Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Blue lines

Work remains the reason why I seem to blog a lot less these days, and why I have significantly less material to work with.

Damn, I wish I could spill what it’s really like for a modern police officer these days – how the praise from anything you do immediately gravitates upwards, and how if there’s any shit to be flung, you can generally tell it’s going to fall squarely on yourself.

How the thin blue line is worrying thin indeed at times.

How you’re often one decision from losing your job, but how much pressure you’re under to make that decision. And fast.

I’m approaching the end of my training, and as it tuned out I should have been looking to be signed off in August as a fully-fledged-and-significantly-harder-to-fire officer. As it turns out I’ve been extended for a few months into the autumn to give me a little longer to get my learning portfolio and get some operational issues in order.

Consider it like doing a university assignment and asking your tutor to give you an extension because of extraneous circumstances.

Some of these issues were under my control, or perhaps I could have changed if I really tried, others have been way out of my control.

Still, I do enjoy what I do and strive to be the best I can, however lady luck appears to have been significantly absent for me during the first part of the year. At least at work anyway.

I’m a few keystrokes away from telling you what it’s really like behind the uniform, but I’ve had my fingers burnt once before.

If you’re ever in my part of the world – come have a drink with me.

I’ll tell you what it’s really like.

1 comment:

Colin said...

It sounds - as it often has - like one helluva nightmare job sometimes.

The hours, the paperwork, the beaurocracy...

Whenever I hear anyone refer to "the police", you are still the first person I think of. I doubt many people (myself included) can truly appreciate how much you have to balance.

I seem to recall you having quoted someone some time ago as having said something along the lines of "a lot of your lot, they don't even care about these kids".

Thank you, and all the others like you, for walking that line and maintaining that balance.

And I'm sure I owe you a pint by now anyway, even if you are a git ;)