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What’s so great about law enforcement? If it wasn’t for these men and women risking

their lives to keep these this country safe, where would we be? Even though being a police

officer is hard, it’s worth it. Police officers dedicate 40 hours a week to protect our streets, others

work 48 hours a week (real). The exact job requirements for a police officer are quite diverse,

depending on the region in which he or she works and the exact position.Most people think all

police officers do is hand out tickets and citations for legal infractions. But being a police officer

is more complex. They respond to complaints ranging from noise to calls for help, then

investigate crimes, collect evidence. Many testify in court (what does a). Even though being a

police officer is hard, it’s worth it. To become a police officer, you have to require a lot of

things. I sat down with Officer Mitchell and he said “In order to become a police officer there’s a

school you go to for 3 months, now its 4 months, but they’re going to make it a mandatory 6

months.” “You also have to take a state exam and you have to have a high school diploma plus a

4 year degree.” Police officers in many cities are required to poses a bachelor’s degree (what).

Law enforcement isn’t always guns, tazers, giving out tickets and arresting people. It is

law enforcements job to protect people and make this world a better place. There are several

types of crimes and felonies, such as murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and

arson (types of crimes). The types of felonies include kickbacks, tax invasion, insider trading,

bribery, embezzlement, identity theft, antitrust and at least a dozen forms of fraud (types). There

are also numerous types of school violence, including physical mental or sexual abuse, theft and

vandalism. Certain people think that school violence is just getting caught smoking ore skipping.

It’s much more than that. Most common is bullying, fighting, assaulting inside or outside the

school premises, bringing drugs and other components to school, sexual harassment, vandalism,

robbing, or stealing, bringing handheld weapons and fire arms inside school (different).
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Lots things can go wrong when being a police officer. During 1992-97, over 1,100 law

enforcement personnel and firefighters were killed in the line of duty. A proportion of these

crashes were alcohol related. Most of the 887 police fatalities were cause during pursuit of

criminals, some shot and others fatally injured in highway crashes. In 1997, over one million

violent crimes were reported in the US and about 700, 000 arrests were made by police officers.

Or the period 1992-97 homicides and highway crashes were 2 major events contributing the 75%

of the law enforcement deaths (Clark). I asked Officer Mitchell in our interview was there

anything he worried about when working? “My safety, if I get to come home or not.” I also

asked him how his family felt about him being a police officer. “They honor me in what I do. My

wife was worried, but I was in the air force for 10 years, I love the thrill and excitement I get

from it.”

There’s a question that we all have on our minds, just how dangerous is police work?

Generally, police are about 3 times as likely to be killed out the job as the average American.

About ½ of the police are killed in traffic accidents and most of those are NOT while in pursuit

of a criminal or rushing to the scene. If you take out traffic accidents and other nonviolent deaths

and your left with 69 police officers killed in the line of duty in the year 2006. That’s 69 out of

850,000 officers nationwide. That’s about 8 deaths per 100,000 police officers. The job of a

police officer can be dangerous, depending on the pay that is low to mid-range ($33,000-$44,000

average starting pay). The lowest 10% earned by police and sheriffs patrol officers in 2004 was

less than $26,910 and the highest 10% more than $68,880. (Just).

Police on Wall Street are the most forceful due to the protesters. They use tear gas and it

hits an 84 year old Seattle woman in the face. Police arrested 21 demonstrators in Las Vegas, and
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20 were led away in plastic handcuffs in Portland Oregon (Police). Officer Mitchell’s opinion on

this subject was, “A lot didn’t want to do it, because these people there arresting are like family.”

Since the 19th century, woman in America have worked in law enforcement. Women

were mostly relegated to clerical roles (women). Officer Mitchell had a very unique opinion

about this subject. On working with female officers Mitchell said, “Depending on how they act.

If they act to feminine, they need a strong will. I would rather have Female officers as back up

than male, depending on if they do their part.

In conclusion, a police officer protects us from harms way. The challenges as a police

officer are getting home safely keeping an eye on there surroundings so they don’t get hurt or

injured because someone care out of nowhere and they get killed. Don’t judge something on the

way it looks, because it’s harder than you think. Even though officers might not be in your job

category, it’s still good to have them around because they protect us from the murders, rapist,

drug dealers and gang members that live around us. Keep us from making the worn decisions,

sometimes we’ll be in a predicament and they’ll sit and talk to us about ways we could turn ou0r

life around. That’s the most important part of a police officer. They’ll be there for you when you

need them and they’ll keep you from making bad decisions, like dropping out of school, doing

drugs, skipping, running away, and doing something illegal. There also good role models.

