This pandemic we are all experiencing has changed the way we work, travel, shop and live. It has changed policing. If you are like me it has probably also changed your own perspective on what is important and what is not.
For many people, you will have your pre-virus life and your post-virus life.
If the virus has you thinking about leaving policing for some other career field, that’s completely understandable. For selfish reasons, I would hope that you would stay in law enforcement.
We need all the good and experienced personnel we can get right now.
If this “new normal” has you contemplating the pursuit of that long awaited dream, or to stretch your wings and pursue your entrepreneurial spirit, I applaud you.
But, before you go, I hope that you are leaving this career for all of the right reasons.
Yes, I know policing is exasperating at times. Its toll on you physically and emotionally can be catastrophic.
But this profession we have chosen also has many positives. So before you take that leap, I would argue that the grass is not always greener, and that this pandemic has shown that policing does offer many advantages over other career paths.
Please follow those dreams, but do so after comparing and contrasting all the pros and cons.
I recently wrote a book about cops making the transition from the public sector to the private sector and what that taught me is that there are many positives to staying put in your current career.
I don’t know what dream job awaits you, so I can’t speak to it specifically, but as a 30-year law enforcement veteran myself, I can tell you what you might be leaving.
Even with all of its downsides, a law enforcement career offers many advantages, so please don’t forget that.
Here are the things I would ask you to remember before you take that leap:
- Job Security: Government jobs are very secure. It is often said tongue in cheek, but many times you can’t be fired. The bureaucracy, state statutes and the public sector unions make it very difficult to get terminated from your present position. You can see that the virus has left many people laid off in the private sector. There is something to be said about the job security that comes from the public sector. Coupled with that security are the tangible benefits of insurance, retirement plans and the like. Please take these items into account before taking the leap.
- Sense of Mission: Whether we like to talk about it or not, most of us entered this career to be a part of something larger than ourselves. We wanted to help people and to right wrongs. We can joke about our naiveté when we started in this career field, but, face it, you will miss that sense of mission if you leave for some other type of career.
- Camaraderie: Although we often complain about poor management or backstabbers within our organizations, there is still a huge sense of brotherhood/sisterhood and camaraderie that exists in the public sector. That senses of esprit de corps is not found in many places outside of law enforcement and the military. Make sure that you won’t miss that if you decide to pursue another path.
- True financial costs: Please compare apples to oranges when you examine the costs and benefits of leaving your current policing job. That new career might have a higher salary initially but what will you leave on the table if you leave before your actual retirement date? Get with a financial adviser and crunch all the numbers.
No matter what you decide, I wish you continued success and I thank you for your service no matter which road you travel. However, please don’t make any rash decisions based on the frustration and exasperation we are all experiencing due to these new troubling times.
Follow your heart AND your brain. You will make the right decision, just do it for the right reasons. This virus has us all looking at things differently now.
Written by Kevin Rice
Kevin Rice spent 3 decades in law enforcement, starting his career as a police officer in Orlando, FL, followed by a successful 23 year career as a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service. During his time with the Secret Service, Kevin was a firearms instructor, a polygraph examiner and was a supervisor in three separate field offices. Kevin is the author of “From Sheepdog to the C-Suite”, a book aimed at assisting cops and military veterans transition from their public sector jobs to roles in the private sector. The book is available at Amazon and other booksellers. Kevin is currently an adjunct professor and a director of Safety and Security at a private university in Maine.
Police officers often get to use their unique positions to do something special for their communities. Here’s an example that Law Enforcement Today brought to you earlier this month.
There’s no doubt that America is a completely different place right now. This is an unprecedented and strange time to be sure.
Most people remain in the homes, or leave to quickly run to the grocery store and then return home.
But not everyone stays home. There are many different types of occupations who have been labeled essential workers and leave their houses to go to work. Some of those people are seeing just how different the streets of America are right now.
One man in New York decided to use his talents as a photographer and videographer to document this eerie time in our nation.
