Posted: 3/31/2008 8:44:52 AM EDT
|
Sorry if this is a re-post, if it is will the re-post Nazi's take it easy on me?? FASCINATION STAGE - Years 1-4 For most officers, this is their first time outside of the middle class bubble. They have never seen a dead body, never seen life threatening injuries, never dealt with a family disturbance, never witnessed the shit some people call 'home life', and never really understood the phrase 'Man's Inhumanity To Man' until now. Everything is new to them. You can identify them by the amount of fancy new equipment they carry. A ten billion candlelight power torch, pens that write in the rain, a ballistic vest rated to stop tomahawk missiles, and an equipment bag large enough to house a squad of marines. They love it, they show up early for their shift. They work way past the end of their shift without even considering an O/T slip. They believe rank within the job is based only on ability and those in the upper ranks got there by knowledge and skill in police work only. They believe everyone is competent, everyone is on the same page and working towards the same high minded goals. When they finally go home to their significant other, they tell them everything they did and saw. Some of the more 'eaten up' purchase a police scanner so they can hear the radio calls while at home. HOSTILITY STAGE - Years 5-6 They now show up for work about 2 minutes before their shift, and they are hiding about 30 minutes before end of the shift, writing reports so they can just throw them in the sergeant's in-box and leave ASAP. They have to get to their second job to earn money to pay for the divorce that is pending. They gripe about everything, drink excessively, chase women, and hate the public, politicians, media, etc. They feel they have more in common with the hookers, thieves, druggies, etc. but hate them too. Those pens that write in the rain are no longer needed. Writing traffic tickets can be a lot more trouble than they are worth, even on a nice day. To write one, or to write anything while standing in the rain, is a sure sign of an insane person. Their spouse is no longer interested in hearing about all the gore and heartache. They get the 'you spend more time with the cops than you do with me' speech. SUPERIORITY STAGE - Years 7-15 This is when cops are at their best. They have survived changes in administration. They know how the political game is played, both inside and outside the job. They know who they can trust and who they can't. They have select friends within the job, and stay away, as best they can, from the nuts and bootlickers. They know the legal system, the judges, prosecutors, defense solicitors, etc. They know how to testify and put a good case together. They are usually the ones that the gaffers turn to when there is some clandestine request or sensitive operation that needs to be done right. These cops are still physically fit and can handle themselves on the street. They will stay around the station when needed, but have other commitments, such as a second spouse, a second girlfriend (sometimes both). ACCEPTANCE STAGE - Years 16 - ??? Now the cops have a single objective... retirement and pension. Nothing is going to come between them and their monthly pay slip. The boss, the force, the idiots around the station, and the creeps on the street can all go to hell, because they could come between them and 'sitting on the beach'. There is no topic of discussion that can't somehow lead back to retirement issues. These guys are usually sergeants, detectives, scenes of crime officers, community, or some other post where they will not be endangered. They especially don't want some young stupid cop getting them sued, fired, killed, or anything else causing them to lose their 'beach time'. They spend a lot of time having coffee, hanging around the station, and looking at brochures of things they want to do in retirement. THE RETIREMENT STAGE The retired cop usually dies within five years of retirement, saving the force a bunch of money. Of course, nothing is ever 100% true, but if you are a cop, were a cop, know a cop, then you will certainly recognize some of the above statements!!!! Source: Unknown |
I pride myself on leading a stable, vice-free life. Is it that hard?  
