Want to be a cop? It’s tough work
Ever think about your sons or daughters becoming cops? First, they have to go through the academy. They have to live clean lives and pass background and psychological checks. They must jump through many employment hoops, shine in many interviews and pass the training phase to become officers. Now your sons or daughters are members of law enforcement.
As new members, they work swing or midnight shifts and after gaining enough seniority, they can set their alarms at 5 a.m. and become day-shift officers. Now all they have to do is deal with law-enforcement issues during their work days and often during overtime, when they would rather be at home with family.
They will seldom deal with John Q. Citizen. Most of their days will be spent dealing with gang members or some other trash that has tried to take advantage of you or a family member. As a necessary evil, the department has an Internal Affairs squad to investigate complaints – not compliments.
How many of us are perfect and selfless enough to do that for a career?
John L. Smith, Fresno
This story was originally published July 18, 2016 at 12:57 PM with the headline "Want to be a cop? It’s tough work."