What Makes a Good Police Officer?

Police officers often find themselves in high-stress, volatile situations. At the other end of the spectrum, they deal with a lot of mundane, routine patrols. They deal with dishonest and dangerous people, and also victimized and abused people. Throughout each of those situations, they deal with corruptions and lies from bad guys, and see innocent people hurt in the process. It takes a strong person to deal with all that, day in and day out, while keeping the traits that make them a good police officer.

Integrity

A good police officer is one who maintains honesty in all dealings, both in his work life and his personal life. The public puts a certain amount of faith and trust in the police force. They want the officer to uphold that trust. They want to know an officer is serving all citizens fairly without prejudice, favoritism or special treatment of some people over others. If officers make bad choices, they need to have the integrity to step forward and make things right.

Confidence

Good officers must also be brave. They often walk into dangerous situations with an unknown outcome. Partners need to watch each other's backs. Once they start into a situation, there's no time to analyze all the details. They need to focus and move forward and get the job done. They need to show the people around them that they have a situation under control, in order to maintain as much calm as possible in stressful situations.

Compassion

Some of the people committing crimes do so out of desperation. Some are coerced into the criminal activity. Others are victims of the crimes the officers are investigating. Officers who show compassion will calm the people they're working with.

Reliability

The department needs to know the officers will show up and work when they're assigned to duty. Partners need to know their teammate will be there when they're going into an unsafe situation. Citizens need to know the officers will follow through on their responsibilities and won't overstep them. When a call comes in, officers need to respond and focus on that specific situation as quickly as possible.

Patience

Out-of-control suspects, distraught parents and abused victims all need a certain amount of patience in order to calm down. In most cases, agitated people will respond to a composed, focused person better than they will to someone who loses their temper and intimidates them. Of course, the officer has to show authority in order to take control of the situation. But a good police officer will do what they can to maintain control over a situation with as much patience as possible.

References

• The Characteristics of an Effective Law Enforcement Officer