On my own...

[Blue_Chameleon]

This coming friday will be my first day as a solo beat officer on the job. Very exciting, yet frightening.

Thank goodness for the other post "Unwritten Rules..." in this section. A lot of it is a repeat of what my FTOs have been telling me, but it's more reassuring that it's not just my FTOs that tell me these things.

[Metro174]

Congats and good luck. A lot of the information in that thread is good advice. You'll learn more on your own. Stay safe.

[JKT]

Congrats, Blue_Chameleon :D

Be safe, and let us know how you're doing.

[ateamer]

13 years later, I still remember my first day working solo. It was actually on overtime. The sergeant assigned a reserve, who was a retired deputy, to ride with me. I thought, "great, they stuck me with this old gomer." I rolled my eyes every time he waved to someone who looked at us and felt he took way too much time talking with people about trivial problems. Hey, I had a lot of crime to solve!

Now all these years later, I find myself waving to people who didn't wave first, listening and talking with people about the most minor problems and being in no great rush to go out and find Dillinger.

And one day, a rookie told me, "hey, I'm not slow like you old guys." My response: "First, 34 is not old. Second, I'm pacing myself. Third, I got none of the citizen complaints you did, wrote twice the reports and made some quality arrests while you were writing tickets to soccer moms." I think he started to get it after that.

You learn a lot over the years. Remember to have fun, spend some time talking with the good guys and ALWAYS GO HOME IN ONE PIECE.

[SGT Dave]

For those just starting out, we usually say if you forget everything else, remember that 95% of all calls for service can be “handled” with one of the following six sentences:

“Let me get some information from you, and I’ll make a report on this.”

“I don’t know the answer to that, but let me get your information, and I’ll get back to you on that.”

“We don’t arrest for misdemeanors that do not occur in our presence-you’ll need to see a magistrate.”

“That’s a civil matter and you will need to contact an attorney.”

“Shut up or you’re going to jail.”

“You’re under arrest.”

[cajuncop]

Here's a sentence that I like to use:

"Next time don't call the Police if you don't want to go to jail!"

[cajuncop]

Oh, and good luck Blue_Chameleon. This is the time that all your training and hard work pays off.

Keep your mind straight and do what you think is best in each call of service.

[Don]

ALL RIGHT BLUE!!!!!! Always knew you'd make it! :D

NOW WATCH OUT BAY AREA - BLUE IS ON THE PROWL! :eek:

Hey guy, keep a low profile, do your job and don't forget to still keep asking questions. You'll do just fine. :)