You'll learn very quickly that your most
important asset will be the people who are
working with you. No matter how well
trained, and knowledgeable, you think you
are, those first months are going to be very
difficult. You're going to experience
situations where you'll need guidance from
others. From the very beginning, you should
identify fellow police officers who are
competent and experienced. Believe me, it's
not a hard thing to do; they'll be the quiet
ones.
It's just as easy to identify those police
officers whose advice you should view with
skepticism. They'll be the ones who respond
to your questions with, "Don't worry about
it." If you consider your question worth
asking, that response should confirm to you
that it's worth your worry. Some police
officers are notorious for taking short cuts,
and the short cutter's slogan is, "Don't Worry
About It."
There was a time when your inexperience
would offer you some protection when acting
on bad advice from a senior police officer.
Senior police officers were rightly held
accountable for the actions of junior police
officers under their immediate supervision
and control. It's not like that anymore;
you'll be held fully accountable for your
actions when you follow bad direction, and
things turn out badly.
Right from the beginning, you're going to
have to use your head. You don't have to
have a ton of experience to recognize good
direction from bad direction. Aside from
procedural nuances, police work rests solely
on reasonable responses from a reasonable
person. You're going to make mistakes.
Reasonable people make mistakes all the
time, but reasonable people rarely make
catastrophic mistakes.
"Reasonable people make mistakes
all the time, but reasonable people
rarely make catastrophic mistakes."
Copyright © 2006 - 2008 - Barry M. Baker - CareerPoliceOfficer.com
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"Law enforcement is a calling and for most, a life's work. If you've
heard that call, you know there isn't another career for you, and no
matter how many applications or interviews go unanswered, you
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Police Recruiting Specialist
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