Police Officer Career Paper

I am currently enrolled at the University of Akron. I study Criminal Justice. My future intentions are to return to my beautiful home in Dubai, and enforce laws in my community. I have recently learned that every choice is full of positive and negative effects, and while I do primarily enjoy thinking of the better things in life, I have to be realistic. Part of becoming an adult means looking at things for what they are, and not just what you want them to be. I believe that being a police officer comes at a price. I believe that this career has the ability to interfere with ones’ personal life and negatively influence their relationships. From another point of view, I also am able to believe that this career has the ability to offer greater …show more content…
Borum and Philpot point out that “a great deal of attention has been given to the issues of stress in law enforcement and its impact on individual officers. However the literature has not equally addressed the effects of police work on officers’ relationships.” Officers tend to work long hours and often end up working overtime as well. The Law enforcement agency competes with the marriage for time and commitment (Borum and Philpot). An officer is almost always on call. In addition if they make an arrest or catch any type of crime in act by a civilian at the end of their shift, they must remain at work until they finish all the responsibilities that come with the arrest, such as paper work and so on. This can take away from ones’ personal time, and if not properly managed, this may eventually begin to take a serious toll on ones relationships with friends and family. Another way an officer’s career can reap hazard on their personal relationship is through some other job demands. When being an officer you become the one that enforces the law to your community; meaning that if a person is difficult or resistant at work you will most likely use negative verbal skills to induce fear and when needed use dominant force to control the situation (Borum and …show more content…
He’s changed and we’re not changing together. And that frightens me a lot.” Working on the police force can impact a persons’ personality. When you surround yourself with people that focus on certain social profiles, you are likely to become part of that profile. In essence, Borum and carol point out that individuals working together in law enforcement are primarily males. They compete to be the most masculine, dominant and prevail the most authority. Borum and carol also documented that these traits that are practiced so much at work, eventually get carried in to the officer’s home life. He then shows the characteristics to his significant other and begins putting a strain on the relationship. Since there are so many negative influences in work that can be looked at as poison to ones’ home life, I personally fear that when I begin my career that I could develop these bad habits.

Looking at these factors, being an officer is certainly not the right job for everyone. It takes a strong and wise person to be a successful police officer. A wise officer might consider thinking before he speaks at home, to ensure that he doesn’t damage his personal love life, by corrupting with his work attitude. Another key factor is making sure that a spouse understands the demand work has on an officer upfront, to avoid