Sights and Sounds of Law Enforcement
Highest rate of suicide. Highest rate of alcoholism and drug abuse. Highest rate of divorce. Highest rate of heart disease. Highest rate of early death. Among any other job, law enforcement has the highest rates of all these things. If this sounds good to you, sign up for a life of low pay, high danger, and underappreciation at your local police department.
Your wife or husband doesn't understand the things that go on in your head. "How was your day today honey?" usually provokes a fight because you lie and say "Fabulous! And yours?" But how else are you supposed to answer? "Well today, let's see? I stopped a cracked up mother from choping her child's fingers off because he dropped her pipe. Then I saw the mutillated remains of a suicidal guy who splattered his brains on the walls. Then it was off to help a battered wife who doesn't want to press charges and keeps getting the crap beat out of her. Oh, yes, the final great portion of my day was being in court and losing on a technicality to some hot-shot lawyer. Yeah, my day was great, how about yours?"
You lose some friends.
You gain some others.
You begin to hang out with cops.
They know the deal, they feel what you're feeling.
You can share your war stories and hear some that make you think your life isn't too bad after all.
Yup. It's a great life.
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You are confronted daily with situations which can send you home early (did you use too much force on the known shooter who reached for his pocket) or situations that could send you home in a box (did you use too little force and the known shooter took advantage of you because they knew you'd get shit if you drew your weapon). |
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You have to be a helping hand to the injured, the sick, the mentally ill, the victims and the offenders, regardless of your personal feelings of who you think committed the crime. Psychology wasn't your major, but you're beginning to think it was. |
| You don't make nearly as much money as a medical doctor, and at times, the mean streets seem more like a war zone, so maybe a battle medic would be more like the job you perfom. | |
| Sometimes you arrive too late and tragedy strikes, or someone makes it strike themselves. Then you're left to put the pieces together for a confused and often bewildered family and friends who take it out on you for "not gettting there in time." |  |
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Everyone wants to fight you, even when they're not involved. A simple arrest soon turns into a large scale block riot, and you're caught in the middle. |  |
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You rely on your brothers and sisters to back you up when times go bad and that's how you form such a bond with them. There's no worse feeling than knowing a brother or sister law enforcement officer is in trouble. |
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Everything you do is scrutinized by dozens of department investigators. Then it goes out of the department to others. Split-second decisions can mean the difference between having a job and having a funeral for yourself. |
| Physical fitness is a must. Physical force in excess is intolerable and becomes a pink slip. |  |
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Did I mention everyone resists yet? |  |
Not everyone can hack the law enforcement life. Guts of steel, a sharp mind, and a street sense are a good start.
