Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Why Would Anyone Want to Work in Law Enforcement Today?

Yeah, the good ole days of shooting some annoying citizen for no good reason and getting away with it are in jeopardy. Ah, those good ole days!

I don't see it either. I know lots of cops that have discouraged their kids from it now. 30+ years ago as I was trying to get hired as a fireman a long time cop told me I was going in the right direction. He said being a cop was being everone's a-hole. That was sad to hear that long ago and it seems to be worse now.

I hope that is sarcasm.

In today's society, the roles are reversed. The good guys are now the bad guys and the bad guys are the good guys. The longer the rap sheet, the "more gooder" the guy is. Makes me want to puke and it is only going to get worse.

This might be the goal: turn decent people from LEO, so zero can foist his own select group of Brownshirt nazi's. A lot can happen in nearly 2 years, and I don't believe anything he does is accidental.

Three years ago a close friend of mine and his son were sitting around the woodstove at the cabin. After serving in the Army and doing two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan he recently graduated from the Wisconsin State Patrol Academy and was assigned to an area mid-state. I asked the young Trooper why he chose law enforcement. He said: "I wanted to go to the sound of gunfire".

God bless 'em.

There are 2 jobs that I've always sworn that they don' have enough money to get me to do. the first is LEO. the second is a school teacher. The reason is that they're both no-win situations. Especially nowadays. You can get in trouble, sued, or go to jail for just trying to do your job.

'67 my dad quit the State Patrol.

"Why ya quittin, pop? "
"Don't like the direction it's going."

Fair enough.

To bust some noggins?

Ok, ok, im just kidding, Lee, but you gotta admit, somebody needs tO do it.

"Why Would Anyone Want to Work in Law Enforcement Today?"

My two youngest brothers that have both retired from the local Sheriff's dept. and the state Highway Patrol utter those exact same words.

They'd do their job to the best of their God given ability and then be attacked by admin after words.

Truly a thankless job.

God Bless all of 'em...

Out for a few years but would never do it again. 1980 was tolerable - now its deplorable.

I've got seven years to go to retire with thirty years of service... I don't know that I'll make it. The public animosity toward peace officers in today's society just flat drains you. I try very hard to be one of the good guys, a credit to my profession and a service to my community, I'm often told I am. Yet, I get blindly lumped into the same fold as some idiot that does a dumbass stunt somewhere halfway across the country. Really wears you out after awhile. Combine that with an ever increasing workload of horror perpetrated against our most innocent and defenseless (I primarily work child abuse and neglect cases) and I'm quickly getting sick of it all. Being the greeter at Walmart or flipping burgers would pay about as much, get as much respect and leave me able to sleep at night without the bad dreams. Well... maybe not the greeter job at Walmart.

Good points, but not everyplace is detroit or baltimore. there are PLENTY of cushy suburban gigs that, if you can get on the force, are a virtual lock for economic stability & a very nice lifestyle in terms of pay, early retirement, time off etc.

http://patch.com/new-jersey/wyckoff/township-sets-police-salaries-benefits

LIke most things discussed in relations to LEO, it REALLY depends on where you are.

I'm hoping more people become LE's that don't WANT to be one, but choose to be one.

The only one's that have ever worried me, in many professions, are the ones with a hardon for WHATEVER that job is.

I get it. I know what he meant. But that's a mentality I try to train out of my trainees.

This job isn't combat. It's a service job that CAN become combat, but shouldn't be approached that way. You have to be able to switch that mind set on and off at will.

I'll throat punch my kids if they try to become cops. And then give them a bad recommendation.

Not everyone here would call it wrong.

This. A job in LE alot like being called to ministry. A person better be sure they're getting into it for the right reasons. They will see horrible things and only sometimes be able to make a difference. People within and out will always second-guess. It's a stress fest. I've got a nephew I'm trying to talk out of it right now.

Sometimes though you get a really satisfying day. Last Thursday I was driving along and a ball rolled into the road. Sure enough, three kids who looked to be between four and seven were chasing it. I turned on the overheads and parked in across the road, shutting down traffic. Then I got out and kicked the ball back to the kids. The twenty or so cars inconvenienced by this didn't seem to mind. After seeing a kid get squished and killed once years ago, it made my day. And no paperwork to boot.

IME, the guys who become cops so they can run toward the sound of gunfire just become disenchanted and bitter quicker than the other cops. Every time they respond to a call of "my neighbor's rooster is crowing" or "my kid won't get out of bed" it just sucks a little more of the life out of them.

But the cop who says "I'm gonna do a good job at whatever comes up so that I can keep my paycheck coming in and never have to buy a donut again" is the guy who lasts a lot longer.