When you think of a Law Enforcement Officer many thoughts and opinions may come to mind. You may think of a Law Enforcement Officer as a PIG or you may think all they do is sit around and eat Donuts all day long because they have nothing better to do. But have you ever thought about what a Law Enforcement Officer’s job is and what they have to deal with on a day to day basis?
This is what it is like to step into the shoes of a Law Enforcement Officer for the day. First you wake up in the morning if you are on the day shift which in most cases the shift begins at 6 am and ends at 6 pm if you don’t get a late call which you may end up working past the end of your shift. You wake up spend a few minutes with your family if you have time you then begin to get ready for work. You put your badge and pins on your uniform shirt, you put on your uniform pants, a tee shirt of what ever color you are required to wear underneath your uniform, put on your bullet proof vest which could save your life that day, then you put on your uniform shirt. From there you put on your equipment belt which some officers refer to as their Batman belt since it has all the tools that may protect and save their life or somebody else’s life. This belt includes a variety of things such as Hand cuffs, spare Gloves, Gun, Taser, your Asp also known as Baton, extra Magazines for your weapon and Pepper spray.
When it is time to leave you get into your patrol car for another Twelve hour day of work. You then let the Dispatchers know that you are in service for work. From there you drive to the zone in which you are patrolling that day.During the day you do a variety of things. Some days you aren’t that busy other days you are busy all day long and don’t even get a lunch break and barely have time for a bathroom break.
When you eat lunch you have to try and eat somewhere where the food won’t take very long to get to you because at any time you may have to leave to go to an emergency call which requires you have to drive with lights and sirens or you may get another call that is non emergency but needs attention right away so you have to leave. There are plenty of times where you sit down to a hot dinner or are waiting on a hot dinner and end up having to eat it in your car after you finish the call you are dispatched or you have to leave before your dinner even gets to you. This is why at times you may see a Law Enforcement Officer eating something small such as a Slim Jim or Donuts it is because they don’t have time to eat a big meal that people with normal jobs that have a normal office and normal lunch break are able to eat.
Your calls of the day while on patrol can be anything depending on what you come across while patrolling or what you are dispatched to by the dispatchers who got their information from the complainant who may or may not want contact. Your calls range from simple complaints of a neighbors dog barking, loud music and suspicious people in the area whom the neighbors have never seen before. Your calls while on patrol can also get dangerous you may have to deal with domestic violence calls, people who are threatening to commit suicide or you may have to get into a dangerous high speed chase that may result in a traffic crash, severe injuries or death depending on the circumstances.
Or you may have a suspect who initiates a shoot out. All of the calls you go to can become dangerous even a dog barking call.
Another part of the job is pulling people over. As a Law Enforcement Officer you have to pull people over for a variety of reasons number one is speeding. You pull them over when they are speeding because one it is breaking the law in which you are to enforce also some more reasons that you pull people over is because they may have a tire that is about to pop or they may have just committed a crime and you have probable cause to pull them over because of that. Another reason that you may pull someone over is because they may be recklessly driving or may be drunk. You pull them over to protect them Along with others around them.
Also in your day of work you may help a old lady with Alzheimer’s get back to her home, help a stranded pedestrian get help and find some way to get gas in there car or a way to get home, you may also find a missing child that was in danger, you do everything in your power to prevent crime and take the drug dealers off of the street. This job comes with dangers and sacrifices you don’t make as much money as you would being a Doctor or Lawyer but if helping people is what you like to do this is the job for you and the things you encounter everyday are just part of it.
You may have a negative mindset about Law Enforcement Officer you may think that a law enforcement officer is a PIG. To Law Enforcement Officers that is a compliment because to Law Enforcement Officers PIG just means Pride Intelligence and Guts, all of which a law enforcement officer has. It takes pride in your job to put on the uniform every day, Intelligence because you have to learn to use your mouth in a good way by the way you speak and deal with every person you encounter it also takes intelligence to get the information you want from the person who has the information you need such as a criminal. Lastly, guts it takes guts when you are a Law Enforcement officer because anything can happen and your life may become in danger really quickly. Every single day you have to live like it is your last because it could be. It’s scary but it is your job. Spending just one day as a Law Enforcement Officer will teach you how to talk to people and deal with people it also will show you that not everybody is good and not every body is bad. You just got to take what you get and learn to deal with it and help prevent the bad.This is what a day in a Law Enforcement Officer’s Shoes is really like.
