#policelink

IS BEING A LEO HARD? YES, "VERY HARD". While the actual day-to-day routine of police work is not particularly challenging, and at times it can become pretty mundane and boring, there are aspects of the job that are very difficult and it takes a very special breed of person to be able to deal with those aspects. The job is generally hours of tedium and repetition interspersed with seconds of sheer adrenalin rush, terror, sadness, euphoria, and any point of the emotional senses continuum that you can imagine. You must be a strong individual, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually to survive in this job.

As a "YOUNG" officer you will be asked to intercede in fights, domestics, child births, deaths (natural, accidental, homicidal, suicidal, etc), car chases, accidents (motor vehicle, train, boat, aircraft). You will pull children from burning buildings, sometimes alive, other times dead. You will be tasked with telling people that a loved one has died, you will attend autopsies, you will see, smell, hear, and touch things that you would never, in a million years, think of doing as a civilian. You will deal with people of other cultures, religions, sexual preferences, and ideological backgrounds. You will be yelled at, cried to, lied to, thanked, congratulated, ridiculed and vilified ( ridiculed and vilified, both in person and by the media). You may have to defend yourself against physical or verbal attack, get shot, stabbed, or be hurt or killed in a car wreck. You will be the one running towards danger as all of those around you flee from it. There will be times when you feel that you just can't go on. You will see the worst of people and you will see the best of people.

You will work weekends, most holidays (Christmas, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, etc.), days, afternoons, midnights. You will miss family birthdays, anniversaries, the kid's school plays and dance recitals, their football, soccer, and baseball games. Your spouse and kids will ask why you are never around for them on such occasions, while at work you are there for other families, and your heart will ache. You will turn down invitation after invitation for dinnner and other social events from family and friends because your schedule only allows you one weekend a month off. You will start to socialize only with other LEOs because their work schedule matches your own. You may develop a "Us vs Them" mentality in which you view anybody who is none-LEO as an outsider worthy of only suspicion and mistrust (a sad and dangerous mental pitfall).

While most people learn about Police Work from the "Cop" shows on television, and it all looks exciting and fun, you must be aware that police work is a very dangerous job that is not for the faint of heart or mind. People bleed, puke, shit and die on you. You will become part of a Community (LEO) that is not looked upon favorably by many (Liberals, now calling themselves Progressives, and the Media for starters), and you will find that when you begin your LEO career some people that you counted as friends no longer want to associate with you. You will no longer be invited to some parties or gatherings because you are a "Cop".

You will find that you can only discuss some of the things that happen "on the job" with other LEOs because friends and family "just don't understand", or don't have the capacity to put what you are talking about into perspective. You may find that you cannot handle the stresses of the job, and may "turn to the bottle" or some other form of self-medication as a method of coping or escape (beware of this serious pitfall, seek help if you enter this doorway).

You will interact with a variety of other LEOs during your career, from the excited and "Gung-Ho" Rookie to the cynical and "Do-Nothing" Grizzled Old Vet. Do not follow the paths of the extremists in either camp. Seek out the stable, dedicated and hard working officers in your department and learn from them. If you find officers with 10, 20, or 30 years in Law Enforcement who still have a spark and are still enthusiastic about their job, then learn from these people. It is people like them that rise to the top and make the word "Professional" have real meaning in our LEO Community. This is a job like no other. Despite the costs that you pay, both physically and emotionally, the rewards are boundless and extremely fulfilling. It is, without doubt, the best job in the world!