This is a very good question and one that nagged at me for the 25 years that I was a police officer.
It was fun and interesting for the first 12 years for me. The last 13 years were hell.
I still don't know why I stayed until the end.
I can relate to all of the currently submitted responses very well but in the end I can honestly say that most of this didn't come true for me.
Low pay, long hours, swing back shifts, extremely tough on the family life by missing birthdays, holidays, school plays, class trips, being cursed at, spit at, called names that have long left my memory, cold wet shifts in snow and rain, unappreciated for what you do to help others, BS from within, being passed over for promotion because you "didn't play the game", seeing people die right in front of your eyes, seeing people mangled that should have been dead, etc., etc., etc.
I don't miss a
single thing about police work!
Good question, "why do police officers want to be police officers"?
I wouldn't do it again and advised both of my grown sons not to pursue a career in police work and they didn't.
Retirement is the best thing about police work!
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Jim
"Trust in GOD... but carry a GLOCK"
[This message has been edited by JMC (edited April 27, 1999).]
[This message has been edited by JMC (edited April 27, 1999).]