Never Forget Why You Became a Police Officer

I stepped into my first roll call as a 21-year-old rookie on October 15, 1981.  I remember that day like it was yesterday.

My path was unsure and I was extremely nervous.

I sat down in a seat that had no seat in front of it.  Our “roll call” room also served as the municipal courtroom for the City of Marietta.  Unfortunately for me, I didn’t realize that the seat I sat in was the favorite seat of a tall officer who liked that particular seat because it was the only one without a seat in front of it.

Officer Ray Smith towered over me with his hands on his hips and said, “You’re in my seat.”  I mumbled an apology and quickly moved to another seat.

As I changed seats, I began to question my job choice.  It wouldn’t be the last time this happened early in my career.

Why did I want to be a police officer?

I took a $100 a week pay cut to take this job, and I was already questioning my choice.  In the end, I stayed because I wanted to work where I could indeed make a difference.

I took a stroll down memory lane recently when I was interviewing a police officer candidate for employment.

New Recruits

I generally ask a series of questions designed to give me enough information to assess whether the applicant will be a good fit for our department.  It is important for the applicant to integrate into our culture.

I usually ask this question or a version of it.

Why do you want to be a police officer?

Over the years, I have received many responses to this question.  I have also talked with many officers about this very topic.

Some people become a police officer because one of their parents or a close relative was a police officer.  Others are adrenaline junkies interested in the thrill of the job.

There are dozens of reasons that people choose law enforcement as a profession.   However, through my experience, observations and understanding, I believe there are three main reasons a person becomes a police officer.

Serve Others

I joined the Marietta Police Department for two reasons.  I wanted to help people, and I hated the job that I had at the time.  (As an aside, I was working as a Manager of People’s Drugstore)

I was interviewing an applicant recently, and I asked her why she wanted to be a police officer.  She seemed to hesitate in her response, almost embarrassed.

Related Post: Leave a Legacy Like Barbara Bush

“I know it is a cliché, but I have a strong desire to help people,” was her response.

I have asked this question many times over the last ten years and received a similar response from many police officers.

Helping people is at the core of a police officer’s responsibility.

Every call is an opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life.

Stable Employment

When the economy is booming, recruiting police officers can be a challenge.  There are many great opportunities available that pay considerably more money in the private sector.

However, when the economy is unstable or in decline, it is easier to recruit police officers.  Applicants are drawn to a career in law enforcement because it provides a stable work environment where the risk of being laid off is limited.

Attractive Benefits

Traditionally, government jobs such as that of a police officer provide benefits that are attractive when compared to private sector jobs.

Although pay has improved over the years, it is still not competitive enough.  Instead, applicants are attracted by the benefits including insurance coverage, take-home car programs, and retirement plans.

As an example, the City of Dunwoody pays 100% of an employee’s insurance coverage and 90% of family coverage.  This is an attractive benefit and one cited by staff as being important to them.

Retirement plans are changing.

The days of working 20 years and leaving with a full retirement are long gone.

Many traditional retirement plans have now transitioned to a magic 75, 80 or 85, combining age plus years of service to determine retirement eligibility.

Still, many departments are abandoning the traditional defined benefits plan in favor of a more private sector model of a defined contribution plan.  Depending on how these plans are set up, they can be extremely attractive to today’s applicant because the plans are portable.

Conclusion

I believe the job of a police officer is one of the most honorable and vital roles in our society.  Not everyone can be a police officer.

Police officers also have one of the most challenging jobs on the planet.  Officers must deal with people at their worst and often the very people they try to help turn against them.  Accusations of police brutality, illegal searches and biased policing dominate the news.

Social media helps promote this negative view of law enforcement, which makes a police officer’s job even harder.

Under these conditions, it is easy for police officers to become jaded.  We sometimes begin to think all people think this way.

Nothing is further from the truth.

We should never forget why we became a police officer in the first place.  The majority of us became a police officer to help people; to make a difference in the lives of those people we encounter on a daily basis.

The challenges faced by police officers is easier to bear when we remember why we became a police officer in the first place.

Sign up below to join my free 5 x 5 Leadership Digest distributed weekly.