When asked, what challenges do you face when being a cop? Officer Mitchell said, “I

make sure everyone gets treated fairly and that my views don’t get in the way.” I also asked

Officer Mitchell how he felt about cameras on his suite, he said, “We have cameras in our cars

because it’s a good tool, helps back up what happened and what was said.” When I first talked to

Officer Mitchell I asked him why he decided to be a cop and how long he was a cop. “I wanted

to help people like my dad did when he was a cop. I liked watching him help out people in
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need.” Since then he’s been a cop for 23 years. He started when he was around 28 years old.

When I asked him if there we any regrets he had on wanting to be a police officer he said, “No,

I’ve enjoyed working with everyone. I see this as a social therapy.”

Sometimes being a police officer isn’t always what you think it is. Take for what

happened in Blacksburg VA for instance. A gunman walked into a parking lot and killed a

Virginia tech police officer who was conducting a traffic stop on campus Thursday afternoon in

August. “Police wouldn’t say during a Thursday afternoon news conference whether the second

dead person was a gunman who killed the officer.” Investigators interviewed the person that was

pulled over Thursday. As police hunted for the killer, the school applied the lessons learned

nearly 5 years ago, warning students and faculty members via email and text message to stay

indoors. “It was the first gunfire on campus since 33 people were killed in the deadliest mas

shooting in the U.S. History.” (police VA, tech)

Some cops fear for their lives. Sometimes they don’t make it out alive. “Deputy

Rick Rhyne, 58 was an officer at Foxfire Village in Moore County who was responding to a

trespassing report at 735 Morrison Road around noon.” “As Dept. Rhyne tried to arrest oneof the

two men at the house, Martin Abel Poynter (who had outstanding warrants for child support)

shot Dept. Rhyne and then killed himself.”“Deputy Rhyne spent 26 years at Foxfire Village and

that all changed.” “He leaves behind a wife, a son and two grandchildren.” As you see, not all

officers make it out alive.(man)

Sometimes even the police officers can get charged. In Robbins, N.C. a Pinehurst man

who worked for two police departments in Moore County faces rape charges. “Travis Baker, 32,

was indicated of second-degree rape, second-degree sexual offense, two counts of sexual battery,

and crimes against nature and obstruction of justice.” Baker was fired from his position as an
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officer on Monday. “In a separate case, he faces five counts of identity theft, unauthorized access

of a government computer and obstruction of justice.” State Bureau arrested Baker on Thursday.

He was then released after posting a $25,000 bond. That shows you that even the good guys can

be criminals.(ex)

Officers aren’t always what there cut out to be, sometimes they have problems a home

and they do stuff they regret later. “Sumter police chief Russel Roark suspended officer Gabriel

Blackwell Wednesday morning, after the officers wife came to pick up a check and Blackwell

punched her with a closed fist on the left side of her face, resulting in the left side of her face

being swollen and a swollen lip.” She was rushed to the emergency room, so they suspended

Blackwell without pay. According to Dept. Chief Alvin Holston, “there wasn’t much more they

could say on this subject.” They called in investigators to see what else they could find. So that

tells you that officers sometimes do things without thinking and they end up losing the best job

ever.(officer suspended) If you look past the deaths, injuries, and crimes that police officers get

themselves into you can’t help but think that doing this job is good. The pays good and who

doesn’t want to help people. I barely knew anything about law enforcement but now I’m sure

that this the job that I want to do.

In conclusion, a police officer protects us from harm’s way. The challenges as a police

officer are getting home safely keeping an eye on their surroundings so they don’t get hurt or

injured because someone care out of nowhere and they get killed. Don’t judge something on the

way it looks, because it’s harder than you think. Even though officers might not be in your job

category, it’s still good to have them around because they protect us from the murders, rapist,

drug dealers and gang members that live around us. Keep us from making the worn decisions,

sometimes we’ll be in a predicament and they’ll sit and talk to us about ways we could turn our
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life around. That’s the most important part of a police officer. They’ll be there for you when you

need them and they’ll keep you from making bad decisions, like dropping out of school, doing

drugs, skipping, running away, and doing something illegal. There also good role models.