Cause And Effect Of Becoming Law Enforcement Officer Essay, Research Paper

The decision to become a Law Enforcement officer is one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. It can effect the way you live in many ways. Your decision to carry a badge and gun in protection of life and property will change you forever. Your family, friends, and the way you live will be altered to accommodate this decision. Your choice of where you live and who your friends are will have a great impact on your ability to perform your job effectively.

Many people haven’t an idea as to what sacrifices you make when the decision to uphold the law and to protect the citizens of your community is made. Many feel that becoming a law enforcement officer only grant you privileges. This is not the case. You are restricted in many ways. All of your actions are scrutinized and judged by many.

The average citizen rarely has a need to come in contact with an officer. Unfortunately, their only contact is in times of need in a bad situation or in the enforcement of laws. They only have the opportunity to see them when things are not good. This happen to make many feel that officers, all officers are not pleasant people. The media has reinforced this feeling by depicting officers as gun toting bad guys without legal consequence. Because of this fact, a law enforcement officer has to be careful not to make others feel as if he is above the law. The officer must be ever conscious of the thoughts of others. For these reasons as well as many others, this would make the life of an officer very stressful as well as difficult. Assuming that prior to becoming an officer a person has thought out exactly how this occupation would effect his or her life, the transition can be stress free. Many of us only have a one-sided view of this strange and exciting life.

Many people become law enforcement officers for many reasons. Some decide that this is what they wanted to do from childhood. Others happen to fall into it by happenstance. Whatever the reasons the effect it has on ones life may vary from person to person. One of the main effects is the structure it brings and the discipline it requires. Most officers work a shift, which require strenuous hours. Many others seem never to actually be “off”, which means they have to take the job home with them since they are on call. As you may well see this would cause stress and strain for the officer’s family members. It is documented that officers have a very high divorce rate and are prone to more suicides than many other occupations.

The responsibility of the law enforcement officer is awesome. The effect it has on his or her life is immense to say the least. Despite it all, it is still a profession deeply rooted in unselfish giving of one self.