Work hours and relationships

[K9 Police]

Hello everyone,

I am currently working for two police departments, however, it is not full time and I am not on a set schedule. Currently, I am working normal hours, with weekends off. As of right now, I also have holidays off. These are non-sworn positions.

I am, hopefully, close to being hired with a department in Wisconsin. My girlfriend's dad is also an officer with a department and stated tonight that "every third year you will get a holiday off and every three months your rotation will give you a weekend or two off." I was surprised how drastic this was compared to my expectations.

I am currently single and realize that this will not have a great impact in my life and relationship as of now. However, if I do decide to settle down and have a family I am wondering how this can affect a family and the relationship. She has grown up with her dad being an officer her whole life and knows what to expect. I am just curious as to how other departments work when it comes to hours, holidays, weekends off, etc.

I am very interested in hearing opinions from those who are married and/or have kids and are able to work this type of schedule. I have always been told that you work crappy hours, I guess I wasn't really expecting this.

Any opinions, suggestions, or comments would be great. Thanks!

K9

(Although I would still take the job in a heartbeat!!!!)

[kenoshacop]

Hey K9,

Down in K-town, the county works a 5 on 2 off/5 on 3 off and the city works a 4 on 2 off schedule. For the county, we get weekends off about every 3 months, but then we are off on weekends for about 6 weeks. To clarify, we work 5 days, are off 2, work 5 days and are then off 3. We are also in the initial stages of discussing a 7 on/7 off schedule.

As far as other things that screw with your schedule on our dept., we are so understaffed, that your first 3-4 years you shouldn't make any plans on your days off. We have so much overtime that we don't have enough people volunteer to fill it all. Thus, the new guys are ordered in. Whether it's working 3-4 16 hour days a week (we work 8 hour shifts), or not having a day off for 2-3 months (these mainly occur during summer months), you are basically at the dept's. beckon call. We can volunteer or be forced in to work up to 48 hours of overtime every 2 weeks. I've got enough time on that I don't get forced in and pretty much just pick and choose the o.t. shifts I want (I try and avoid 3rd shift, would rather work 1st or 2nd), and I picked up about 500 hours of overtime last year.

You also learn to work around holidays. For instance, if you work 2nd shift (like I do) you just do Christmas in the morning and then go to work. Also, most of us without kids are pretty good at not taking vacation time during xmas so that the guys that do have kids can be at home with them. My parents live up north, about 6 hours away, so if I have a few of my regular days off before the holidays, I just go up then to spend time with them. I do have enough seniority on the shift to get whatever vacation days I want, but I'd rather let the guys with kids spend time with them.

All in all, it does take some getting used to, but you learn to work around it.

Kenoshacop

[papimike]

HERE'S A TYPICAL 7 DAY SCHEDULE FOR ME: (SPECIFICALLY THESE PAST 7 DAYS)

MONDAY - DAY OFF (WORKING THOUGH -- GRAND JURY
APPEARANCE FOR AN ARREST THE WEEK BEFORE -
WORKED FROM 9AM TO 5PM)

TUESDAY - WORKED FROM 4PM TO 1AM

WEDNESDAY - WORKED FROM 4PM TO 1AM

THURSDAY - WORKED FROM 8AM TO 11PM (ARREST OVERTIME)

FRIDAY - WORKED FROM 8AM TO 5AM SATURDAY (ARREST
OVERTIME)

SATURDAY - OFF

SUNDAY - OFF

MONDAY - WORKED FROM 4PM TO 5AM (ARREST OVERTIME)

THIS IS BASED ON A 4 DAY ON 2 DAY OFF SCHEDULE I WORK.

--AS FOR PERSONAL LIFE...IT SUCKS. THE STEADY GIRLFRIEND KNEW WHAT SHE WAS COMING INTO, BUT IS HAVING A TOUGH TIME WITH THE SCHEDULE. ITS TOUGH ON ME BECAUSE I MISS ALOT OF TIME WITH MY KIDS, BUT THEY ARE SOMEWHAT USE TO IT TOO--NOT SEEING DADDY ALOT. BUT THE TIME I SPEND WITH THEM IS FULL OF QUALITY.

[MikeNYPD]

PapiMIke,
I was wondering are you in Anti-Crime?? Because those hours relate , and they suck LOL.. You are right you miss alot of time with alot of people.. Well I was curious..

Stay Safe.

Mike

[996s]

My normal work schedule is 3 days on, 3 days off. 4pm-4am, usually on of those days I end up staying until 8-9 in the morning on OT due to a late DUI, or arrest, or helping out in a case. Traffic accident etc...
On my 3 days off, maybe have court one day and work OT, doing traffic, the last day I go surfing.

[GangBuster]

Yeah, police work can be tough on relationships, and that is a perfect reason why you see so many cops married to other cops, or relationships starting in the department. One thing is that you really need someone who understands the trials and tribulations of police work, and the other problem is often with those kinds of hours, you really aren't afforded much time off of the job to meet people! Another cop obviously understands the odd hours and can relate to what you deal with daily on the job.

[tcsd1236]

I work a full time job at the SO, a part time village PD job, and am in the National Guard. Needless to say, I HAVE no regular schedule. I DID leave the 1500-2300 shift after 13 years to be home a few nights with the family.

Don't expect to have many holidays off in this job. We get weekends off in a fairly predictable manner, as our days off rotate forward one day every four weeks. That gives you actual weekends off for two months out of the year. But really, I HATE having weekends off. Thats when EVERYONE ELSE is off, and if you are trying to do something, you have to fight the crowds and traffic.

[jonlaw]

K9 Police,

This job takes dedication, not only from you but from your family members as well, most important of all your spouse. After ten years of life's experiences, both on the job and off, I can tell you I've had my fair share of knock-down-drag-outs with the "boss" over my work hours. With the right person, you can overcome the pitfalls of police work and how it relates to your homelife. There are many other professions out there that would demand one's time, away from their family. You have to learn how to work around that, together, and make up for any lost time.

There is no rule of law that you have to celebrate a special occasion (i.e. birthday, holiday, etc.) on that specific day. With shift work, you can actually plan your family time better. On the other hand, I've worked Narcotics for the past four years and my wife has threatened to smash my pager with a hammer on more than one occasion. She no longer asks me my schedule, she says she will see me when she sees me. The point is we celebrate the time we have together, even if it is just a few hours during a busy week, rather than get upset about me having to work so much. My oldest daughter's earliest words were literally "Daddy's at work"!!!

It's not easy. There is no question there is a high divorce rate among LE families. But, you have to make it work. You will have to make sacrifices, as will your significant other. There are plenty of success stories of LE families that have survived intact upon retirement. Not without some pretty nice "battle" scars though...

[K9 Police]

Thanks everyone for your responses.

Tcsd1236, I also enjoy working the weekends and afternoon/night shifts. Everyone I work with thinks I am crazy because of it. Does this usually change once you are on the job awhile longer? Right now I wouldn't even want to head to days or have off on the weekends. Most likely it is just because I am new. It will wear off someday.

Thanks again.

K9

[tcsd1236]

Originally posted by K9 Police
Thanks everyone for your responses.

Tcsd1236, I also enjoy working the weekends and afternoon/night shifts. Everyone I work with thinks I am crazy because of it. Does this usually change once you are on the job awhile longer? Right now I wouldn't even want to head to days or have off on the weekends. Most likely it is just because I am new. It will wear off someday.

Thanks again.

K9

I worked evenings for the better part of 13 years, with a detour or two for the short haul for a "flex" shift that consisted of two days and three evening shifts.

I'd still be on it if I was single. Thats where the activity is, and I like to stay busy.