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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]LEO/military family here.

If you have anybody that wants to be a police officer, you should read the book “love a cop” before you do it.

Lots of people in my family went into the police force, thinking that they were going to change the world and you do not.

You show up after the crimes are committed. You rarely stop crime.

Child abuse investigations might be one place where you stop future crimes but that’s after 20 kids have been molested. You can only prove it if you have physical evidence like one of them getting pregnant. You’re more likely to convict on child porn than if an eight-year-old is raped. You will see pictures of things that you will never get out of your mind. You’ll have PTSD. This is a good job for people who never are going to have kids or marry because it will affect your relationship with those people.[/quote]

I don’t necessarily disagree with the content of your post, but I feel you paint a darker picture than my anecdotal lived experience would suggest is the case.

If someone goes into law enforcement thinking they can change the world they are naive. By naive I mean in a global sense, not related to law enforcement. It’s honorable if you go into the profession to try to help change the culture. The NYPD has 34,000 officers and they can’t change much of anything.

I agree that most of policing is reactive rather than proactive. That doesn’t mean everyday interactions can’t disrupt future crimes. Car stops that uncover illegal guns most likely saves future people from being shot. Taking drugs off the street likely leads to less overdoses. It’s the little things that you can feel good about.

Can law enforcement be hard on a family? Of course. The same can be said for doctors, lawyers, IB, PE and a lot of other careers. I have 4 good friends that have risen through the ranks over decades. They all have families. Three out of four have children following in their footsteps. All but one have been married for 25+ years. The other got divorced after 20 years because his chronically materialistic wife found a sugar daddy and wanted out. My friend was making $300k a year and she was a SAHM, but she found a guy that owned a big company and had multiple homes. Personally, I think it was the best thing that ever happened to him.

The things people in law enforcement see can be horrific. There is a statistic that gets thrown around that suggests people in the general public experience 2 traumatic critical incidents in their life, while law enforcement officers will experience 800 in their career. That takes a toll, but it’s likely less than an ER nurse or doctor sees. Thankfully there’s a greater understanding of the toll it can take now, and a much more robust mental health response within the law enforcement community.

It’s a tough job physically, mentally and emotionally. I’m thankful there are men and women that are wired in a way that makes them successful at it.[/quote]

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