[ARCHIVED THREAD] - How tough can being a cop be? (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 3/16/2005 2:41:55 PM EDT
I was talking with a officer from So Cal he says 3 days on 12 hr shifts then 4 days off? plus you make 50K a year How hard can that be? work/sleep/work/sleep/work then you have 4 days off. 12 hour shift gives you plenty of time to get settled in. I am not the toughest guy in the world but the military seems way tougher to me, your working all the time and if your in the field, well shit then your not getting weekends. seems too easy to be true 
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so sign up for that cake walk. |
am back at college but give me one more year to finish and i will try. |
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Dude.... I am no 'across the board' LEO fan as there are doofusses in that field to an approximation of the % of doofusses in other walks of life. BUT, these guys put it on the line. The thin blue line. They need overwatch and could ease up on the "we're better than the civilians of the world" mentality, but they do a job I would not. So, mucho respecto ....except for those assheads that we all have been pulled over by. |
They got a reserve or part time gig in your area? research it and go take a taste test. See if it is really something that you'd be into. I guess if you are a mediocre performer and don't actually arrest anyone or get involved in any crimes or invesigations you could coast. not sure how long and successful your career would be if your goal is to be the Chief Deputy Slacker... I couldn't stand 12 hr shifts... man... that is a lot of paperwork to get stuck under. |
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No. I have an Engineering Degree, why would I become a cop? All the suburban departments around here are like third generation LEOs. 90% of the cop's kids I went to High School with became cops themselves. Now, if you want to become a big city cop that's a different story... |
Actually it's 12.5 Hours for three days a week, plus an 8.5 hourt make up every other week. Plus lots of overtime when you should be sleeping for stuff like sitting at the hospital with a victim, waiting for a call back on a court order, booking a late arrest, completing a priority report, Criminal court, traffic court, civil depositions, training, qualification, ect. Like all shift work jobs, you have the fun of working mids, weekends, holidays, ect. If there was really some way to do it only working 36 hours a week, I would be all over it. Instead I end up putting in 40-60 a week, but i get paid for at least 42-45 of it, so its all good. Then you get to enjoy the regular back & joint injuries, exposure to Hep C, AIDS, ect. So maybe 1 of 10 makes it to retirement without some level of job related disability. I wont even address the silly notion of comparing domestic LE with Military service in a combat unit. Although in the tradition of AR15.com, most cops "got both" and did their time in the ARMY or USMC first. |
What he said, plus think of the highly intellectual, honest, and above-board clientelle you'd have to work with every day. It's like being in the military--in theory, you get time off--but when your pager beeps, or when your shift is over but the work isn't done, the job just flat-out doesn't care. Besides--I hate twelves. All you do is get up, go to work, come home exhausted, take a shower, go to bed, wash, rinse repeat. The only thing I hate worse is 12-hr mids. By the time I'm done I barely know my own name.  Nope. We don't pay cops nearly enough to put up with the crap they do. Cops, military & teachers are definitely "higher calling" type jobs. |
4 ten hour shifts and three days off here, 50-55 hour week usually. Base is 64K. That's what goes to the wife. Overtime, language pay, incentive, and shift diff is my toy money I've had to fight three people this week, made 9 arrests, worked two suicides in between accidents, and it's only day three. Monday was a 17 hour day. Last week I almost destroyed a patrol boat by getting stuck in a floodgate going after some dumbass. What fun. He got to be on the "Ellen" show yesterday.  Send in your app right away. It's easy money. Besides, the job has a very high "chicks dig it" factor. 
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Hmmmn, court appearances on your days off...speaking of days off, you're working New Years Eve, Christmas, Thanksgiving and July 4th rookie! 12 hour shift? Guess what, you just got a vehicle accident with multiple injuries, some of those victims may be "going out of the picture"...don't know yet, and a possible DWI by the guy that caused the crash....with 5 minutes left in your shift. Oh damn, you just shot a perp! But wait... the media is calling it a "bad shoot". You're assigned to desk duty while the investigation ensues. Dont' worry though, the worst they can do is strip you of your badge and gun...and your pension....and your house.....and your car.... I can go on and on. 
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ya damn cross posting spammer...  www.glocktalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=358630 |
Im currently out on sick leave with pins in my hands after battling with a violent suspect over 2 dolllars worth of tasteecakes. I have spent the last 3 years working the graveyard shift. I hope your girl doesnt mind sleeping alone at night most of the time. Most of the time while your out on patrol on an easy tour, no doubt you think "This is great, i might be actually overpaid". Its when the shit hits the fan (ie your fighting for your life with a suspect) when reality sinks in and you realize you earn every penny and you might deserve more. In no way will I compare the risks we take with the ones taken by those in the military. Nothing tougher mentally and physically than being deployed in a hot combat zone. However, being a police officer is by no means free money. Specially if you work in a drug/gang infested inner city area where you are disliked and unappreciated. Go talk with some LAPD officers that like too work (all cops are not the same, just like in any job you have lazy do nothings and you have the workers) and they will tell ya some stories. |
+1. A good friend of mine had his career in the Sherrif's department ended after an inmate snapped his wrist in two during a brawl. He has a plate and no mobility in his left wrist. Easy job my ass. Nobody ever beat my ass while I was in the middle of configuring a router. |
And from what I can tell that's even IF the courts say it is a "good shoot", the media screws you there and getting back where you were is almost impossible. I don't like thinking about the possibility of a bad shoot called by the media AND the courts, that's just bad juju. |
Unless, of course, you just shot a law-abiding gun owner or someone else who dared to exercise a constitutional right. Those are the only kind of good shoots in the media's book. |
Never seen that happen. We HAVE shot a lot of new fathers who have just found Jesus, were working towards their GED, and had just found a job so they could contribute to the church and pay for their poor mother's life saving surgery. These stories are usually accompanied by the saintly individual's 5th grade picture. Obviously, it 's the police's fault he was driving a stolen car.
