goodluck
Jay