1. At parties and BBQs, your loved one will lose their personal identity.
They are no longer introduced as Dan or Susan. It becomes, this is my friend [insert name here]. He’s a [cop, probation officer, parole officer, etc]. Plumbers, teachers, graphic designers, and chefs will all be introduced without mention of what they do for a living. Law enforcement officers are always introduced by what they do, whether it's cop/police, probation, parole, etc.
2. Your loved one will speak differently after becoming a law enforcement offier.
They no longer “get out of a car.” Instead they “alight from a motor vehicle.” They do not “carry a nightstick.” They instead “utilize their service batons”. They don’t “turn on a flashlight.” They “illuminate the area.” They do not “throw stun grenades during SWAT raids.” Instead they “deploy distraction devices.” A vehicle is no longer a “car.” It’s a “cruiser.” They don’t “pull a gun.” They “draw their service weapon.” While this language is more specific to police, language changes for all law enforcement. For probation officers, this will be reflected in their assignment (juvenile, adult, etc), the frequency they write reports and other factors. The language listed above is reflective of the legalese that law enforcement is required to write in. It is required by the courts and it reduces the ways that a defense lawyer can twist your meaning.3. Weekends no longer include Saturdays and Sundays.
You often work a four-and-two schedule, getting an actual Saturday and Sunday off once every six weeks. That is of course if you are not ordered for overtime on your day off, as often happens. This is going to vary again by your assignment. If you work in juvenile institutions, than you will have 7 day based shift work. If you work on a specialized unit, you may be subject to call outs and overtime. If your position requires you to answer your phone 24/7, the same applies.4. Holidays will now have different meanings.
While the whole world is enjoying a day off, crime and trouble are open for business 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. You can’t stay home with the kids on Christmas morning while they play with their presents. On New Year’s Eve if you are not scheduled to work, you most likely will be ordered to work. Same as above related to weekends.5. Your loved one’s appearance will change.
All the T-shirts and golf shirts they wear will soon have badges, emblems, or specialized unit insignias displayed on them. Once they get assigned to the drug unit they will start to grow their hair long and grow out their goatee or full beard. Over time, the attire reflects the law enforcement officers occupation.6. Get ready for your loved one to laugh at the weirdest things and during the most inconvenient times… often to keep from crying.
After exposure to the evil in this world, little things such as sights, sounds, and smells can trigger bad memories, cause anxiety, and change moods. It’s nothing against you, but if they admitted that these things bothered them, then they would be human. But we didn’t hire them to be human. They were hired to be law enforcement. Humans have spontaneous human reactions and make mistakes. Law enforcement can’t afford to, and aren’t allowed to. If you do the job of a probation officer long enough, regardless of your assignment, you will encounter death, abusive family, mental health issues and a myriad of other things that the general public does not deal with. And we get a special issue to deal with called compassion fatigue, in trying to have compassion for our population and their families. They don't meet expectations. It takes its toll.7. Your loved one will make a whole lot of new friends.
They will have friends from the academy, their district, the other 20 offices, the drug unit, vice unit, detectives, homicide, SWAT, K-9, the State Police, and the federal agencies. One thing is for sure, their friends will all be law enforcement. They will golf with law enforcement, drink with law enforcement, debate politics and current events with law enforcement, go on vacation with law enforcement, and so on. And when they are not WITH law enforcement, they will be talking about law enforcement. God forbid you watch a cop show with them and someone on screen isn’t doing it his or her way. You’ll be sure to hear about it. If left unchecked their entire world will consist of law enforcement(Please ensure it doesn’t happen. Having healthy friendships outside of work keeps officers more grounded and healthy, and relationships intact.) Take a look around your life and see if this hasn't happened - you will be surprised to what level it does happen.8. Your loved one will look at the world differently.
Often when dealing with those committing crimes all day, and constantly being lied to, can change their view of the world. We are so used to dealing with people who constantly lie to us. If not careful, law enforcement can treat those we love as suspects.9. Your loved one will lose their ability to have an opinion…more accurately, their opinion won’t be allowed.
Everyone has freedom of speech, except law enforcement. You have a right to speak freely, you just don’t have a right to be a law enforcement officer and do it. I.e.: A staunch Irish Catholic can agree with the Catholic Church and be anti-abortion. They however, must stand and be ready to risk their own life to protect the rights of pro-life individuals to freely express themselves. There is no conduct unbecoming a carpenter, but there is conduct unbecoming an officer. Off-duty behavior can impact your job. Be especially conscious of this with social media!!10. Your loved one will get very frustrated when the public and the media spread the message that cops/law enforcement doesn't care.
For the most part, law enforcement officers work hard, believe they can make a difference, and will put the job’s needs over theirs and their family’s needs. They will sacrifice time with family to keep others safe and will occupy their off-duty hours with issues from the job. While the majority of what we see in the media relates to police officers, don't believe for one second that probation officers and other law enforcement isn't lumped in with that. To the general public, we are all cops...Borrowed and adapted from PoliceOne.com
Stay safe, stay sane!!
P. O. Doe
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#probationuncovered
Twitter - @PODoe2015
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Email - probationuncovered@gmail.com
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