Three Reasons NOT to choose a Law-Enforcement Career

[stuka1939]

From what I recall, I NEVER wanted to be a police officer of some sort. While there is good camraderie, good pay and cool uniforms; I don't see why anyone would want to be a cop.

Of course I am glad there are those who want to be cops, since we NEED a police force.


1.) It is a very high stress job- Why would you want a job where 95% of your run-ins with the public are an unpleasant one or for a negative reason. Not to mention, the "stupidity" of the general public and all the "he said, she said non-sense.

2.) It is a depressing job- Who the hell wants to see rapes, assaults, murders, car accidents, etc. On the flip side, it is also depressing seeing people ruin their lives with prison by making poor decisions in their life.

3.) Most people (even law-abiding citizens) hate your guts. If I had a dime everytime a "normal" person said "I hate cops" or "I hate pigs" I would be millionaire. People take cops for granted and only see them as power hungry a-holes who are out to give them a traffic ticket.


I personally have nothing against the police, I just don't see how someone would choose it as a career.

 

[EricInTheHouse]

I believe that somone who joins the police really are looking for a job that pays great money and really is a job that is "worth while"
They help minimize crime and help people, they have "status" among the people and thier families. People are proud of them, and they become role models for kids.

Plus they drive cool cars and get big red lights to flash..lol.. It's an awesome job, and gives the person a great sense of achievment.
Of course they see the brutalities of crime, and tons of emotional trama and broken hearts, but at the same time they are taking the bad guys out and burning the trash... It feels goo to think that YOU may have saved a lot of trouble for someone.

I've always wanted to be a cop, but truthfully I don't have the mindset for it... I have a short fuse, and every criminal that I see do stupid crap I'd wanna beet his face in.. Cops can't do that... They have to exercise extreme control in their emotions.. For that they do get under stress, and they should be respected by everyone.. Not a job for the weak hearted, and they don't do it for the money either..

It gives them great satisfaction that they are keeping people safe... That's why a person wants to be a cop..

 

[stuka1939]

I believe that somone who joins the police really are looking for a job that pays great money and really is a job that is "worth while"
They help minimize crime and help people, they have "status" among the people and thier families. People are proud of them, and they become role models for kids.

Plus they drive cool cars and get big red lights to flash..lol.. It's an awesome job, and gives the person a great sense of achievment.
Of course they see the brutalities of crime, and tons of emotional trama and broken hearts, but at the same time they are taking the bad guys out and burning the trash... It feels goo to think that YOU may have saved a lot of trouble for someone.

I've always wanted to be a cop, but truthfully I don't have the mindset for it... I have a short fuse, and every criminal that I see do stupid crap I'd wanna beet his face in.. Cops can't do that... They have to exercise extreme control in their emotions.. For that they do get under stress, and they should be respected by everyone.. Not a job for the weak hearted, and they don't do it for the money either..

It gives them great satisfaction that they are keeping people safe... That's why a person wants to be a cop..

Good answer, but there are also some cops that do the job because they like the power and authority part about it. Just about every person I know who is a police officer today, did some very immoral things before they became a cop.


I think alot of people (except for Senior citizens-since they are helpless) take the police for granted and don't respect them too much.

People in general have a disdain for those who have authority over us.

 

[KontrollerX]

Reason #4: A lot of cops are criminals with a badge. What good person wants to work next to someone and have someone responsible for their life who is only in this profession to abuse the power that comes with it?

Reason #5: A lot of cops are those psychopathic mentally ruined soldiers back from Iraq who want to continue having "fun" over here dealing with civilians. A lot of these new cops are of the same mentality as that winner who threw the puppy off a cliff or tortured people at Abu Grahib. What mentally sound person wants to work alongside one of these nutjobs?

Bottom line is if I ever became a cop I'd want to be one like Frank Serpico. Honest and upstanding. What the job should be about but I think now its just too corrupt with the brotherhood of silence and all of that garbage for any honest citizen to want to be a part of.

 

[EricInTheHouse]

Good answer, but there are also some cops that do the job because they like the power and authority part about it. Just about every person I know who is a police officer today, did some very immoral things before they became a cop.


I think alot of people (except for Senior citizens-since they are helpless) take the police for granted and don't respect them too much.

People in general have a disdain for those who have authority over us.

yeah true true... Just like being a jet fighter pilot... there is a certain amount of "machosism" about it.. The respect, athority can get to they're heads, and make people think that the cops are condescending of sorts.. Yeah I agree that is why so many people have "issues" with people in power..
People like to think that most cops think of themselves as "better" and "smarter" than the average Joe.. I think it's a degree of jealousy of sorts... I dunno.

People in power are always gonna get slammed, but really they should be respected, because, after all, they do have the balls to do those kinds of jobs..

 

[DJDamage]

I have a friend that is a cop and he told me that 95% of the time its all paperwork which is boring plus you sometimes have to work night shifts and you end up losing sleep.

 

[EricInTheHouse]

^uh, what planet do you live on?
1. Cops make crap money.
2. College educated people look down on them as meat heads from high school
3. Cops don't restrain their emotions. They like beating up civilians, that's why they chose the job.
4. Not all, but many cops are very dishonest and will rip off money from drug dealers/take bribes.

Cops were usually the under achievers in high school...

#1 My cousin(who is a girl) became a NYState troper 3 years ago..she makes close to 80,000 dollars a year

#2 Meatheads from highschool?...Well Cops think of them as stuck up ilumni brats:crackup:

#3 They chose the job so they could beet up people?:crackup: :crackup:
Ok, lol

#4 True true, "not all" but yeah some..

I'm from the planet wakawaka BTW:crazy: J/K....just good fun...

