A letter to New Cops
Dear New Cop,
Many law enforcement officers are socialized to law enforcement by television shows. Shows like Adam-12, CHiPs, and Cops are watched as children. Law enforcement officers are attracted to the lights and sirens, the fast cars, and the ability to take someone else’s freedom away. It is obvious that people who grew up admiring this lifestyle desire to become law enforcement officers when they become older.
However, living this dream is much harder than imagining it. For example, in the police academy, first responder instructors will teach you how to save a life. They stress the importance of using the appropriate CPR technique. They explain to you that if you use this form, you will have a high likelihood of success. But, in reality, the person who you are responding to will most likely already be dead. And each time you respond to these types of calls, and you do CPR, you will feel like a failure. It will stress you out, until you realize that this is just how it is.
I write this letter to you because you are new, and you are graduating from the police academy soon. I am writing because I want you to know the things that I would have wanted to know. It’s not that your hand placement in CPR isn’t important if the guy is already dead, I want you to know more than that. I want you to know how important it is to take care of yourself. I want to introduce you to the concept of self-care, because I know that no one in the police academy explained it to you.
The truth is, that law enforcement is a fun job. You turn on your go-fast lights, people pull over, you ride down the yellow line in the middle of the road. You show up to a call that can be nothing, or it could be a call that gives you nightmares. But that’s the part that Hollywood doesn’t show; the blood, the crying, and the violence. That is the stuff that gives you nightmares. To add to these nightmares, you are new and the senior guy on days called out, so you’re going to be held at work for sixteen hours straight. In fact, he books off for two more days. He says he’s sick, but in roll call, you overhear someone say that he’s in Florida.
To increase your stress level, you are on probation, you can’t complain about anything, and the supervisor sends all your reports back because he doesn’t think you’re a good writer. Or, he just likes to bother you because your new. Who knows? These types of stresses will build throughout your career. But, there’s good news. You can learn to combat them by practicing self-care, even as a rook.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), self-care is the ability to maintain physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual health in times of stress (David & Naturale, 2012). Among the steps to building a self-care system is making sure that you use your time off wisely. Other factors include simple things, such as eating a balanced meal, listening to music, exercising,
In conclusion, becoming a law enforcement officer is a dream come true for many people. It is a very unique profession. But the profession can also carry a burden. If you don’t take care of yourself, the profession can be a gift and a curse. So, my suggestion to you is to take care of yourself and practice self-care. If you don’t take care of yourself, no one else will.
Sincerely,
Old “New” Cop
REFERENCES
David, J. & Naturale, A. (2012). Self-Care for Disaster Behavioral Health Responders. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/podcasts-selfcare-dbhresponders-presentation.pdf