WHAT'S THE BEST, AND WORST, PART OF BEING A COP?
It's Different For Everyone, But For Me...
Dear Ask A Cop,
What would you say is the best part of being a cop, and what would you say is the worst part?
TK from Oregon
Dear TK,
The best part of being a cop is different for different people. However, since you asked me, I believe the best part of being an officer is that you get to actually see when you make a difference in someone’s life. You get to see the look on their face the moment they realize that you have done something that is going to make their life better.
The worst part about being a cop for me is all of the things that you see that never go away. That stay as vivid as the day it happened and never fade away from memory.
AAC
From Quora…
Police of Quora, what was the worst/best part of being an officer?
Best all-time part of being a police officer: The satisfaction of truly helping a situation. A majority of day to day stuff we do is mostly putting bandaids on huge problems just to get to the next call. Oftentimes we are unable to really help people, either because they don't want it, the problem is beyond repair, etc. But every once in awhile, you get to arrest that seriously evil person, help console that sobbing child, get justice for a sexual assault victim, or stop a serious crime in progress. Those moments remind every cop why they got into this profession to begin with.
Worst all-time part about being a police officer: Not being there to help someone. Whether that be another officer or citizen, it sucks not being there to help when they desperately need it. A few years back we had a rape occur in an alley behind a bar. It was at around 4am and I usually am cruising through those alleyways at that time, but had made a few traffic stops instead and got some coffee before driving through there. After the victim reported it the next day, I felt absolutely terrible. If only I had driven through there, perhaps I could have stopped it. It's situations like that, that truly make a cop feel guilty and helpless. Even compared to public ridicule, dead bodies, traffic wrecks, etc, nothing tops that kind of terrible feeling.
The best thing is the camaraderie. I just spent New Years Eve with 5 former coworkers and their families. We had an oyster roast and a low country boil over on a nearby island (I live at the beach now) and we drank beer and told stories…stories that we have told over and over but we never get tired of hearing them. I've put my life in their hands and they have put theirs in mine. There's a trust there that no one on the outside will ever understand.
The bad thing is never seeing your blood family while you're working. You're never at home…never get to celebrate holidays…never get to see the kids soccer games…and never get to those birthday parties.