New KCPD police chief bringing community outreach program back and Is Being A Police Officer Dangerous?

KCPD is bringing back and growing their community interaction officer force after the program was discontinued. New Police Chief Rick Smith said he wants to have two community interaction officers at each division, instead of just one as in the past. KCPD is currently hiring for the positions.

Kelsey Libby

Is Being A Police Officer Dangerous?

If you are all geared up to become a police officer, it is important for you to keep in mind all the pros and cons related to this profession. Although this job is satisfactory for many but it is always pertinent to consider the downside of becoming a police officer as it undoubtedly a demanding and dangerous job. 

If you are all geared up to become a police officer, it is important for you to keep in mind all the pros and cons related to this profession. Although this job is satisfactory for many but it is always pertinent to consider the downside of becoming a police officer as it undoubtedly a demanding and dangerous job.  

The US Department of Labor has ranked this job as the fifth most dangerous job in the US. Being a police officer, you have to be on your toes all the time. It’s not easy to tackle all the odds, and it is a police offer’s duty to face all sorts of crisis ranging from a small robbery or a riot to a murder case. Criminals and gangsters are always against a police officer, and can go on to the extent of taking their lives due to their selfish, vested interests. This can be due to various reasons, the officer might have had them penalized or sent them to jail. Hence, you have bear in mind that this is not just another  8-hour job as you have to be very cautious of the convicts all the time.  A policy officer job is quite dangerous even when you are not in your uniform. During off time or even during vacations, you are likely to face any adverse situation, even an attack from the criminals can be expected, which is why you have to be alert all the time. 

This job also requires a lot of responsibility and the hours of duty are extensive, you can be called on duty at any time if any emergency occurs, even 3 o’clock in the midnight is no exception. Burnouts and professional stress is quite common in this career path where every day you have to face a hectic schedule.

To become a police officer, you need to inculcate unprecedented passion for this career. If you do not have the determination to serve and  are not skilful to handle stress, you should not opt for this profession. Only those who love to serve and have an aim to eradicate the growing crime in the society can become a cop. A police officer cannot enjoy a normal family life due to the exhaustive nature of his job, he can become a victim of high level frustration, alcohol and drugs. Even the suicide rate is quite high amongst police officers due to extreme stress and pressure.  

Despite the above mentioned facts, police officers at large are devoted to their profession, so much so that even if they are given the opportunity to opt for another profession, they would not choose any other job. Sometimes, the reason is utmost patriotism or devotion but at times, it’s the great benefits and perks such as good salary, medical and life insurance cover, paid holidays, pension plans, sick leaves, weapons and uniforms that work as the alluring factor. Nonetheless, the reality remains, this profession outshines other career paths due to immense dedication and respect it requires for the common public and needless to say, for the country.

The Black Community. The Police. The Solution | Seun Babalola | TEDxPSUBehrend

Seun’s talk will be on how to build better relations between the police and the African-American community. This is a hot button issue currently facing the United States that Seun has shown great passion for and he plans on tackling this topic by discussing proven ways to de-escalate police conflicts, telling the stories of those who were killed due to police violence, and giving accounts from his own life. Seun Babalola is a current college junior at Penn State University. Seun has been a large voice in the areas of social justice, civil rights, and equality at his school in numerous capacities. This past year as a sophomore, Seun served on the Student Government Association as a Senator and as the Director of the Diversity Committee which is the largest committee under the Student Government Association. To name just a few accomplishments, Seun and his committee teamed up with some of the largest student organizations on campus to hold forums that helped students engage in healthy discussions on various issues such as the presidential election, differences in the treatment of genders, and being Latino in America just to name a few. Earlier in the year, Seun along with three of his classmates Isaiah Rashaad Chatman, Demetrius Green, and Marquis McBride, co-founded the Men of Excellence program which is a project for young black men to excel and succeed in society through various programs, workshops, and just conversations with one another. Seun hopes to turn this program into a worldwide non-profit in the near future as the success and empowerment of young black men in our society is very important to him.
Very recently, Seun led a water drive for Flint, Michigan in response to their water crisis where he, along with several student leaders collected approximately 4000 bottles of water and hundreds of dollars in donations that he brought down to Flint with the help of his advisors. Seun hopes to continue to be a voice for change in social justice, civil rights, and equality through work in his community and beyond as he has hopes to attain a combined J.D. and Ph.D. in African-American Studies to be a professor and practice civil rights law. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Police and the Community

The source of racial tensions is discussed in a community meeting at the site of the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. The recent shootings of and by police officers elsewhere in the nation have Tulsa residents and police on edge. And editorial written by a Tulsa Police Major angers many in the African American community. This story aired on the ONR on OETA-The Oklahoma Network. For more information, go to the ONR web site http://www.oeta.tv/programs/onr. For more about OETA-The Oklahoma Network, visit www.oeta.tv.

How To Become A Police Community Support Officer

The role of the police community support officer has grown in recent years and this article discuses and career path and benefits of this job.
A Police Community Support Officer or PCSO is a person who has similar rights to those of a police officer. A PCSO is a person who often works with local communities to combat crime. A PCSO is uniformed person but they do not have the power of arrest. They play a major role in combating crime, acting as a deterrent by patrolling the street and often deal with anti social behavior. The role of the PCSO have grown in popularity in recent years and it is now seen by some as a stepping stone to becoming a police officer.

History of Police community support officer

Police community support officers were introduced by the Police Reform Act 2002 in England and Wales. Acceptance of the proposal for PCSOs in Northern Ireland was rejected by a budget deficit in the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Police officers cannot, by law, join any trade union, but as non-police officers, the Community Support Officer is an exception. The role of the community officer is not and should not be confused with the role of a special constable. A special constable is a citizen who volunteers to works a police officer for a minimum of 16 hours per month. PCSO's work full time often on a shift basis in a similar way to police officers.

As a police community support officer you will work alongside the police, patrolling the local area, dealing with minor incidents and offences. You would provide assistance to the police and a visible presence in the area to reassure the public. Part of the reason behind the introduction of the community officer was to try and restore confidence in the public that something visible was being done to reduce crime.

Duties and work of the police community support officer

PCSO's duties would fluctuate depending on the requirements of the local police force and but they most probably include:

-Dealing with public disturbances and anti-social behavior

-Help to direct traffic

-protecting crime scenes

-giving advice on crime avoidance to members of the local community

-writing fixed penalty notices for anti-social behavior

-keeping a susceptive in custody until a police officer arrives

-Providing assistance at large public events, such as sports events and public protests.

Sometimes PCSO works by own or in pairs or in small teams, under the direction of the police leader in local area.

PCSOs work 37 hours a week, in a shift system, usually covering the hours between 8am and midnight, including weekends and public holidays. There are opportunities to work part-time and fl exible hours.

They carry radios so that they can communicate with police control rooms and other colleagues. PCSOs spend most of their time out on patrol, usually on foot or possibly also on a bicycle. They work in pairs or small teams, and in liaison with their police officer colleagues.

Necessary qualifications

There are no formal or educational qualifications required to become a community officer and this is why this job has continued to grow in popularity. There is a minimum age restriction requirement that the person applying has to be 16 years of age. However, some police forces will also require that the candidate have experience of working within the community whether it is paid or voluntary, and it may be helpful if the candidate have a driving license.

This article was written by Nick redding who has also written a number of careers articles. If you enjoyed this article and would like to read more about becoming a PCSO then simply click here police community support officer