What does it take to become a police officer? What type of skills do you need to possess, to do the job and continue to excel at the job? Police officers have one of the hardest jobs, having to deal with criminals and other civilians who criticize the work when most officers want to provide aid to people in need. Many police officers use discretion that could account for the different personalities they use. Empathy is to put yourself into the same shoes as others hypothetically. Sympathy is to feel sorry for an individual after hearing about their experiences in life, last but not least authoritarian personalities, can be somewhat conflictive because these types of people feel that their way is always right. …show more content…
Brandl. The characteristics of an ideal police officer are identified by Larry Capps retired police chief. Police officers should have a sense of ethnics, they must attempt to do the right thing. Officers must understand and respect the law and treat citizens with respect. Law enforcement officers should like to interact with people and wish to help them, also communicating properly. In chapter 8 page 177 in the textbook “Police in American” section Organizational Culture. The police personality should be based on the culture of the police organization. The organizational culture is based on accepted practices, rules and principles of conduct, norms, values, attitudes and expectations. In the same chapter page 183, the good policing section it explains the importance of passion and perspective for police officers. Good police officers need two qualities passion and perspective. Passion is having a desire to do a fine job and understanding of the necessity of having to perform used of force. Everyone has their own perspective in society, so a good police officer should respect people’s perspectives on everything. A good police officer should be culturally diverse, being able to understand and respect the culture will result in good communication with the citizens. In class Professor Darden explained multiple times how a police officer cannot be bias. Officers should treat everyone fairly they should use their own discretion not their opinions and