The Life of a Police Officer
When growing up as a juvenile, Officer Mark Smith was a victim of a few crimes. When the police were handling the crimes, Officer Smith thought that they could have handled things better. It was then that he decided that he might want to become a police officer, so he could be a better officer then the ones that he had to deal with. As Officer Smith got older and started really looking into what he wanted to do with his life he weighed his options and realized all the benefits of becoming a police officer. There is job security, good pay and excellent retirement benefits. He worked private security for several years and then as a corrections officer for a prison. It was then that he decided police work was definitely for him. Officer Smith says that police work is his dream job. There is nothing else that he would want to do for the rest of his life. He doesn 't really feel like this is a job for him at all because he loves what he does so much. If he didn 't need money, Officer Smith would do this job for free. “It 's not for everyone, but it 's not just a career for me, it 's a way of life.” (Officer Mark Smith). There are many specialized units within the Police Department, and there are several that Officer Smith would like to work on. He is currently in the process of joining the Training Unit. This is something that he has wanted to do for a while now and sees himself as a good fit for this unit. He would like to help provide insights that he has that would make officers that much better at their jobs. In May he will also be trying out for the Tactical Team. This is only a part time job with the Police Department so he would be able to do both at the same time. For the most part the Tactical Team deals with serving warrants. Occasionally they are called in to handle other things, but being a small town, it 's not often. A few other units that Officer Smith would like to try out in the future include the Juvenile Investigations Team
Cited: Smith, Mark. Personal Interview. 11 April 2013.