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A police officer is the guy who drive around in a cop car, catches criminals and give us tickets, right?
Not hardly.
A police officer does much more than one might assume. Police officers are delegated a heavy responsibility of making their community, district, state or province a safer place. They must handle the detection, apprehension and prevention of criminals.
They must maintain public order, protect the citizens and patrol the area.
The career of a police officer may be a slower-paced environment, like a traffic controller, or they may be in a specialty area like counter-terrorism, murder, drug trafficking or investigations.
Some police officers are in charge of the police canine unit, and work with the dogs to train, care for, and work alongside them.
All police officers, regardless of their specialty enforce the law. There are exciting parts of their day, like catching criminals, collecting evidence and investigating crimes and there are other not-so-exciting parts of their day, like writing up reports and directing traffic.
During a regular work day, most police officers wear uniforms. While detectives and special agents are part of the regular force, they often work in regular clothes and usually have separate duties from police officers.
While in uniform on the job, most police officers ride in cars, but some work on foot or ride horses, bikes, or motorcycles. Some even work in boats on rivers and in harbors.
Most police officers and detectives work at least 40 hours a week. As with most professionals, when they work longer, they get extra pay. Police work doesn’t stop because it’s a weekend or a holiday, so officers are required to work those as well. Police work doesn’t stop when the sun goes down, so officer shifts work around the clock.
Because of the anything-can-happen mentality of the law enforcement arena, officers must be ready to go to work at all times. Police officers may work very long hours, travel extensively on short notice, and be required to be away for family holidays and events.
The job of a police officer is very risky, they risk their own lives to protect the lives of everyday citizens. But with extensive training, strict requirements, and excellent leadership examples, all officers can be safe while they serve their communities with pride. Police officers must be prepared to meet danger each day. They are all brave men and women who fight crime with both their intelligence and their physical strength. If you are one of those who doesn’t want to get stuck behind a desk or who wants to be sure
you are making a real difference at work, the job of a police officer might be a good fit for you.