Josh Haygood serves as both a police officer and EMS, depending on the needs of his department. Currently, he is serving as EMS because there are currently fewer medical responders on the streets, and that’s where the need is.
Josh has recently put together a video of still photos documenting the emptiness in what is normally one of the world’s busiest cities. He titled it “Take Care NYC.”
It’s difficult not to get chills when viewing these images.
Law Enforcement Today had a chance to talk to Josh about his project, which can be viewed at the end of this article.
Josh said that he got the idea for the mini-documentary while driving around the City of New York:
“It’s a ghost town out there. Being one of the only vehicles rolling around the city- it’s eerie. I was there after 9/11 and it was weird then too, but at least there were people walking around then.
This is different: It’s so unusual. Times Square, things like that, that are always full of people no matter what time of day, they’re completely deserted. It’s been going on for weeks and it’s ominous.”
Josh said that he wanted to be able to allow people to see what he was seeing as far as how the city was looking. Driving around during his shift, he just pops out quickly to snap the pictures that he calls rare.
Rare they are, in the sense that it is virtually impossible to take a photo at most of the places pictured without people in the forefront.
“Hopefully we’ll never see this again, so I wanted to document it.
It’s like a celebrity that always has people around them, and suddenly they’re not cool anymore. These places are NEVER empty, and now they’re always empty. It’s so creepy and doesn’t seem right.”
Josh told me that he wanted to share this project to give people at home a sort of hope:
“I wanted them to see reality. There are many of us still out there serving despite the pandemic. I wanted to share the message that life is still going on, we are tackling things the best we can, and we are turning things around.
The City is still there, and it will be there when everyone gets back. They’re doing the right thing in staying home and off the streets.”
Most people recognize major tourist attractions in New York, which is why Josh felt even more compelled to use those sites. He said that he wanted people all over the country to be able to see and know what they are looking at.
Josh has had a lot of opportunity to be driving around and able to capture these photos. He said he’s been doing a lot of home-care, more than he’s ever done. He said it’s been difficult to get in a rhythm because every day there’s different guidance, different policies and new information. He never knows what’s coming next.
He also said he’s surprised there hasn’t been more of an uptick in crime and looting during the pandemic. He recalled the blackouts of 2007, where the city had no power for three nights and people “went crazy.”
During these weeks, Josh said he still hasn’t been able to fully get used to the emptiness:
“It feels lonely and abandoned. The city is just waiting for people to return.
I felt it was important to share all of this because it reminds us that while we don’t have a vibrant city right now, we know how it usually is and it makes us appreciate its vibrance that much more when we all come back.”
Josh has been doing projects like this for years. Josh started Bandito Films, which is one of the few production companies owned and operated by active law enforcement. He said he felt lucky to be able to do this video because it’s not something most people would be able to do, with everyone confined to their homes.
While the filming may someday be his primary source of income, he’s 18 years into his law enforcement career and not near ready to call it quits. He told me that when that day comes, he still doesn’t think he would lose his police mentality:
“I know that there’s life after law enforcement, but I think I would still think of myself as a cop. You don’t lose the feeling of being the protector. There’s a love there…a love for your community, the people there, and being there to make a positive impact.
I’m there for that reason. I want to spread a positive message. To make it through as a cop, you have to go to work loving it, thinking, ‘These are my people. This is my city or county. I love them and I love being here for them.’
It’s about wanting everyone to have a good quality of life, and doing what you can to help move the needle in that direction.”
Well, you certainly did just that in this project, Josh.
Law Enforcement Today is excited to share this project with you. We are living history right now, and in the years to come, this is what we will be showing our grandchildren and great grandchildren to help them understand what we went through as a nation.
Enjoy Josh’s project, Take Care NYC:
Thank you, Josh, for using your position as an officer and EMS specialist on patrol in one of the most iconic cities in America, as well as your talents as a photographer and videographer to share this rare peek into our 2020 COVID-19 pandemic lives, and to bring hope to people everywhere.
Our future history books thank you, and so do we.
While the city that never sleeps takes a short nap, residents are home, waiting for normal life to resume. -Josh Haygood
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