Laura Motes served with the Athens-Clarke County Police Department
for 21 years, spending 10 of those years as a Police Sergeant in the
Uniform Patrol Division in West Precinct. She achieved career
progression because she worked hard to develop on a professional level,
in addition to having the many attributes that a person needs in order
to be a successful police officer. If you are interested in a career in
the police force, you need to have, or develop, the following
characteristics to stand the highest possible chance of success.
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| Laura Motes | |
At
no point during your career as a police officer should you allow your
knowledge to stagnate. What you learn during your basic training should
be treated as a foundation for your development, rather than the end of
it. During your career, you will be presented with many opportunities to
train various skills, so consider your career goals and make sure to
select courses that will bring you closer to achieving them.
Furthermore, keep your eyes and ears open at all times, so that you can
learn from those who have more experience than you.
You
must be able to demonstrate an air of confidence, even when you are
approaching risky situations. This is crucial when working with members
of the public, as you will be taking on the role of authority figure. As
such, a lack of confidence may lead to people doubting what you have to
say or not trusting that you will do the things you claim you will.
However, an important caveat to this quality is that you don’t allow
yourself to descend into arrogance. Temper your confidence by
recognizing that you always have room to develop, no matter how
experienced you are.
Police
work offers a wide range of challenges, many of which will test your
patience as well as your abilities. It is important that you develop a
thick skin and don’t take the emotional reactions of people that you
encounter too seriously. Allowing the words of others, particularly
those involved in crimes, to get under your skin could lead to
undesirable reactions that damage cases or lead to misconduct in the
field.
Laura Motes
has always focused on her physical fitness and she ensures that she
eats well and engages in activities that improve her conditioning, such
as long-distance running. Good police officers all have the same focus,
as they must stay in top condition to stand the highest chance of
successfully dealing with potential criminals. Focus on strength
training, so that you can subdue people if the situation calls for it,
but also ensure your cardiovascular conditioning is maintained in case
you need to engage in on-foot chases.
