What does it mean to be an NYPD officer in today’s world? A police officer by the name of Kevin was asked this question along with many others to understand the job in a different perspective, and how and what it means to represent the NYPD. The New York City Police Department is one of the largest departments in the United States, and covers the 5 boroughs of NYC. These boroughs include Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx. Police Officer Kevin joined the New York City Police Department two years ago following being a part of the Fire Department of New York, also known as FDNY. He has described that he had a want to help others and serve and protect many communities all over New York, including his hometown. Five years ago, he had joined his local fire department as a volunteer, and emerged in the career to want to help others in ways not many other people can. As we have all heard the saying before “civilians run away from danger, while emergency medical technicians, firefighters, and police officers run towards the danger”, and it is very true and seen in these professions. With over 1,000 calls annually, it takes a great deal of dedication to volunteer oneself for this commitment on top of all other events that take place in one's daily life.
Following a college graduation and receiving his degree in Emergency and Management, he had decided to further his career to help others through the FDNY. He had gone through an extensive academy testing both mental and physical agility, while learning how to become an Emergency Medical Technician. The academy ran for just about four months, and was held at Fort Totten in Queens. The biggest difference from coming from a volunteer company on Long Island to New York City where the population is nearly ten times larger, was the volume of calls that came in per day. On average Kevin would receive two to four calls a day at the volunteer company, whereas while in the Fire Department of New York he would receive around twelve calls a day. The hardest part of the job as stated by Kevin was “Having the amount of training we have, and legally only being able to help our patients to the extent legally and morally we can”. The main part of their job is to ensure the safety of the patient and treat and stabilize them till they can get to a hospital. He had stated many times they had to work up patients at the location the call was received at, and do their best to stabilize them until they have the ability to transport to a local hospital where they can receive further and extensive care by nurses and doctors. The best part of the job he had said was, meeting people from all over the city, cultures, and background, and creating relationships with them. “It is a feeling like no other being able to help people, and see them the next week up on their feet walking around.. even better when they recognize you”. His reasoning for leaving the Fire Department EMS for the New York City Police Department was due to the ability to move farther in the career, as well as have more of an opportunity for promotion and advancements. The New York City Police Department has an academy that runs for six months, and was clearly stated to be much more advanced and more difficult than the academy he had gone through for the Fire Department of New York.
They focus on generalized areas such as community relations, ensuring safety to all civilians, professionalism, firearm safety, and crime reduction with the inclusion of MUCH more. Kevin states the positives and negatives of the job and why he feels the way he does in regards to certain aspects of each. Starting with the positives just like while he was in the Fire Department of New York, he enjoys meeting new people as well as colleagues and being able to help others. His biggest goal is to help others become accountable for their actions whether a store was robbed of goods and merchandise, or a civilian was assaulted. It is most important for a person's action to receive repercussions, and help those that may feel hopeless in these moments. It is important, stated by Kevin, “To stay compassionate to those around you since you do not know what others may be going through and it is our job to be there to help others. As well as, have the ability to de-escalate situations due to there being a high volume of crime that takes place all around us and a situation can turn bad at the drop of a dime and we have to stop that from taking place.” The negative part of the job is the long hours they work at a time, as well as all of the overtime they receive. The city is in need of more police presence in some areas due to crime rates, therefore they will keep police officers for longer shifts to achieve that police presence. This is detrimental to many people on the job because their personal hours are stripped away from them. Another negative to the job that was expressed was the stigma that is seen among many police officers. Kevin stated, “I do not condone those who do wrong, and it is a part of my job to give repercussions to those who do wrong, but you see bad people in all professions. Just because you come across a bad mechanic does not mean all mechanics are bad. The same should be seen among police officers. Myself as well as many others I know, commit our lives to help others and allow children and adults to feel safe to walk around their own neighborhood. With there being so much backlash it is hard to get people to cooperate with us to make a safer and better environment for all.” He has all plans to stay in the NYPD, and be the best police officer he can be to try to change the minds of many that these police officers are out here to help people and not harm them, but instead create an environment for them to thrive and continue to be safe. He also said that, no matter where you are in the country, to stay vigilant of your surroundings, and to always keep in touch with your consciousness and senses.
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