By Mike Simmons
Commitment: the state of being obligated or emotionally driven to do something, especially for moral reasons.
When a person embarks on a career, is he or she committed? What is meant by that commitment? Does it mean that those who are committed are in it for life? Obviously, not all employees feel this way. For some people, the first day on the job is the beginning of a lifelong dream. For others, it is an opportunity for a 20-year-long career that will lead to a monthly retirement check. Some simply want to work until they outgrow it. Still others enjoy the job only as long as they enjoy it, as long as it is fun. When it quits begin fun, they leave.
Some professions require eight hours a day. Some don’t ask for more than four hours – the rest can be spent wasted. For many, they describe their work as “that’s my job.” That’s it. Nothing more…just a job.
For professional police officers, though, the commitment of a career means round-the-clock attention to the job. Sure, some officers begin with the belief, “I’m only a cop when I’m at work. They feel that off-duty means off-duty. They turn into civilians on their days off. These people follow one of two eventual paths. They either change their minds and become full-time officers or they get out of the business.
You see, the public – the very citizens that law enforcement officers serve and protect, hold them to a higher standard. They expect – demand – more of a commitment from officers than is readily realized. Here are some examples…
Many times, a knock has come to my door when I was off-duty. “Uh, you need to go put that person in jail,” or “Can you give me directions to ___________?” And they always assumed that I was ready at a moment’s notice to take police work. Police work wasn’t a job to them…it was an identity.
At parties, most people introduce their new friend like, “This is my friend, John Jones.” But when their friend is a police officer, it goes like this, “This is my friend, John Jones. He is a policeman.” Why? Because the partygoers view the friend as, not an employee, but as an agent. His whole life is wrapped up in his profession. I remember one time when my wife and I were at the local grocery store and someone I vaguely recognized approached me and said, “Hello, Officer Simmons.” It was said with an inferred threat. My mind immediately went into police mode. That was the first time…the first of many. Even if I wasn’t of the mindset that I was always on duty, It was foolish not to maintain vigilance. Even though I retired in 2015, my phone still rings with this, “You know the law, here is what happened… What should I do?”
My point is this – To be a professional law officer, it is imperative to own it. The lifestyle consumes every waking hour. From observations of news reports to license plates of the car in front of you to the suspicions of the guy you notice walking down the street, a law enforcement officer’s life is spent enforcing the law and observing possible threats.
In a time when most careers don’t require as much dedication as they used to, the law enforcement profession still requires total life commitment. It’s not simply the life-and-death aspect of the job, it is also the day-to-day grind that each officer faces. I once spoke to an officer who was a retired U.S. Marine, and he told me that, while military life has very dangerous stretches, the everyday stress of a law enforcement officer takes more of a toll on a person.
So, if a person remains in law enforcement for an extended period of time, commitment to the job and the lifestyle is mandatory, unlike the commitment to any other profession. The best part is that the desire to serve, protect, and commit comes from the inside, from the heart. It has nothing to do with pay, working conditions, long hours, risk, or media labels. It is, simply, a commitment to do the right thing.
Mike
