Officers encounter a lot in the course of their work. They are involved in situations, looking through property, and coming across all sorts of things. In some cases you come across things that are clear-cut and you know what actions you should take. In other situations, officers will have to make judgment calls about what is appropriate.

Scenario:
Shannon and Kelly had been working together as partners for several months now. They got along very well and were well respected on the shift. They were relatively young officers, both with only about two years on the job.

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Use of force is something that will occur as a police officer. Anytime you put your hands on an individual to arrest someone you are technically assaulting them. You do have more authority as a police officer that the average citizen doesn’t have when it comes to using force so long as you are acting legally in the course of your duties. Once you are hired as a new police recruit there are going to be situations where you are uncertain what authority you have to act and situations where you might go over board.

Denny had been a police officer for about two months. He worked in a large urban centre and his division was in a very tough neighbourhood. One night there was a complaint of fighting with weapons outside of a local bar. When Denny arrived on scene, there was no fight, but another officer who had about a year on the job was questioning three teenagers. There were four other officers on scene.
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Integrity and honesty are important characteristics of any police officer, especially new recuirts. So is protecting the public, and looking out for victims of crime. You will encounter situations where people acting irresponsibly, or performing deliberate seriously hurt other people. As a police officer you will have a lot more information than the public usually has about the people involved and how guilty they often are. Rules of evidence in courts often exclude a great deal of evidence that would indicate guilt. This can be frustrating but they are the rules that exist in society. Police officers have to consider the importance of protecting the public on the one hand and acting honestly on the other.
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I’ve been writing quite a few of these stories, a lot based on my personal experience. If anyone has a story they would like to share, send it to us at info@policeprep.com. You can send us a brief idea and we will adapt a story, or publish one that you give us. People might be interested in commenting on a situation you might have found yourself in. Today I’m going to touch on a bit of a problem you may find on the job when you are hired. There are many apathetic officers out there who have been treated unfairly and feel discouraged working in the legal system. You have to decide the type of police officer you want to be when you put on the uniform. Are you going to simply respond to radio calls, or are you going to initiate investigations. If so, how are you going to learn?

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I was a serving police officer for four years and have worked in the training and education field, preparing police candidates for the testing and application process, for almost a decade now. I have worked with amazing police officers as colleagues, very dedicated teachers and staff at the colleges we service, highly professional recruiters and frankly, some inspiring applicants who dream of one day being an officer. I write these posts, not to sound pessimistic, or indicate that officers are corrupt, or evil, but to indicate that cops are human. We are all fallible, and as officers you are going to encounter some very tough choices and some morally challenging positions. Today’s scenario is tough, not in terms of right or wrong, but in terms of what actions you would or could take. I need to reiterate what I said above, that the vast majority of people employed in the policing field are of the very highest calibre.

Scenario:
Sean was a second year student at a police foundations program. He loved the program, was doing very well in his classes and got along with all of the students. He felt the calibre of the instructors was very high, with most of them being former police officers. The instructors were professional, shared real experiences with the students and kept the classrooms fun and engaging while maintaining a high level of professionalism. He was very excited to be where he was and was confident he would one day be hired as a police officer.
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As a serving police officer you have a lot of control over your day. On slow days with few radio calls, you have a lot of discretion on how you patrol and how you spend your time. If you are working with a partner, your day can be very enjoyable and rewarding or very frustrating. As a new recruit you are going to be placed with an experienced officer and you will have to learn to work with all types of people.

Scenario 1:

Jordan was a relatively new officer to the shift but had finished probation and was working with officers other than his coach officer. For the past couple of weeks he had been getting assigned to work with Officer Hayden who he really didn’t get along with. Officer Hayden was a senior constable with over 20 years on the job.

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Judgment and discretion are necessary tools police officers have to be able to use if they are going to perform their duties effectively. There are times when you pull people over for traffic offences where you might decide to issue a ticket, and there are times when you may choose to give a warning. It isn’t always easy to decide a course of action, and below are a couple of scenarios that may cause you to pause and think as a new police recruit.

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I’m sure everybody remembers reading about legal cases where a company threw a party, an employee had too much to drink and got behind a wheel of a car. A situation like this may have already happened to you some point in life, either at work, or during school. Have you ever been at a party where you weren’t comfortable with what was going on? Have you ever seen friends acting inappropriately at parties, or drinking in areas where they shouldn’t be? Things can be a lot more complicated as a rookie or new cadet on the job.

Scenario:

During training while at the Police College, Dion remembered a lecture that was given by an Internal Affairs officer. The lecture centred on off-duty officers drinking at the end of shift in parking lots or parks before heading home. The Internal Affairs officer discussed how a lot of officers get into trouble with this type of behaviour. It leads to problems at home, incidents of cheating spouses, complaints from neighbours, drinking and driving of officers and internal investigations by them. The IA officers warned every new recruit not to get involved in this type of activity, and at the time Dion thought he made a lot of sense and wouldn’t want to be part of this.

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Policing is an interesting career and how much you enjoy your day often has a lot to do with whom you are sitting beside in your squad car. A great partner makes a great day, a partner you don’t get along with can be a nightmare though. It is important as a new police recruit to be diplomatic and realize you have a lot to learn from whoever is your partner or coach officer.

Scenario:

As a young recruit, Steve was working with a senior officer by the name of Mark. Steve enjoyed working with Mark, but felt he sometimes didn’t take the job too seriously. Steve respected Mark’s knowledge, and Mark was a senior officer on the platoon.

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