The Heart of Policing

March 12, 2009

Here are a couple of more things you will need to be aware of if you are going to be a good police officer.

Do you readily accept extra work or responsibility without immediately expecting to receive extra pay? There are many kinds of people in just about any workforce and some of them are happier when they have their precise duties clearly defined. However, should some of these people be asked to do something outside their job “definition”, they want to know how much they will get for doing it.

Why is this important to know if you are a cop? It’s important to know if you are a cop because it tells the commanding officer that you will not volunteer for extra responsibility unless you know up front whether you will be getting more money to do so. If you see police work in this light, then this is the wrong job for you. There are many instances when other cops or even citizens need help after your shift, and if you are not willing to help without stopping to ask for more money, then you have the wrong idea about what policing is all about.

Here is another trait that will really make you stop and think, not to mention re-assess how you want to be conducting yourself when you take the B-PAD test and the WCT test. Do you stop to truly think and analyze the facts that are presented to you? Or do you go off half-cocked and blurt out an answer before all the facts are in?

Do you listen carefully to everything that is said to you? Think about those B-PAD videos! Do you take a good look at the overall picture before making a decision? Or, do you just jump and quickly choose to remedy a situation based on a couple of obvious facts without probing further?

All of these questions go to the heart of a good officer that pays attention to everything they see and hear and experience. It is those very experiences and all the information you receive and analyze that will help you resolve some of the most difficult situations you may face. If you don’t pay attention to everything you see and hear and experience, then you run the risk of missing something vital.