Is there a certain way officers like or dislike being asked questions about their job? I don’t mean questions like “have you ever had to shoot somebody” I mean questions about the department they work for, if they like their job, etc. I’ve been interested in law enforcement for a long time and really debating on making the jump and applying for our local sheriff department, but I do have some questions about it because it is also a job and I’d like to have a decent idea of what I’m getting myself into, especially with this specific department. Are there ways to ask this without coming across as rude and seeming like I’m just poking around for information? Or will they just tell me to apply for the job and ask whatever I want if I get an interview?
Asking questions
r/AskLE
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What if I told you there are billions of people in the world that could answer this question a billion different ways? Just ask. Go to a recuter and ask or ask the department if they have someone who can answer questions about the job.
I’ve been on 2 ride alongs and both officers have been open books. Steer clear of personal life questions and OIS/officer discipline questions (we’ve had a couple incidents recently), but they offered discussion on some of those things themselves. Other than that they were happy to answer all of my questions. Here are a few questions I asked:
how long have you been on the force and why did you join?
what do you love about the job and what frustrates you about it?
how was academy? What was hardest about it?
how was FTO? What was hardest about it? Did you have good/bad FTOs?
how do you stay on and alert for hours on end during a shift? How do you reset between calls?
do you have counseling available for traumatic experiences?
Then all other questions are basically dependent upon the runs they would take. “What was your PC? What was the reasoning behind such and such decision? What caught your interest in that vehicle/subject? Can you walk me through how you file this report?” Etc