The Occupational Riddle

What is the true motivation of police work? Catching a serial killer. Putting a known sleaze bag in jail out of thousands that are still roaming the streets. And the patrol officer that is not Hollywood material but stuff for reality television- -what gives? A mediocre salary for being a target in a job that nobody appreciates you doing- -how fun is that? Seriously, if we have become a humanity that needs a police officer to keep the peace among every six hundred citizens then kill me now and tax less the other five ninety nine. To think officers actually feel bombarded by this ratio. What disorder are we calling officers for? Honestly, when has the presence of a cop actually meant good news?
So, considering the amount of crap an officer has on their plate, what’s the point of police officers writing parking tickets? How is citing an expired parking meter or a double-parked car protecting and serving? Why is it important that someone receive a sixty-dollar summons for skipping a two-dollar fare? “Theft of Services” they call it as if it were a noble privilege to ride a filthy, delinquent subway. And what about the wages subway riders were docked for being late? The extra forty minutes of sleep they are deprived of daily because the trains can’t be relied on? “Theft of Life” is what I call it. But I’m getting off the subject this piece is about the police.
I would never argue that police work is the most difficult occupation. The pay, can we talk about the pay? NYPD recently got a raise: from a whopping $25,800 per year to $35,800. Are you joking? To risk your life and deal with the scum of the earth everyday, that’s the rate? As a result most police officers will make an arrest at the end of their day to tag on the overtime. They are union and that’s where the real money is made. And if writing tickets is going to get you a bonus, then “Ma’am you are not crying yourself out of a ticket!” If you visit the www.officer.com website, you can peruse the ‘holier than thou’ rule of thumb discussions about issuing citations. But once again, I am getting off the subject.
Perhaps I am another disgruntled citizen who is irritated for having to shell out a considerable amount of money for going fifteen miles faster than I should. But no, I am a person in a position of equal power to those who are sworn to uphold the law, with the power of the pen and the right to free speech. My logical conclusion why anyone would want to join the police force is comparable to why anyone would want to join the mob. The money, the power-trip, the sea that swallows all questionable acts of conduct as long as no television cameras are around. And the difference in sentiment is obvious when
a friend sees you off on a road trip and reminds you to “watch out for the bacon”.

Originally posted by tahjia c