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| 14 Broken Bones and a Punctured Lung because of a drunk driver. 1 Officer involved Shooting. Missing I don't know how many kids birthdays, christmas, etc. Got ordered in to work on my sons birthday once. Got home in time to see everyone leaving after his party. Work 22 years of nights out of 27 years. I could go on, but you get the drift. Jump on the "Gravy Train" and see just where it stops. But hold on tight, cause it's a bumpy ride sometimes. |
| If you think its something you would like then try it for a year and if its not your thing then move on. You've read some of the posts and no doubt the job can be fustrating and stressfull. But one thing that never gets mentioned is cops save lives and their is a lot of job satisfaction knowing you made a differance in some one's life. There is always room for good cops. |
Funny, didn't work that way for me or most of the unhired cadets at the academy. Son of the chief or not, you HAVE to pass several stages of MCOLES (Michigan Comission Of Law Enforcement Standards) BEFORE you're even eligable to get into the academy. And I don't even want to get into all the other BS that follows. |
Had one a week before my first was born. I didn't sleep more than 10 minutes in a stretch for 6 months. |
For some it would seem so..but then they usually can't make the grade. |
I really have no idea thats why i was asking, I dont mind working hard if i like what i am doing. I was trying to get some insight before everyone started whining about me being a Troll
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You folks are doing good, I've only heard one dog joke yet. +1 to the guys talking about 12 hours being long shifts, that ain't no shit. One of our new guys got stuck at the end of his shift the other day holding 8 reports, with his next day being a day off. I think he wound up pulling a total of an 19 hour day.  Oh yeah, only 10 hours of overtime per pay period is paid, the rest is comp time that you can't take. 50K a year? I'm not even JBT yet and I know that would be a dream. Ours start at 33K. Hell, some of our sergeants don't make 50K. You certainly don't do it for the cash. I don't exactly why I'm heading to it, but I guess it's just kind've like a call you hear. I certainly can'y imagine doing anything else though. To johninaustin: 64K?? Ya'll hiring?? 
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+1 Money for nuttin and chicks for free.
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And court dates on your days off for all of the paperwork you did while on duty. |
Riiiiight... that is why you posted a question in BOS asking about it as a professional choice and soliciting advice, rather than posting in GD and talking about what an easy job it is and thus insulting all people doing the job by insinuating that it doesn't take any skill... Oh way, I have that backward. |
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12 hour shifts are OK....until you get stuck on a call or with a late report and it turns into 16 or 17 hours. I pulled a 21 hour shift one time, that sucked. I fell asleep in the locker room taking my shoes off, then got yelled at for missing lineup for my next shift, which started a whole three hours after that one ended.
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Give me a second i am going to look at my post to see what i did to piss you off. BOS what are you talking about? |
Damn what could have possibly pissed you off about that? Im am just saying if i can make it in the military i dont see why i couldn't make it in LE work. I am not trying to say i am some Stud but i am no puss either. I know you probably have your good days and bad ones but for the most part the schedule just doesn't look that bad to me. |
I'm not pissed... annoyed maybe. You talk about what an easy job it is and piss everyone off, then recant and talk about how you want to be a cop. I think you are just stirring up shit. You copy and pasted the exact same thing on glocktalk.
Brothers of the Shield - http://www.ar15.com/forums/forum.html?b=1&f=76 the LE portion of this board. If you wanted to be a cop, why not ask there rather than stir up shit on GD? |
fuckin a. 
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#1: 50k in SoCal is frigging peanuts. #2: Three on/Four off is OK. But you have to deal with the dregs of society a lot of the time. It has to wear you down. I worked 12 and tow on the railroad for a long time, 12 hours is usually that or longer. #3: LEO vs. .mil = apples to oranges. |
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Stressful. Very little support from the public (unless you're in a conservative community). Liberal media hates you. Be a firefighter. You work 24 hours on, take 2-3 days off. Work another day, take 3-4 days off. Work another day, take the rest of the week off. That's why their houses are in great shape (unlike a cop), their cars run smoothly (unlike a cop), their marriage isn't on the rocks (unlike a cop), and they can get a second job (generally some type of contractor) and have plenty o' ducats in their pockets (unlike a cop who is getting sued).
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