|
| Hopefully 2 1/2 years I'll retire. 48 yrs old, still work patrol, work the hotest ward in my precinct (it is the best/slowest precinct though), CIT, take the rookies but not FTO, 14 apt complexes, 16 hotels, know most the business folks, most the dope boys..yatta, yatta, yatta......Bust my ass every day but still love the job. But would not go back to the ghetto. Admin and politicos (same thing) suck. Forgot......married twice. |
|
I worked in EMS a little more than 5 years as both and EMT then a Medic. I didn't want to be special, but I sure had a leg up on all of the kids in my academy class. I had seen a LOT of dead bodies and had been with people while they were talking then died before we got them to the hospital. Now I have started my LE job, but I try and steer clear of blood and gore when possible. I am fascinated with the job, but dread the blood and gore, car wrecks, and domestic disputes. |
|
I've heard this one before just like I've heard to one of "You're really not a cop until you've been divorced and have been shot." Here, in some ways, it CAN be true. For example, Acceptance stage and Fascination stage. What if you are in the Fascination stage and you come across a superior who is doing something illegal but you don't know it? You better believe that he'll use every trick he knows, every intimidation, every trap, whatever, to stop you from stopping him from collecting his retirement. It's one heck of a contradictory situation because while one at the Fascination stage has it locked into them to respect superiors, not to question (as in the military), in this line of work, one has to operate at least on a second thought basis, at least considering why anyone did it that way ...... and, of course, push regs to the hilt. Of course, being a commissioned officer in military police puts the time scale a little bit different and may even place the stages presented here somewhere out the window. Ie, when one gets to leadership and command, THAT'S A BLOODY THRILL! If you are into it, no matter how long you've been doing it, you still want more, still want to do it. Of course, I'm saying this after doing two days of cert dives. Been tired, had a lot on the schedule, had the chance for someone else to take the day where I could get some proper sleep ............ and didn't. They are my people, I want to be there for them! Back to the topic although things mentioned in the Fascination stage still fall back to the above. Such as spending lots of time on the job. Was it because I was fascinated with doing military police work. In part, yes. I had finally found my niche in the Navy. But more accurately, I spent so much time on the job taking care of my troops. And when I wasn't at the job? I was spending a lot of time with my belly dancing troupe. One thing not in my life, then or now, is a SO, so I didn't, don't (then: would be when it applies most to this list; now: as a on the side (not inside, but certainly not the uninformed outside) researcher ...... well, here, let's just say I'm constantly seeing the detailed data of Man's Inhumanity to Man) go home with the job to tell another, I won't have a divorce pending, or a second SO to support. Still, there is something of the Hostility stage now but I think it comes from a different angle. Knowing so much about the bad in the world, knowing so much about how people operate, I just cringe listening to idealists that say this will solve the problem, why don't we do it that way, and so forth. Hearing them and knowing they don't really have a clue to how the world is. It can be good, such as environment, or bad, such as "We got to make prison so terrible that no one will ever want to go back" and they think that will make people be good but not realizing, not knowing, that it pushes criminals to do anything they can, and it will be most probably a crime, so they don't go back. Superiority stage? That's probably what I would call the Destroyer or Submarine, a reference to those kind of ships and how they operate. Ie, lots of capability, there where they are suppose to be, put it on the schedule, but if the job is over, it's flank speed to the next task. "Submarine" is especially like that because I'm not going to be at home waiting for the people to call me so I can come back. I got a lot to do and I will have devices, timetables set up when the "masts" will be up and I'll be listening. Otherwise, I'm off on another task. Back then, this probably wasn't there that much beyond certain points. Here we have a tie in with the Fascination stage. I didn't have a scanner at home, I had a police radio. Turned on at home, listening to the radio traffic, had some very interesting dreams. But base security was my balliwick, so it wasn't fascination with the job as much as it was doing the job, being informed, keeping the bubble to a degree. There were times when I was calling them before they were calling me, getting to the base because of the radio traffic. And now? A lot like "Submarine". Here for this job or that job, if I'm available and they want more, I'll answer up ......... but life is so busy, fluid, I may not even be back in the quadrant till 30 minutes before my next shift. Oh, and yes, both now and back then, people do/did turn to me when they have/had questions. I have that kind of head for knowledge. Acceptance Stage? Isn't that what we call ROAD? Retired On Active Duty? Watch out for that one if one is a superior because if they are a bad one and people are still letting them just mark time till they are gone, at best, it can cause the disillusionment, loss of prospective young replacements. At worst? Lawsuit, loss of productivity, cases, life? But here again, there is at least one thing I see in Acceptance that I see in me now though I probably didn't see it then ...... till it slapped me in the face. "Watch your back, Jack/Jaq." And from that comes, if you even have an inkling that something, some incident, some occurence, might come back to haunt you, hurt you, write down your account of it immediately. Cover yourself so some personnel issue doesn't take you out. Retirement? Rather dread the thought! _____________________________________________________________ ("Now, we've had your case under review for a long time. You're going down to filing where you'll be out of the field, out of the way, and will stay there till you collect your pension."--Section Chief Myerson to CIA agent Kendig, (w,stte), "Hopscotch") |