Why Do You Want to Become a Police Officer?
Let’s assume you’ve applied at the department where you wish to work and you’ve gone through all the mental aptitude and physical fitness testing prior to getting a date for the oral board. Establish in your mind why you want to become a police officer and why you want to work for the specific police department for which you’ve applied. Don’t come up with any BS answers to these questions either. Be honest with yourself. If you make it to the oral board stage, the board will have heard all the BS answers and they can generally tell whether or not you are being sincere.
You really need to figure out why you want to become a police officer. I’ve seen officers make it all the way through the process up to FTO and then decide they no longer want to be in law enforcement. This is unfair to everyone involved – you will have wasted a great deal of time and effort on your own part and your actions will represent a huge slap in the face to the police department to which you were hired and the community in which you would have served. In some instances your actions will damage your chances of getting hired at another agency as well.
Establish in your mind what you intend to get out of the whole experience. Do you have a genuine service attitude? Because if you don’t, law enforcement is definitely the wrong field for you. Of course you’ll have your preconceptions of what law enforcement is all about, but do everything you can ahead of time to get rid of those preconceptions- reading, ride-alongs, talking with local officers or friends/family who are officers. That way when you hit the street you will know why you are there. It is good for the community, your department, and yourself.