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A police officer surveys the crowd

What is a Police Officer?

Police officers are government employees who work within and for communities. They are law enforcement officials who work to prevent crime, maintain community safety, and investigate suspected or committed crimes. Police officers are officials who have power over communities. However, if you’re thinking of becoming a police officer, you should avoid abusing that power.

When in uniform, police officers perform a number of tasks. They enforce laws as they see fit. For instance, police officers enforce traffic laws by ticketing vehicle operators for things like speeding, riding without a seatbelt, or drunk driving. They also enforce other laws like jay walking or running a red light or stop sign. These laws protect civilians from injuries and accidents, and without enforcement, these laws would be useless.

Police officers also respond to emergency and non-emergency calls. If a person reports a crime, such as a robbery, police officers will come to the scene and arrest perpetrators. Police officers are trained extensively in safety and crime management.

Police officers also investigate crimes by obtaining a warrant to search or arrest. Some police officers act as detectives and investigators, so when they have a suspect to a crime, they search scenes of the crime and suspects’ properties. Other times, police officers who have proof of drug activity will obtain a warrant to search a property and make an arrest.

When crimes have been committed, police officers, like all other government officials, are required to fill out paperwork. When a police officer arrives at the scene of a crime, they fill out a report. This also means that police officers must testify in criminal court cases.

There are different duties of police officers, depending on whether or not they work for the state or for a city. Local police officers are uniformed officers who respond to emergency calls and make arrests. State police officers perform similar duties to uniformed officers, but they also spend more time patrolling highways and giving out citations and traffic violations.

Some police officers work in specialty units like special victims units or narcotics units. Typically, these police officers have specialized training to deal with criminal cases like rape, domestic abuse, or drug use.

Police officers have a lot of power, and sometimes this power gets abused. This means that police officers can be indicted for their actions and citizens can file a court case against a police officer. If you want to be a police officer and want to avoid being indicted, make sure to be aware of your power and don’t abuse it. Your number one goal as a police officer should be to protect people and communities in every way possible. 

Last Updated: April 15, 2015