 

[Deep Dish]

Police cadets go through a socialization process which very often leads to disenfranchisement. Recruiters give the impression of Action! Action! Action!, of saving the day, of locking the “bad guys” up in jail, and essentially being a hero. The overwhelming vast majority of applicants are, in fact, guys fresh out of the military. But yet once they graduate they find the job is the exact opposite of their expectations. There is hardly ever is any excitement and the vast majority of their time isn't even crime related. They so incessantly see the dark side of humanity that they become cynical that there is any good.

And from the law enforcement perspective, they can do nothing right. Arrest people and they are too aggressive, not arrest people and they are too impotent.; they earnest try to protect society but they are hated by the very public for which they serve. They become psychologically closed off from general society and their only friends and girlfriends tend to be fellow officers.

Police corruption begins innocuously enough with accepting gratuities at restaurants and other establishments—criminologists call it “grass eating”; gradually progresses to allowing illegal behavior to slide—such as letting a bar stay open past its bedtime; which gradually progresses to actively committing illegal behavior—“meat eating.” It’s not a matter of “a few” or “some” “bad apples” but good apples turning sour, through this process of desensitization and disenfranchisement.

There is also a prominent culture of anti-intelligence. Applicants with a college degree are, in many places, frowned upon. College educated officers are more likely to question authority, think before their actions, not act, be dissatisfied with their job, and leave earlier for a new career—all things to the dismay of commanding officers. In fact, in recognition of this point, the Supreme Court ruled police departments are allowed to discriminate against applicants who score too high on intelligence tests.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

1.) It is a very high stress job- ...
2.) It is a depressing job- ...
3.) Most people (even law-abiding citizens) hate your guts...

I have buds in tech support who'd say the same thing! :crackup:

 

[penkitten]

however, if no one choose the law enforcement career, where would that leave the citizens of our country with crime?

 

[ketostix]

. In fact, in recognition of this point, the Supreme Court ruled police departments are allowed to discriminate against applicants who score too high on intelligence tests.

This is brillant. I totally believe there is discrimination in certain sectors based upon being too intelligent and a person who thinks for himself. I actually think prosecutors and lawmakers are actually more corrupt than the average law enforcement officer. They are the own's giving the direction to LE.

 

[Effington]

In Chicago, the police have a very bad reputation for abusing their powers. However, if you are cool and don't mess with them, you can get away with a lot more. We carried/drank a keg down the middle of Clark St. at about 3:00am one morning in front of a bunch of cops, and they just laughed. No way that happens in the suburbs. Also, my friend had a little incident the other day involving beer and marijuana and we called an ambulance for him; when the cops came and found out we smoked, he didn't care.

That being said...

While I can see a lot of people going into the police force for the authorty, that's really a terrible reason. Unless you plan to work in a ritzy suburb or cornfield, it's a high stress job. I didn't know they paid well; that's not a thing I really thought about, I was more concerned with getting in gunfights and standoffs with people who don't have anything to live for.

 

[penkitten]

i actually heard that you can not be a cop if you score too highly either, unless they want you as a captain or detective.
i know alot of police officers, who are not as bright as they want you to believe either.
but i do know some that are very bright!

 

[SmoothTalker]

And I thought someone like Chief Wiggum could only happen in cartoons. Rejecting cops because they are too smart is moronic.

I mean, criminals are usually stupid too, but cops should have a clear advantage over them, not be in a close match to see who is dumb and who is dumber.

 

[Ken785]

...I like to masturbate to stuka's threads... :nervous:

 

[ready123]

I like Deep Dish's assessment, pretty intersting. I also heard the politics is pretty bad, even worse than corporate industry. I have a cop friend who quit LAPD recently because of backstabbing and lack of self-fulfillment. I also have a friend with a college degree who wants to join Irvine PD and make detective, he's got street cred but I still can't picture him being happy

one thing me and my friends noticed is the job molds some guys into testosterone junkies, almost like surreal alpha male caricatures. your wellfare as a cop depends on your ability to exude a vibe that will keep people from fvcking with you, a lot of cops internalize it as part of their identity and it sticks when they get off work

 

[Da Realist]

I live in Memphis and most people hate the police is that they seem to be just as bad as the criminals. They'll rob drug dealers, keep the money, put the drugs back on the streets, get paid, and get a medal. Then there's the guys who think they run the town because they have a gun and can haress you while other people get away with murder. But then there are the honest one's who do the job, but the DA lets people off easy. As I've learned though, the whole justice system is screwed up in this country, but nobody cares about it till it happens to them. America.....

 

[MooseGod]

I've never really been a fan of cops myself...always there to give me a ticket for going ten over the speed limit on the highway, but when a psycho tweeker chases me down with 4 of his buddies at 3 AM and tries carjacking me the police are nowhere to be found...and even though I had a positive ID on the vehicle and through my own detective work found where the guy lived they wouldn't do anything about it.

But if college kids are having a party you can bet the pigs will be on it like white on rice or cruising the strip handing out tickets for PI as soon as people walk out of bars. Bastards.

 

[Mr.Positive]

It's all good...don't drink and drive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jezSeQnfCg&feature=related

 

[Luke Skywalker]

In Canada, police enforcement is a disgrace. If a police assaults a citizen on duty and gets suspended, then he gets suspended WITH pay, and takes a nice vacation for a few years while it's going through the system and collecting a pay-cheque. A police officer virtually cant get fired once they are in duty - they can just get a paid vacation -- that's why it's totally fvcked up. So, it's just good that there are people who are genuinely in it for some reason. But in terms of getting easy lays, wearing the blue uniform would probably make that a cake-walk as lots of girls fantasize about doing an officer -- and best of all, if you get caught, you get a nice long paid vacation (suspension with pay) while you go and do other girls.

What a joke.