An officer has an assigned area that he or she is responsible for regulating traffic, controlling crowds, preventing crime, and arresting violators. Also while doing this as an officer he or she must be capable to take photographs and draw diagrams of the accident scenes as well as interview eye-witnesses and collect other first hand accounts such as the people involved. Also one might have to testify in court or act as a witness for traffic or criminal cases. While patrolling ones assigned area, he or she has to work in all types of weather and situations; lots of situations could turn out dangerous so officers have to take every precautionary measure when dealing with people (Career Information: Police Officer). Prior to work, officers assemble their uniforms and equipment and do some preparation or preventive maintenance so that they know that they can rely on their equipment in times of need. Some officers’ dress for work at home, and some wear street clothes to work and dress in a locker room at the station. An officer might ensure his shoes are shined, his sidearm is loaded and serviceable, and his flashlight has fresh batteries or is fully charged if it's rechargeable. Most shifts begin with a briefing or roll call session of 10-30 minutes. Here, a supervisor will assign patrol areas and radio call numbers, and advise officers of any special details or assignments that might have to be covered during their shift and brief officers on any ongoing crime patterns so officers will know what to watch for. The briefing session may include an inspection of everyone's uniform and equipment to make sure its all working properly without failure (“What Does a Police Officer Do In a Typical Work Day”).
At crime scenes he or she may have to render first aid care to the people around the scene if they are injured physically or they may have to comfort them if they are mentally unstable at that time. After one is done dealing with all the required things, he or she has to record the facts and document incidents and activities in a report, which is required for every incident that occurs no matter how small(“What Does a Police Officer Do In a Typical Work Day”, “Police Patrol Officer Job Description”).
In order to become a police officer, some requirements one must meet are being a U.S. citizen, being twenty-one years of age or older, have a high school diploma, possess a valid drivers license, and have no prior convictions. Many of the departments out there will look for education beyond a high school diploma by requiring applicants to have completed some college credit in public safety, law and government, customer and personal service, psychology, telecommunications, sociology and anthropology and therapy. They also require the completion of the police training-academy, which usually lasts around twelve to fourteen weeks.(“Police Patrol Officer Job Description”).
During those weeks one will perform regular physical fitness and stamina exercises. The academy will also teach you skills necessary for his or her future career like state ordinances and laws, how to work with the public, constitutional laws, civil rights, incident reporting, and criminal psychology. Also some basic hands-on things like using firearms, controlling traffic, CPR and first aid, self-defense techniques, apprehension techniques, risk assessment, and role-playing will be taught. Before graduation one will have to pass a written and physical test to prove that they are ready for the future (“Police Officer: Educational Requirements for Police Officers”).
Being a police officer can be rewarding yet very dangerous job. Becoming a police officer gives one special responsibilities that he or she has to fulfill because there are many people counting on he or she. Some of the duties officers have is providing public safety to the people by maintaining order among the people and responding to emergency calls. By protecting the people and their property, it