We all know that it is a police officer’s calling to maintain order in a certain area, but what does that mean exactly? What are the specific dangers that they face every day? And if the job is dangerous, why do they still choose to become a police officer, and how do they maximize their own safety? We’ll try to answer that in this article and provide an adequate understanding of the duty.
How Tough Is It to Become a Police Officer?
It’s safe to say that law enforcement is not for everyone. If you want a secured life and want to stray away from danger, difficulties, and push your body beyond its limit, perhaps this job should not be on your list. The question now is how tough is it exactly to become a police officer? Here are just a few examples to give you an idea.
Tough Academy & Field Training
We’ve all been to an academy, but a police academy is not like any other. This will teach you some of the basic things you need to know about law enforcement. Being physically fit and psychologically stable despite an overwhelming situation are just the basics. Once you’ve reached field training, you’re going to experience how it really feels to be a police officer, in all its danger and glory.
Exposure to Unnerving Sights
If you don’t have the guts and the stomach to encounter disturbing sights, you can’t be a police officer. This type of job exposes you to all sorts of gruesome accidents and life & death situations that can change you forever. You need to be mentally strong to face the nature of the job.
Life on the Line
Now that we’ve mentioned it being a police officer means your safety is always compromised. As you know, there are plenty of criminals and law-breaking citizens out there, and sometimes they are armed to the teeth. This requires you to know how to stand your ground and assess every situation you may come across.
Benefits of Becoming a Police Officer
Every job has a certain level of safety hazards, and perhaps law enforcement is somewhere at the upper part of that spectrum. However, if we look at the other side of the coin, there are also many positive outcomes from being a police officer.
Competitive Compensation
We’re not going to deny it. One of the many reasons why people would like to join law enforcement is because of the compensation. A police officer is one of the highest-paid professionals globally, and it’s almost always certain that the salary would increase the longer you stay in service. Retirement planning is also an essential part of becoming a police officer, so if you want to live a comfortable life when you get old, you may want to consider this profession.
A Meaningful Impact
Even though law enforcement is one of the most dangerous jobs, it’s also one of the most rewarding. This is because police officers know that their job is bigger than themselves, and their duty to protect their area of jurisdiction is a life purpose. Police officers tread the thin line between life and death, and there’s nothing more meaningful than saving the lives of other people.
Job Variety
If boredom doesn’t sit right with you, then being a police officer might be your calling. Being a police officer doesn’t require you to work by your desk all day. Going to court to testify, patrolling the area, making arrests, and everything else in between is nothing but a normal Tuesday for a police officer.
How Police Officers Stay Safe
Despite all the difficulties of being part of law enforcement, police officers still manage to stay safe most of the time. It’s only possible because of two things. The first is that they are mentally trained, and the second is that they are equipped with the proper equipment.
The job of being a police officer is not just physically challenging but mentally as well. Because of all the different people and situations that they need to handle, police officers must be mentally strong to make sure they make the right decisions while in the line of duty.
On the other hand, they also need various pieces of equipment on the job. These tools help them communicate with other police officers and also keep them or civilians safe from harm. Without police equipment, it would be extremely harder for officers to do their job.
Law enforcement is a dangerous job simply because the world may never run out of people who don’t want to abide by the law. This leads to a heightened risk of everyone’s safety, and as a police officer, you are tasked to prevent any harm from happening towards yourself and other people.
