Some people have no idea what it takes to be a Police officer. The job is not at all what the shows depict on TV. You hardly have to pull a gun and for each arrest made there is loads of paper work to do. People think it is all action but with every bit of action comes the reams of paper work.
Police officers need to be in great shape. Great shape means you must be able to at least run a mile and half under ten minutes. Then you must be able to pull your own weight up over a seven foot wall. These requirements vary with each state. A good guide is the current military physical requirements. A candidate needs to be able to do sit ups, push ups, pull ups and run a few miles. In addition to that, they also have to complete an obstacle course.
“There were a couple of cadets that needed three times to complete the obstacle course but they did it. And then there were maybe one or two that could not pass their final physical fitness test and had to drop,” said officer David Coonce from Northern Ca.
Police work is not all physical though. Police officers must have a good mind for memorization. Many people wonder how Police officers get to their house so quick. One part of their training is to memorize all the major streets in a city. Once assigned to a beat the officer needs to memorize basically all the streets on his beat.
Another little known fact about police work is officers must know the law inside and out. Many police officers who love the law go on to make fine lawyers. That is how well they know the law. Police officers are tested on all the major Penal codes, traffic codes, and Health and safety codes. This takes good memorization skills and a good head to sort through the minutiae of the various penal codes and laws.
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The memorization to become a police officer is often overlooked by many candidates who hope to make it on physical ability alone which only is half of what it takes. Then there is the paper work. You really do not have to be an English major to write police reports. Computerized police report writing has decreased the need for constant rewrites. Now every police car has a computer in it to aid officers with writing reports. Nevertheless, being able to put your thoughts on paper and how events happened is a must for every officer.
“Being able to write a good concise report on a simple burglary is a must. A person wanting to be a police officer must be able to interview a person and be able to write down what is important. This person must be a good listener and have an ear for detail. We are not asking for Ernest Hemming Way, just the facts,” said Les Winert a retired Sheriff from California.
In the end, the job of a policeman may not be for everyone. If a person can multi-task well, then police work might be a job for you. A police officer must be able to talk on the radio, be aware of his surroundings, and be able to drive a vehicle safely through traffic. Not everyone can do this under stress.
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