Cops is the job really what is seems?

Question

is the career of a cop what the public think or is it a lot different then what it seems?

do you regret becoming a cop because you had a view of the job completely different then what it actually turned out to be?

Answer 1

It is not like the movies or tv at all.. The majority of a law enforcement officer's time is relegated to boredom and mind numbing paperwork.  High speed chases, foot pursuits, and gun fights are seldom if ever experienced by most professional police officers.  The more rewarding aspects of the job actually occur when you help someone in need, as opposed to arresting and generating traffic citations as portrayed in the movies.  For instance, helping people escape a buring vehicle on the highway, assisting in searching for a missing child, performing CPR on a victim and reving said victim: all are what is truly great about being a police officer.

On the other side of the spectrum, being in law enforcement can be very frustrating due to political reasons.  The movies an television make it seem that cops are immune to the law, public opinion, and policy.  Nothing is further from the truth.  More often these things dictate an officer's day to day operations.  Everytime you make a stop or question someone, you have to defend your actions to your superiors.  Hence CYA (cover your a**) is the name of the game each time a police officer takes action in any event.  I have colleagues that have had to defend themselves, as if they were the criminal, because the public and superiors questioned the means in which they executed an arrest, interrogation, etc.  

Most law enforcement professionals actually take out personal liability insurance to cover the costs of a potential law suit.  So the rewards of the job and the sacrifices tend to balance each other out.  

Answer 2

I think it is totally different from what the public perceives it to be.  It seems the public thinks of police work as a line of work where everyone respects you and reveres you as a hero.  This could not be farther from the truth.  If all we did was pass out candy to kids at parades and help elderly people across the street, then sure I could see where the opinion stems from.  In reality, let's just say that we don't often get to deal with pillars of the community.  To be frank, we deal with pukes who would rather spit on us as soon as look at us.

I do not regret becoming a cop.  I do have a much different view than I did before, however.  Before, I thought much the same as the public does.  I thought that I would never have to resort to violence when dealing with a combative suspect.  I thought I could always use my wits and my calm demeanor to subdue someone like this.  I thought that I would never be bothered by some of the gruesome things that police officers see, because I was so tough.  I couldn't have been more wrong.  I can't tell you how many nights I have woke up in a cold sweat thinking about something I had seen.  But still, I do not regret my career path.  I truly enjoy helping people.

Answer 3

If a persons view of police work is from the couch (TV) then no it is nothing like that at all. Neither I suspect is being an astronaut or doctor.

Was it like I thought it would be? No, it was much better and a great deal worse.

Do I regret it? Nope, best job I ever had and loved every minute of it. Very hard, boring, scary work but loved it.