Many things were learned in Week 4. It’s very helpful to analyze what’s going on around you rather than just letting the days fly by in anticipation of graduating. The most important lesson I gained this week was how to handle irritations originating from co-workers. Or in this case, fellow recruits.
Without going into detail, I’ve had some minor confrontations with squadmates about trivial issues. I discovered that regardless of how minor or trivial the circumstances were, I still found myself frustrated, angry, and even resentful about what was going on. After thinking about it for a bit, I asked myself, “Seriously? You’re already getting upset about this crap when an entire career of working with people like this awaits you?” Now is the time to learn how to effectively deal with annoying coworkers, not how to get my panties in a bundle over nothing.
A couple nights ago I finished reading David Simon’s Homicide. A truly amazing book, one which I would consider a must-read for serious law enforcement enthusiasts. One passage of the book really spoke to me regarding the above circumstances. One of the players in the book, Balitmore Police Detective Donald Kincaid, gets extremely frustrated about the conduct of one of the other detectives and it eventually leads to his early retirement. Here’s what Simon had to say about it:
For a detective or street police, the only real satisfaction is the work itself; when a cop spends more and more time getting aggravated with the details, he’s finished. The attitude of co-workers, the indifference of superiors, the poor quality of the equipment–all of it pales if you love the job; all of it matters if you don’t.
February 13, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Hi, your site is giving me an early mid-life crisis. I’m 33 and thought I’d long put to bed my LE aspirations, but after reading some of your entries I’ve gone and started looking at my town’s PD web site. I wonder how old you are? I came VERY close to starting this process when I was about 20, but joined the Coast Guard instead, where I got my share of LE experience, but of a very different kind from the civilian side (maritime, immigrants, big drug smuggling ops, etc.). Anyway, I’d love to hear some more details about your background and what got you to this point. Drop me a line!
February 16, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Hey man, thanks for the interest. I’m 24, and I always was interested in law enforcement, though it wasn’t until within a year or so that I decided on it as a career. I did five years at college and came out with a Bachelor’s in IT, worked in it for long enough to know it’s not how I wanted to spend the rest of my life. Then I got my first speeding ticket after seven years or so of driving, and it flipped a switch in my head. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to be “Five-Oh”, as they say on The Wire.