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What it takes to become a police officer.

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What it takes to become a police officer.
Law Enforcement

In today's society, there are many violators of the law. Whether minor or severe, the violations have consequences, and those are upheld by law enforcement personnel. From security guards to police officers, each law enforcement agent does his or her part in maintaining the laws and justice. By serving the community and providing safety to society, police officers especially have a job that should be admired.

The most highly sought-after and desirable profession is that of a police officer. The aspects of this job are appealing even to young children. Helping people, serving the community, and ensuring safety locally is certainly something people would love to do. Officers feel completely gratified knowing that they are influential and a positive role model in someone else's life. The main disadvantage of the job is knowing that aiding someone could be potentially dangerous to the officers themselves, or the other people that they have assisted.

The required characteristics for the career of a police officer are quite demanding, both physically and mentally. An officer must be incredibly stable mentally to be able to cope with the multiple negative facets of the job that occur daily. An officer must also be able to pass an agility test. The test involves running a mile in less than eight minutes, therefore being able to maintain pursuit of a suspect. Most of these attributes are taught and mastered in the time spent at a police academy.

One of the main responsibilities of a police officer is patrolling a designated area of a city on foot and/or in a patrol car. Officers perform complex investigations, render services, enforce traffic and criminal laws, and generally provide for the safety of the public. Normal hours are about 40 hours per week, and overtime is actually more than time and a half for most departments. Another duty is to file police reports in an office atmosphere. In the office, an officer may work in solitude or with his or her

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