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AustinFleener
Ms.Boes
English10
11February2014
PoliceAren'tBadPeople
Thinkhowitwouldfeeltobeabletohelpoutunknownciviliansinyourcommunityeachand
everyday.Notknowingwhotheyare,whattheirbackgroundis,wheretheyrefrom,whotheyknow,
orhowtheygotthere.Riskingyourlifetosavethatpersonnomatterwhatthecircumstancesare.Your
onlyjobistokeepthecommunitysafefromanysortofdangerandyouwoulddoanythingtodoso.
Despitethehatethatthepoliceget,theyarewhatkeepsthepeopleinthecommunitiesoftheUnited
Statessafeandoutofharmsway.Theycreateajustsocietysothatpeoplelikeyouandmecanlivein
harmony.
Therearedozensofdifferentkindoflawenforcementdutiesandpositions.Someofwhich
includeuniformedpoliceofficers,whicharethenormalpoliceofficersthatregulatepatrolina
community,specialjurisdictionpolice,whichisapoliceforcethatpatrolsaspecificarealikeaschoolor
acollege,SheriffsandDeputysheriffs,whichareanenforcementteamthatpatrolsonacountylevel,
andStatepatrolofficers,whichareanenforcementteamthatpatrolsthehighwaysofastate("Discover
Policing.").Ihavealwayswantedtobecomeapoliceofficer,uniformedpoliceofficer,eversinceIwas
akidIthoughtitwouldbecooltochasedownbadguysandputtheminjail.NowIlookatitina
differentway.Ithinkitwouldbeverybeneficialtobeabletohelpoutmycommunityandkeep
everyoneinitsafefromdanger.Havingtowatchwhatyoudoeverysecondbecauseofthehighrisk
eachandeveryday.

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Thedailytaskofalawenforcementofficerisonthetopofmostboringjobdescriptions,but
whatactuallyhappensiswhatmakesthejobinteresting.Ithinkhavingahighriskoccupationiswhat
wouldmakeworknotfeellikework."Looknofurtherthanyourself,forallofthegoodandallofthe
evilthatexistinthisworld,residesintheheartofmanandhispropensitytouseit"("Thread:
InspirationalQuotes.").Whatlawenforcementofficersdodependsonwhatpositionyouhave.Iwant
tobecomeauniformedpoliceofficerandwhattheydoistheypatrolasmallerareaofacommunity
lookingforcrimeorcriminalactivity.ThereasonIchosethisovertheotherpositionsisbecausethis
meansIcouldbeclosertohomeifIlivedinthesamecommunity,Iwouldntnecessarilyhavetotravel
asmuchastheotherpositions,andlastlyIwouldbemakingthecommunitymoresafeformyfamilyand
children.
WhatIhaveheardfromfamilieswhohaveafamilymemberasalawenforcementofficeristhat
itcanruinfamiliesandmarriages.Thereasonthattheydothisisbecauseofthehoursthatofficerswould
havetoworkandthedemandofalltheofficers.Policeofficersusuallyhavetoworklongshiftsduring
thedayandintothenight.Ifyouareworkingforadepartmentthatisshortinofficersthenwhen
accidentsormajorcrimeshappenatanyhourofthedayofficerscouldbecalledandhavetowork
overtime("PoliceOfficerWorkingConditions.").Withthesehighdemandsalackofleisuretimeis
commonwithinthefirstseveralyearsofworkinginmostforces.Thisisoneofthetwomainconcerns,
orfears,ofbecominganenforcementofficer.BesidesthelackoftimeIcouldspendformyselformy
futurefamily,theotherfearIhaveisbeingabletosupportthatfuturefamily.Thepayforpoliceofficers
isntverygoodespeciallyforthehighdemands,highrisk,andmanyhours.Theaveragesalaryfora
policeofficerin2012accordingtoblsis$56,980asayearlysalaryand$27.40asanhourlysalary
("Summary.").Thatsalaryisntconsideredbad,butwiththeamountoftimeyouputinandthetime

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spentdoingyourjobcomparedtowhatyougetisalmosta2:1ratioinmymind.ThereasonIthinkitis
aslowasitis,isbecauseitisajobthatanyHighSchooldiplomagraduatecanget.
Educationtobecomeapoliceofficercanvarybasedonyourpreferenceonhowfaryouwould
liketogoinyoucareer.Themoreeducationyouhavethebetteroffyouwillbeinyourfutureandthe
easieryoucanmoveupinjobpositions.Tobecomeapoliceofficer,expecttotakea4to6month
lawenforcementtrainingprogramatyourstatePoliceAcademy.Courseworknormallyincludescriminal
law,defensivetactics,conflictmanagement,communitypolicing,investigativeprocedures,motorvehicle
law,patrolprocedures,emergencydrivingtechniques,firstaidandfirearms.Physicaltrainingisalsoa
requiredpartofalllawenforcementtrainingprograms.("LearnAboutYourLawEnforcement
EducationOptions.").Ifyouwouldwanttogohigherinthecriminaljusticefieldthenyouwouldwantto
considergettingmoreeducationthanjustahighschooldiploma.Atleastyouwouldwanttogeta
bachelordegreeinCriminalJusticeandforthemostsuccessingettinghigherinrankyouwillwantto
haveacoupleofyearsofjobexperienceinhighleveljobpositions("LearnAboutYourLaw
EnforcementEducationOptions.").
Despitethehatethatthepoliceget,theyarewhatkeepsthepeopleinthecommunitiesofthe
UnitedStatessafeandoutofharmsway.Theycreateaserenesocietyforthepeoplelikeyouandme
canliveinharmony.Inmyopinion,oneofthemostimportantjobsinoursocietyisalawenforcement
deputy.Theyrisktheirlivestosavepeoplethattheydidntevenknowexisted.Theytaketimeaway
fromthepeoplethattheyloveandcareabouttoprotectthepeopleoftheircommunities.Beingan
officertakesprideandcommitment,theyshouldgetasmuchrespectandhonor,ifnotmore,asthemen
andwomenwhoserveandprotectourcountry.Inretrospecttheseofficersareprotectingourcountry,
itjusttakesalotmoreofthem.

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WorksCited
"Summary."U.S.BureauofLaborStatistics.U.S.BureauofLaborStatistics,n.d.Web.16Feb.
2014.<http://www.bls.gov/ooh/protectiveservice/policeanddetectives.htm#tab1>.
"Thread:InspirationalQuotes."PoliceForumsLawEnforcementForumsOfficercomRSS.N.p.,
n.d.Web.16Feb.2014.<http://forums.officer.com/t44829/>.
"LearnAboutYourLawEnforcementEducationOptions."LawEnforcementPrograms.N.p.,n.d.
Web.16Feb.2014.
<http://www.allcriminaljusticeschools.com/legalcareers/lawenforcement/lawenforcementtrain
ing?utm_medium=sem&utm_source=goo&utm_campaign=gen_LawEnf_acjs_gen_pc_sea_eng
&utm_content=HomeSeclb1&cid=11&KTID=57c0377ebb558e098a9a00005b0ef2e0
&gclid=CPfhv6nnxbwCFdFAMgod3gYAQQ>.
"PoliceOfficerWorkingConditions."Work.N.p.,n.d.Web.16Feb.2014.
<http://work.chron.com/policeofficerworkingconditions2079.html>.
"DiscoverPolicing."TypesofPoliceJobsandCareers.N.p.,n.d.Web.16Feb.2014.
<http://discoverpolicing.org/whats_like/?fa=types_careers>.