A question posted recently on Quora asked, “What are the most common problems in the life of a police officer?” Two law enforcement professionals gave their opinions on the topic, below. Check them out and add your thoughts in the comments.
By Tim Dees:
The most common source of conflict for law enforcement officers comes from the internal politics of their police employers.
Law enforcement agencies are incredibly political organizations. On paper, they are run as meritocracies, where the best investigators become detectives, the best leaders rise to management, and so on. In fact, promotions and transfers to specialized assignments are made mostly through alliances and popularity contests. If you don’t have any special friends or relatives in influential positions, it will take you a long time to get anywhere. Similarly, if you make the wrong enemy in the organization, every action you take will be scrutinized in the worst possible light, and anything good you do will be ignored.
These days, cops suffer the same sort of scrutiny in the field. If a cop is attempting to make an arrest of a resisting suspect, it’s far more likely any citizens observing will whip out their phone cameras to take video and shout encouragement to the suspect. A video I saw recently showed all of that, plus the crowd turning against a citizen who tried to assist the officer.
Any use of force is viewed as an excessive use of force. People set up situations with the intent of baiting the officer into doing or saying something he shouldn’t, then are hailed as heroes for their courage in standing up to the tyrants.
I miss police work, but I truthfully don’t know if I could do it under the conditions cops face today. I’d also find it difficult to encourage anyone to enter the profession, knowing the heartbreak they will have to endure.
By William Smith:
I would say, for myself, that my life is harder because of what I have learned and seen as a police officer. You get very paranoid, suspicious, and jaded. I don’t like crowds, I don’t like being out too much, I don’t like sitting around in public. I find enjoyment in being alone more than being out with a bunch of people. These are all byproducts of what I have experienced.
It’s hard to talk to non-cops about the way you feel. They have the luxury of not knowing what I know. They have the luxury of living in ignorance to the ugliness that is the real world. Of course, this country is not half as dangerous as the media makes it out to be, but it’s also no picnic.
