How To Determine If A Police Career Is Right For You

Posted by: KHTS Articles in News Articles August 12, 2021 - 9:36 am 0 422 Views

Becoming a police officer can be an extremely rewarding and fulfilling choice of career for those who get into it with the right motivations and reasons. However, a career in law enforcement will not be the right fit for everybody, which is why it’s important to make sure that you figure out if it’s right for you before you get started on the training and education needed before getting into this career. Many police departments will encourage potential new officers to spend some time shadowing existing officers for some time to get a realistic idea of what to expect from the job.

If you are thinking about starting a new career as a police officer, it’s a good idea to get started by visiting police departments and meeting with recruiters to find out more about what you can expect from this job, and get the information that you need to make a decision regarding whether or not it’s the right career for you. After all, the media does not always portray a realistic view of working as a police officer and you might be surprised when it comes to what you can really expect. Here are some tips to help you determine if a career in the police is right for you.

Visit Your Local Police Department

Visiting your local police department is a good way to find out more about the type of police culture that you are going to be a part of if you start working as a cop, and how you might fit in. Many police departments need interns and other support staff that you can work as without the need to get a degree in policing or undergo formal police training, so this might be something to consider if you want to get a realistic idea of what working for the police might be like. If you like what you see and can imagine yourself moving up the ranks into the job of a police officer, it’s time to get in touch with police recruiters to discuss your options. You might want to consider boosting your job opportunities with a degree in policing from Wilfried Laurier University.

Spend Time Shadowing Officers

If you have the opportunity to shadow or ride along with a police officer while they do their job, it’s definitely worth grabbing it. Doing this gives you a chance to get some of the most realistic experience when it comes to finding out what it’s like to work as a cop, and some departments offer ride-along programs for potential new recruits to provide an opportunity to find out more. Spending time shadowing the police gives you the opportunity to get a clear view of the challenges that officers face and whether or not you would be up to it, along with the chance to analyse your own skills and figure out if you have what it takes to become a cop, and what you might need to work on before you get there. In some cases, spending more time with cops as they do their job might be the way that you find out that a career in law enforcement isn’t actually for you.

Review Your Own Background

When applying for work as a police officer, you can expect to go through several background checks before you will be accepted into the role. As professionals who are tasked with keeping the streets safe and upholding the law, the police need to be extremely strict regarding who they let work with them. And you can expect everything from your past to come up at some point, even if it’s only a speeding ticket. Because of this, you’ll need to spend some time looking into your own background so that you can prepare for anything that you might be questioned about later. In most cases, the police might be happy to take you on if it’s only something very minor like a speeding ticket from a decade ago, providing you’ve been a law-abiding citizen otherwise and are upfront about what they might find. On the other hand, if you have more serious criminal convictions in your past, it’s probably going to be much harder to get into the police, if not impossible.

Ask Plenty of Questions

When you want to pursue a career as a police officer, it’s important to get answers to all of your questions to help you determine if it’s the right career choice for you. You can ask questions as a part of assessing yourself and figuring out, not only why you want to be a cop, but if you would be the right person for the job. You might want to start by asking the people in your life what they think about your aspirations and to give you an honest opinion of whether they could see you doing this position and enjoying it. You should also spend some time speaking to any law enforcement professionals that you know to get their opinion on it and find out more about the work that they do on a day-to-day basis, to help you determine if it’s something that you’d like to do. You may also want to ask questions about how the job might have an impact on your personal relationships with family and friends.

Consider Why You Want to Work in the Police

Finally, it’s worth considering what your motivations are for wanting to work in the police. For most good police officers, this answer is simple – they want to make a difference in the world and protect their communities. Sometimes, working as a cop can be extremely stressful, physically exhausting and even dangerous, so it’s important to have solid motivations to keep you going through these times and remind you of why you’re doing this job in the first place. Protecting others around you and upholding your commitment to justice and a safer community for all are some good reasons to become a cop.

Do you have what it takes to work in the police?