These same men and women will find that in a matter of years, however, that the job will change them. It will change their outlook on the world, their interactions with others and in some cases their very ability to deal with others who are not in law enforcement. They will find that friends and family that they used to have a closer relationship with may fade. Sometimes, that’s a natural thing and other times there is simply a lack of understanding of what stresses a cop endures in their day to day routines. Here are 4 stresses that cops deal with that are good to share with non-cops for a little insight as to what has been causing those changes in you (or a cop you know):
DAILY PREPARATION FOR BATTLE
People die every day. Accidents happen every day. In rare instances, a dramatic tragedy unexpectedly takes the lives of one or thousands. However, in general, most occupations involve a generally safe assumption that you will go to work and come home at the end of the day. Being a police officer requires that you prepare daily for death. We put on bullet proof vests and guns for a reason: we are ready for the fight and unfortunately not every warrior comes home. Taking just the last 5 years of line-of-duty deaths into account, a police officer is killed in action every 2-3 days. To put that in perspective that is 727 lives lost of men and women who gave all to serve others. Cops are at war out there. The Norman Rockwell vision of a police officer cannot always apply. A heart that desires to help others is a pre-requisite for this job but a mind sharp and ready to defend is of equal necessity.
In one sense, we must relegate this reality into a part of our mind that permits us to be effective in continuing to move on and do our job with professionalism and self-sacrifice. In another sense, in order to be ready for the fight, we must remind ourselves daily that we are in it. In doing so, we’re better able to love our spouses better, hug our kids more and help our friends however we can in this life.
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9 comments:
This is a good article for giving some perspective to those who aren't in the profession.
It is unfortunate, however that a fair number of cops can't seem to handle the power they have -- for some, that's what drew them to the position in the first place.
The full manifestation of that is 'swat' teams conducting middle-of-the-night commando raids and blowing the face off of a baby with a flash-bang grenade.
I know it's a dangerous world, but part of that danger is coming from out-of-control cops with military weapons and attitudes.
Remember that you're SERVANTS of the public -- peace keepers.
I's vitally important to keep that in the front of your mind at all times.
We deeply appreciate your willingness to deal with the trouble for us, and hopefully we will all have a greater appreciation for what you endure in that process.
Kind of like actors, actresses, musicians, or professional athletes, 2:20!
Sounds like a justification article. None of this excuses the militarization and subsequent actions of current police forces across the country.
They all knew what the job involved when they took it. I have no pity nor sympathy.
727 lives lost in the line of duty. I noticed you see nothing of the THOUSANDS of civilian lives lost. Many of them lost without even commuting a crime.
The case where an officer tossed a grenade through a window onto a sleeping child should have been deemed dereliction of duty at the very least yet this officer walked free. If you are about to raid a house knowing you will using live stun grenades knowing there is a child inside you should have done enough of an investigation to know where that child sleeps at night plain and simple. Anything less shows you had no care in the world for this child's welfare and should prove dereliction of duty. Yet none where charged in this case.
I love how police will say and do anything to portray them selves as warriors fighting a " war ". As far as I know this country hasn't declared war on its own population yet. although it looks as though police departments around the county have declared war on the population . one only has to watch any news station and soon enough you will come across some police chief somewhere in the USA proclaiming his dept. Has been at war. Even in this post it mentions the police are at war. Hell one only has to look at the equipment our modern day swat team uses to see they are at war with Americans.
Police policing themselves has proven one thing . IT DOESN'T WORK. The police know this yet none of them want this changed . if they did change it they would be held accountable and that's the last thing they want.
Actors? Musicians?
Not quite, 4:29, unless they're armed to the teeth and can rough you up and throw you in jail.
I'm not bashing cops -- just out-of-control, power-tripping cops. And there's quite a few of them, as we all know.
2:20
LOL "militarization" of police is a media generated lie.
"LOL "militarization" of police is a media generated lie."
Oh really, gendarme?
The hot dogs are easy to spot-- dressed in their "tactical" (what kind of term is that?) uniforms, doing everything they can to make people think they're some kind of delta force dude.
Sometimes that may be appropriate gear if you're about to raid a place full of MS13 gang bangers, but most of the time it's just showing off.
We need cops, and most of them are good folks, but they ALL need to do a self-check periodically and be sure their attitude is more like Andy and less like Barney.
7:15 what a clueless ahole you are.
Geneva convention prevents the use of hollow point bullets because of the amount of damage they do. But guess what your local police agencies use against civilian populations? MRAPS, body armor enough fire power to level buildings? guess again idiot!
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