What's the worst and best part of your job in LE or otherwise?

[Silver Fox]

Since no one has a particular phase of their job they like or dislike, I'll remove this thread and place it in the file where dead lead balloons go.

[SSA1811]

Hi Bill Arp DC:

You asked one of those million dollar questions, so don't give up on it so quickly.

As a partial response, I guess one answer would depend on where you are in your career. You and I (I believe) see things from a different perspective than many others on this Forum because we are, "retired annuitants on fixed incomes".

As retired LEO's like us, or anyone approaching retirement, I have to believe one of the best parts of this job include seeing and watching the development of the newer Agents/LEO's and feeling that you were able to contribute in some small measure to their development ..... being there when that "light bulb" finally goes off, and knowing that they finally "get it" and understand. As a Supervisor and a Senior Special Agent, another perquisite is the pride you feel, not in what you may have done because it is no longer your time, but the pride you feel in the accomplishments and achievements of the next generations of Agents/LEO's with whom you may have been privileged to share your knowledge and experience.

As brand new, still wet-behind-the-ears, fresh out of the Academy Agents/LEO's, you were full of "piss-and-vinegar" and going to single-handedly save the world (do you still remember that feeling?). That was a time when everything was new and everything was exciting - your first arrest, your first search warrant or enforcement action, your first affidavit (although now in many jurisdictions, the government attorneys do that for you, and thats a shame), the first time tesifying before a Grand Jury, and/or at criminal trial. Everything was new and exhilarating. This was also a time where you had the opportunity to either seek out (or not), soak up, and learn from the experienced employees around you. Many Agents/LEO's these days appear to prefer to "seek their own counsel", and that also is a shame.

Now for those Agents/LEO's with 8 to 12 years on-the-job. You are experienced and established, and perhaps a little cynical about the system with which you are now so familiar. Agents/LEO's in this group will generally say they just want to be allowed to do their jobs; they appreciate any resources and/or support provided to help them do their jobs, and they appreciate occasional recognition for their contributions. What excited and interested me during this time frame was making the decision to get into management and making the commitment to move which is also a part of the management package. IMO one has not gained the necessary knowledge to supervise other investigators without a minimum of 8 to 10 years of investigative experience of their own.

Now Bill Arp DC, what did you like or dislike about the job?


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[Johninaustin]

Simple answer for me,

The worst: Dealing with Administration. :mad:

The best: Getting out and about with your newbies. :D

[nikon]

Best: It's the coolest job in the world

Worst: Scheduling/Admin

[K-9MALY]

The Best: Catching dope loads and hearing the ol clickity clink of the gotcha brachlets.

The Worst: All the funky schedules we work and things we miss with family. I would love a normal M-F 8-4 gig, but that just isn't what this is about.

[cobravenom1]

Sir, with all due respect;

The best part of my job right now: When I log on and I'm looking forward to what the shift has in store for me. As soon as I hit the send key, I feel like the race is starting and I gotta catch all those crooks running from me. Working with my fellow LEO's is absoluely the best part of this experience.:D

The worst part of the job right now: I hate not catching the BG. Especially when it involves a victim that is too old, too sick, or too young to defend themselves. Sometimes it haunts me for a few days.:mad:

[tenfour]

Best: Beating the s-heads at their game, taking their dope guns and cash!

Worst: Politics

[Vesson]

Thing I liked the most: Working with enthusiastic partners.
Worst thing about the job: Missing time with family & friends/shift work.

[cntryboy0531]

Best: Putting deserving people in jail. Also, working with some of the people I work with.

Worst: Admin Buerocracy (sp?)

[Ispbear]

The Best: The guys you work with and the brotherhood that goes along with it.


The Worst: CPR on a dead infant because the mother was too tired to feed the baby in the night and propped a bottle up with a towel causing him to suffocate. Holding a parent in your arms while they cry for their child that was just killed in a traffic collision. You get the point.

[mcsap]

Injured and dead children.

Catching the bad guy RED HANDED.

[Group9]

Best part? Actually doing the job. The challenge of going out and catching people who are doing bad things, and taking serious efforts to not get caught. It's like a never ending game for me.

Worst part? People in our headquarters, especially ones who used to be working agents and should know better, who put out useless directives that waste time and money, and take away time from our real purpose, for reasons that only make sense to someone not in the arena any longer.

The courts are not my enemy, and they do not stop me from doing my job. Defense lawyers are not by enemy, and they do not stop me from doing my job. Congress is not my enemy and does not stop me from doing my job.

Bean counters with guns, and high ranking people in my agency, who avoided enforcement assignments as much as they could in their steady and unspectacular rise to the top, and who never knew the job well enough to even forget it, and who put ridiculous burdens on us not required by the law or anything else, because they have no idea of the consequences of their thoughtless edicts and actions, that make everything we do harder, are my enemy and they frequently do stop me from doing my job.

[Vesson]

Worst part?

Bean counters with guns, and high ranking people in my agency, who avoided enforcement assignments as much as they could in their steady and unspectacular rise to the top, and who never knew the job well enough to even forget it, and who put ridiculous burdens on us not required by the law or anything else, because they have no idea of the consequences of their thoughtless edicts and actions, that make everything we do harder, are my enemy and they frequently do stop me from doing my job.

Sounds like we need more people like you at the top, Group9. I'm not being sarcastic. I honestly hope you do have aspirations to move up the ladder, because unless coppers like yourself DO want to get into their shoes, not much will change!

[davidh304]

THE BAD:

Administration. Constant scrutiny. I'm Guilty until proven innocent. Trying to find a functioning fucking printer.

THE GOOD:

I drive around by myself, I make my own decisions, every now and then I get to put bad people away. I work with some damn amazing people.

[worknk9s]

K9 Trainer

GOOD- Training that dog, yes that dog. The dog who almost knows what to do before being taught. The dog that comes out on the field and kicks everyone's *** in narc finds. The dog that the decoyer is afraid to see. The dog that brings them to their knees every time, yet calls off almost immediately. The dog that goes on and makes someone the best partner in his/her life. Last but not least, the officer thanks you for a dog that he is so proud to call his partner.

Bad-
The other dogs, lol, j/k.
90 degree heat not wanting to put on the bite suit. The hidden sleeve that always gets stuck in your sweater/jacket. Six nasty bite wounds. Kennel cleaning, dog poop, so on.