While it's true that there are plenty of great reasons to be a police officer, it's also very true that a day in the life of a police officer can be stressful, exhausting and even disturbing. Law enforcement professionals deal with horrible events that can tax them both physically and psychologically. Many of the stresses of policing come from dealing with some of these haunting moments:
No matter how many times you may respond to a death scene, it never really gets any easier. It would be a gross understatement to say that seeing a deceased body at a crime or crash scene - especially a scene involving lots of trauma - is disturbing. In fact, approaching a death scene takes a lot of mental fortitude. Even though they face it regularly, detectives who work death scenes often struggle with the sometimes gruesome sights they face. It's not uncommon for them to remember those haunting images and memories for their whole career.Â
As haunting as the death scene itself may be, viewing an autopsy is a completely surreal experience. Everything about the process, though critically important to any death investigation, just appears unnatural from an observer's viewpoint. Many rookie cops are taken to autopsies as part of their field training to expose them early to some of the disturbing sights they'll encounter. You can be sure that it's one of the most haunting moments of their young careers.Â
Though obviously not haunting on the same plane as death scenes or autopsies, having to arrest a parent in front of his or her small children is disturbing in its own right. It's a moment we know that no child should have to see and that no parent should put their child through. It is very often a painful experience, both for child and parent, and those emotions are recognized and felt just as much by the police officer making the arrest. These are the kinds of moments that a conscientious officer never forgets.
Just as there is no easy way to hear that one of your loved one's is deceased, there's no easy way to tell someone that their husband, wife, child or parent isn't coming home. Next of kin notifications may be the single most haunting thing an officer will do in her career, and each time is just as difficult as the last. Coping with other people's grief and being the barer of the worst news possible time and again will stay with you for your entire career.
Law enforcement officers are exposed to plenty of disturbing cases and frightening moments. There are few - if any - cases, though, that are more haunting for an investigator or patrol officer than those in which our most vulnerable citizens have been physically, emotionally or neglectfully abused. When children, elderly adults or spouses trust and rely on others for basic needs, it's troublesome to say the least. Police have to maintain a tough exterior to deal with the haunting scenes and disturbing cases they encounter, but some things are harder to forget than others. Cases of horrible abuse and neglect are at the top of that list.
1. Crime Scenes Involving Death
No matter how many times you may respond to a death scene, it never really gets any easier. It would be a gross understatement to say that seeing a deceased body at a crime or crash scene - especially a scene involving lots of trauma - is disturbing. In fact, approaching a death scene takes a lot of mental fortitude. Even though they face it regularly, detectives who work death scenes often struggle with the sometimes gruesome sights they face. It's not uncommon for them to remember those haunting images and memories for their whole career.Â
2. Attending Autopsies
As haunting as the death scene itself may be, viewing an autopsy is a completely surreal experience. Everything about the process, though critically important to any death investigation, just appears unnatural from an observer's viewpoint. Many rookie cops are taken to autopsies as part of their field training to expose them early to some of the disturbing sights they'll encounter. You can be sure that it's one of the most haunting moments of their young careers.Â
3. Arresting Parents in Front of Their Children
Though obviously not haunting on the same plane as death scenes or autopsies, having to arrest a parent in front of his or her small children is disturbing in its own right. It's a moment we know that no child should have to see and that no parent should put their child through. It is very often a painful experience, both for child and parent, and those emotions are recognized and felt just as much by the police officer making the arrest. These are the kinds of moments that a conscientious officer never forgets.
4. Making Next of Kin Notifications
Just as there is no easy way to hear that one of your loved one's is deceased, there's no easy way to tell someone that their husband, wife, child or parent isn't coming home. Next of kin notifications may be the single most haunting thing an officer will do in her career, and each time is just as difficult as the last. Coping with other people's grief and being the barer of the worst news possible time and again will stay with you for your entire career.
5. Abuse Cases
Law enforcement officers are exposed to plenty of disturbing cases and frightening moments. There are few - if any - cases, though, that are more haunting for an investigator or patrol officer than those in which our most vulnerable citizens have been physically, emotionally or neglectfully abused. When children, elderly adults or spouses trust and rely on others for basic needs, it's troublesome to say the least. Police have to maintain a tough exterior to deal with the haunting scenes and disturbing cases they encounter, but some things are harder to forget than others. Cases of horrible abuse and neglect are at the top of that list.