What Makes a Good Police Officer?

 
What Makes a Good Police Officer?
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Institution

 
What Makes a Good Police Officer?
A police officer is a key person in law enforcement service. Besides that, a police officer is a public servant. Holding both of these roles appropriately requires the police officer to have certain characteristics. A good police officer should understand the community he serves, have the ability to interact with them through good interpersonal skills (including communication) and serve with integrity.
First of all, a police officer needs to have effective communication skills. The police are in charge of finding solutions to problems. Poor communication does not help the problem-solving process. Therefore, a police officer should be able to communicate clearly, concisely and confidently. The arguments they make should be able to persuade people to do what they are asked. For this to happen, the person addressed by the police should be able to understand the order. Therefore, the police officer must speak directly (City of Bainbridge, 2012; Leck, 2013). Effective communication skills goes hand in hand with good interpersonal skills, including listening skills and the ability to interact with others, understand and respond to others effectively (City of Bainbridge, 2012).
Secondly, community orientation is an important trait for a police officer. Good police officers do not seek to work alone. Instead, they seek a lot of support and cooperation. They need to work with the communities in which they operate and involve them in finding security solutions. To do this, a police officer should recognize and understand community issues and concerns. This involves having an insight into his/her role within the community as a police officer and as a member of that community. A police officer should understand the importance of collaborating with the community to identify their problems and develop solutions (City of Bainbridge, 2012).
However, it is not possible to gain the support of the community without showing respect to the individual members of that community. In this regard, a police officer should also be able to interact and work effectively with individuals from various backgrounds. The police officer should acknowledge and accept the uniqueness of individuals and understand them. People have varying experiences and these have influenced their ideas and problem-solving approaches.
In their work, police officers frequently encounter tense situations that require fast decision-making. A good police officer should be able to make a decisive call in such situations. This requires sound judgment, reasoning ability and problem solving skills. The course of action they take in such situations should be logical and should demonstrate sound reasoning, which involves displaying an awareness of what decisions to prioritize and the ability to consider alternatives and consequences logically (City of Bainbridge, 2012).
Because police officers are in a position of influence, they are in a position where others may want to buy their power. This may include bribery by people who need favors (such as having the police ignore a crime). However, a police officer should be able to resist to such temptations. A good police officer also exercises honesty and integrity. This is about adherence to high moral practices and ethical principles. This requires them to understand action consistency and principled behavior (City of Bainbridge, 2012; Leck, 2013).
A police officer should also persist and persevere. It is important for a police officer to remain resolute in their decision. For example, in relation to the question of honesty and integrity, a police officer should not give in to a bigger bribery (City of Bainbridge, 2012).
A good example of a good police officer is Jake Hoyt (the character of Ethan Hawke in Training Day), a rookie Los Angeles Police Department Officer, under the guidance of the dirty cop Detective Alonzo Harris (played by Denzel Washington). However, Jake refuses to play Alonzo’s rules despite Alonzo being his senior. He defies Alonzo and even goes against him for what he believes in; that a police officer must stand for what is right and fight crime. For example, he refuses to take drug money Alonzo and his colleagues bust from a drug dealer even though he is aware of the risk his defiance places on his career and even his life.
In conclusion, police officers should exhibit several characteristics. However, a police officer is generally required to have good interpersonal skills (which is the key to understanding the community) and exercise integrity. The other traits mentioned here generally stem from these two.

References
City of Bainbridge Island (2012). Key Traits and Characteristics Sought in Police
Officers. Retrieved 1 March 2015, http://www.bainbridgewa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1834
Leck, C. (2013). Here are the Five Qualities of an Effective Police Officer. Journal
of Humanitarian Affairs, Jan. 27. Retrieved 1 March 2015, http://journalofhumanitarianaffairs.blogspot.com/2013/01/here-are-five-qualities-of-effective.html