The career of being a police officer is risky yet interesting if one has the passion to pursue it for good reason. Police officers come into contact with all kinds of people, the good, criminals of all kinds such as drug dealers, thieves and murderers among others. The career of a police officer is divided into three major stages. Each career stage has distinct characteristics. The police officer behaves differently in each of the stages. The challenges and experiences the officer faces at every stage and the experience gained from the service make the officer evolve into a certain character at the end of each phase. The behaviors of police officers are also clearly recorded in Edward Conlon’s fiction novel, Blue Blood. The first of the three stages in the police officer’s career is the period of entry into the police service- the pre-patient phase. It is succeeded by the inpatient phase, which is the period the officer spends in the police service. Finally, there is the ex-patient phase, which is the period after which the officer has been released from the police force.
The pre-patient period is the period in which the police officer has aspirations of joining the police service. The individual is most likely young and with a lot of passion to fulfill their dream of serving in the police force. Just like in the case of mental patients, individuals with aspirations of becoming police officers offer themselves to the service. The number of people who offer themselves is not always big because this is a voluntary step where only those with an irresistible passion are willing to offer. Such an officer believes this is the best option they can take, probably after consulting with friends and family.
Police officers in their pre-patient phase often find themselves uncomfortable doing other things that are not related to law enforcement. Some even go to the extent of behaving exactly like police officers, yet they are not yet officers. At this stage, joining the police force would be a dream come true. However, this feeling usually lasts for a short time because most officers realize the reality about being a police officer. On the other hand, an officer in the pre-patient stage may be introduced to the police force by circumstances rather than passion. Some are influenced by family or by their peers.
The pre-patient’s career begins when the officer is influenced by other individuals. This may happen when the officer is aware or unaware that he will join the police force. At this stage in his career, the officer has a figure he views as the “next-of-relation”. This person influences the officer’s career because he offers moral support whenever it is needed. The new officer also comes in contact with mediators. These could be senior police officers where the pre-patient is referred to before joining the police force. These mediators help the officer settle into the police force by offering mental support and giving advice whenever it is needed. Edward Conlon demonstrates this phase in Blue Blood when he portrays Nick Meehan as a passionate individual who aspired to become an integral member of the NYPD. When Meehan joins the police force, he does this willingly and is supported by friends. Meehan has a close person to confide in during his first days at work. Furthermore, the senior police officers in the NYPD act as mediators by helping Meehan adapt to his new life as a detective. His future partner at work, Esposito helps Meehan settle at the NYPD.
During the pre-patient stage, the officer is not sure of whether he made a correct choice to join the police. Some may even start regretting because they would find the new job not as interesting as they had expected. The officer may doubt the friendliness and help from his new colleagues at work because he does not trust them yet. When Meehan joins the NYPD, he first has a doubt on whether that was a good choice. The pre-patient stage is a tough time for Meehan, just like it is portrayed in the life of any other police officer in their pre-patient stage.
The inpatient stage is the stage where the police officer has settled into their new place of work. During this stage, the police officer is fully aware of everything in his working environment and his duties. The officer tends to spend most of his time working on different cases rather than learning from others. At this stage, the officer has little or no time for their social life. For example, when Meehan settled at the NYPD, he spent most of his time with Esposito, his investigation partner. They investigated different cases such as serial rapists, a likely suicide of an immigrant Mexican woman and criminal rivalry incidents and killings. During the inpatient period of Meehan’s career at the NYPD, his personal life was characterized by many social issues from his family to his relationship with friends and colleagues. Esposito is also faced with similar social issues. In fact, both partners have a difficult time dealing with the emotional effects and temptations that come along with the work of a police officer. Loyalty and formation of alliances also poses a big test to the social lives of Meehan and Esposito because they are all keen to protect their interests as well as those of the people they relate with at work and behind the scene. Police officers are usually keen with whom they socialize with because they do not desire cases where his colleagues or associates labeling them names because of their behavior and preferences.
During the inpatient stage, the police officers prefer using nicknames rather than their real names at work. This is meant to keep their colleagues unaware of their dealings. For example, Meehan would keep a lot of information from Esposito by using codes and nicknames. When Meehan is assigned to investigate a suspected dirty cop within his work place, his social environment is jeopardized. He can no longer confide in his colleagues because of the sensitivity of the matter at hand. Furthermore, Meehan has to deal with loyalty issues and temptations when handling an internal case where people close to him were involved.
During the inpatient period, the police officer gets similar treatment as his colleagues. The officer must abide by the strict restrictions and guidelines of his workplace. He is given a lot of duties. The officer learns survival tactics as he is frequently reminded by colleagues and senior officers that he is no longer a stranger. There are some situations in the officer’s career where he faces humiliation. For instance, Meehan was facing a mid-career crisis when he was assigned the internal case to investigate. This may not have been the best time because his morale was low. However, the responsibility of handling a sensitive case helped him as he sought to put in career back on track. Towards the end of the inpatient phase of a police officer’s career, the officer would have either achieved his career objectives or would have lost his focus and become a dirty cop. The end of a police officer’s career depends on his character when he was in service. The end of a career can be reached with or without the achievement of the career objectives.
The third phase of a police officer’s career is the ex-patient phase. This is the phase where the officer is no longer in the police force. The officer could have exited from the force willingly or he could have been rejected due to his dealings and integrity at the work place. When a police officer exits from the police force willingly, it implies that he was a good officer who fulfilled his duties whenever he was expected to perform them. However, officers who are interdicted are those who have been found to be corrupt. The ex-patient stage depends entirely on how the officer performed during his inpatient phase.
For the good officers, the ex-patient phase is an easy moment where the officer leaves the service, and is a good example to young officers. Such officers are even consulted whenever need arises. However, the police officers would continue with their vice into their ex-patient phase. For example, Meehan and Esposito operate in an environment where there were ex-patient police officers. The ex-patient officers are capable of influencing the inpatient officers into making certain decisions. The ex-patient officers operate by forming alliances with their inpatient counterparts. For example, the dirty cop that Meehan was to investigate was operating along several ex-patient police officers to execute illegal dealings. Meehan and Esposito also face difficulties dealing with alliances connected to ex-patient police officers.
Therefore, the ex-patient phase of a police officer is dependent on his past. For those who have achieved their objectives, they would live a good life and probably remain good citizens. However, the bad officers would continue executing their agenda into their ex-patient phase. In this phase, thee police officer does not cut off ties with other inpatient offices. More so, the morality of the police officer in the ex-patient phase depends on their past. For example, Meehan was going through a mid-career burn-out because he was getting influence from ex-patient officers.
Therefore, the career of a police officer is divided into three distinct phases, each of which determines the next phase of the individual’s career. The pre-patient, inpatient and ex-patient phases of police officers’ careers are clearly characterized in Edward Conlon’s book, the Blue Blood. The main characters, Meehan and Esposito, undergo a series of changes as they navigate through their careers. The two are affected by each stage of the mental patient. Their social life such as their personal relationships with family, friends and colleagues are affected due to temptations, loyalties and alliances. Therefore, the three stages of a police officer careers are practical and can be used to analyze the career of any other moral career.
Works Cited
Conlon, Edward. Blue Blood. New York: Ebury Publishing, 2012.
GOFFMAN, ERVING. The Moral Career of the Mental Patient. 1959. 13 February 2013
