Just a comment with regards to this topic.
I don't doubt that there are a great many officers who experience frustration with the job. Many conditions of the job have changed rapidly over the last 20 odd years, and the place you worked when you got hired may not even resemble the place you are in now. I hear many of the senior guys talk about "how it was" and it sounded like they had a blast. Even in my own nine+ years on the job I have seen some truly pathetic rulings (most of them out of BC, thanks hippies
) which only served to make life better for criminals. Please refer to my pet thread in the
Judge Superthread for a comprehensive look at the legal system and it's shortcomings.
However, one has to ask themselves "why am I on the job?" Most people I know join because they want to help the citizens. Criminals suck and need to be dealt with. So as bad ideas come along, we adapt and find new, creative ways to deal with them. Some guys get bummed out and quit. That is a shame, because it means that the bad guys won another scrimmage. We are "The Thin Blue Line" and are all that holds the filthy underbelly from destroying what is good here at home.
For myself, I love policing as much and maybe more than the first day I drew my uniform. I think it is the best job in the world, and wouldn't trade it for anything. Well, maybe I'd trade it in for 15 months for a tour to Afghanistan, but that is it
I hope this answers some of your queries, FP. Now, as mentioned by others, try to slow down a notch and attempt to not react so poorly to criticism. You obviously have strong views and are not shy to get them across. Just don't get sucked in if you feel someone is baiting you. Turn the other cheek, if you will.
Cheers,
ZHC.