Career As A DST

My current position as an Area Commander for the Federal Protective Service (FPS) is not without its challenges. I am responsible for supervising eleven federal law enforcement officers to include two K9 units and approximately forty-five contracted protective security officers. As a team we address security related issues on a daily basis. Our position description encompasses two major disciplines; the first is federal law enforcement and the second physical security. Both occupations can be viewed as one, yet separate in their ever changing complexity of development. The greatest challenges are staying up with the constant progression of technical advances in the way each vital role is implemented. Combining two occupations into one job description can at times be overwhelming.

The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is the third largest police agency in the United States. The LAPD has approximately 9885 sworn officers and 2718 support staff. They cover approximately 500 square miles and is for the protection of over 4 million people. With that in mind, managing such a behemoth agency is a complicated and problematic endeavor. Therefore, one of the LAPD strengths is the way they manage themselves and protect citizens. Another strength of the LAPD is created many various kinds of investigation divisions, bureaus unit and special operation units. The components allow the LAPD to address a different kind of crimes, services, and investigation. Some of these components are specialized units with members that specially trained to for the unit's purpose or the specific type of crime or investigation. For an example, they have counter-terrorism bureau, background investigation unit, commercial crime division, gang and narcotic division, juvenile division, robbery homicide division and also technical investigation division. The LAPD also addresses the needs of the community by setting up many stations to handle the needs of their constituents. The LAPD also has a support unit to manage the day to day operation such as the personal division, jail division, property division and administrative section to manage massive bureaucratic tasks.

It is easy to take a look across the occupational spectrum and see that Law Enforcement is a very emotional and dangerous job. Law enforcement officials come in contact with homicides, street violence, and other tragedies while “protecting and serving”. They

it is a highly desirable assignment. With increased arrests and statistics, those working on this team have a greater opportunity to shine as officers

Law enforcement is a career that is both violent and rewarding in many capacities. Justice needs to be served in law enforcement and they have a responsibility to uphold the law and serve the people in the community. Law enforcement is crucial in the world today as a global realm as life continues to be more complex and law enforcement struggles to combat many aspects of crime. In order to combat these problems and have a positive future in the criminal justice system, everyone must work together on a bigger scale.

I get asked the same question all the time, why do you want to be in law enforcement? My answer: This world has far too many bad people out there and not enough good people. I want to fight the good fight, the best way I know how. By helping the people in my community. With each person I help I hope to spark a change in not only their lives but the lives of those around them. This spark will turn into a flame and then a burning fire of hope, that spreads across this world. This is my

What many do not seem to realize is that a law enforcement agency is not a job, it is a career. One must truly be dedicated and determined to work in the field because it is all about your love for what you are doing.

If you really enjoy helping people and being around people then it’s enjoyable, but if you’re not into that kind of thing then it’s probably not the right career for you.” You are dealing with the public and you have to be reasonable and good at speaking with people. You can’t have a temper and you have to be a good judge of character. You really have to have an eye for detail and constantly be on your toes. You have to be somebody that really helps people out. He went on to tell me how I should seriously consider this career knowing my accomplishments in the Army and currently being in school studying Criminal Justice. He told me, “The State is looking for guys like you when they go to hire a person. Someone that stands out above the rest, is honest, has integrity, and is more than willing to work hard and treat people fairly in the world.” I think highly of Randy and what he has done and accomplished. He has been more than a mentor for me and I know I can always count on him. After gaining insight on his career, it is still something I would very much like to do. It is interesting and now more tempting than ever to put school on hold and enlist in the Academy as I am having my doubts on whether or not school is for me. In conclusion, the life of a law enforcer is very different and less entertaining than how it is portrayed on television and in the movies. It is also very different from my career as Military Police but it is still very much a career choice of mine. Because of this new insight and my experience, I am able to compare these stereotypes with the actual roles of law

Reverence for the law has been opposed to have the privilege of applying the law. LAPD must always be honest with the power and authority they have to work with the people. They should not allow their personal issues cross paths with their professional behavior, in other words bring their personal business to work. The people are not the only ones who should follow the laws this goes for whoever works in the Los Angeles Police Department. Commitment to leadership this means people who work in the police force should be a leader when it comes to law enforcement.

The career that I am looking into is a Nutrition and Dietetic Technician. As a NDTR you typically work under the supervision of a Registered Dietitian (Eat Right Pro n.d.). But there is always an option to work independently as well. In order to work in certain health care facilities you may be required to work underneath an RDN (Eat Right Pro n.d.). Some of those facilities include some hospitals, nursing homes, hospices, and home health. It all depends on what the facilities policies towards the matter (Eat Right Pro n.d.). Some examples of places that you can work independently at include schools, day cares, correctional facilities, restaurants and some health care facilities (Eat Right Pro n.d.). So pretty much any where that has food involved you can work at as a NDTR.

Tom Shamshak has been part of the Criminal Justice system for a long time now. After an interview with Tom Shamshak I was able to get his general disposition and point of view on certain areas. Shamshak started off as a police officer and he dedicated a lot of his time to the department. Through hard work and dedication he was able to rise through the ranks becoming Captain, Lieutenant, Sergeant and Chief. Shamshak states that his career has been very rewarding from an officer to chief he has met a lot of people and learned countless things. Also a law enforcement career provides great benefits. Such benefits include Health and Medical Insurance, Dental Insurance, Life Insurance and a great retirement plan with a pension.

I became aware of what I wanted to do with my life, whom to become to give a meaning to my life. A career that would fit my religious beliefs and upbringing in which I could do my best. I realized that discipline defines me and that I could be my best at following and complying with the rules and laws; I decided to attend college to earn a criminal justice degree. I became mindful, quality related to Hahn’s spirituality, by wanting to become a police officer establishing order and peace to protect others’ lives. The experience enriched my spirituality; to ultimately care for the well-being of others in my community and to search for peace for all. This is a great deal of responsibility for today’s controversy regarding police officers’ conduct against minorities. As a police officer, I will treat everyone as brothers and sisters, “in the historical dimension we are brothers and sisters to each other,” (Hahn 1999, 150). I am looking forward to helping our society to overcome differences in religious and societal beliefs. I will not hold my religion as the best one and respect others’ beliefs. This is what I believe in, it is right and important to me, reaching out for both mindfulness and peace enriching my spiritual life and reflecting Hahn’s

This enables me to interact well with my fellow co-workers and above all, upper management. Since I am in law enforcement, my fundamental duty is to serve mankind. Good communication skills is another strength I posses. This way, I am able to understand management and the needs of the agency. Smaller agencies may require supplemental guidance with planning their activities. If so, I’m able to dig deep and provide those agencies with solutions by communicating with management as to what exactly it is that they require. I am driven when I see my contributions lead to solutions that maximize opportunities and impact the greater

Law enforcement officers have encountered some very deadly days. The life of a law enforcement officer is one of constantly being aware of your surroundings, dealing with the uncertainty of not knowing the individuals you have to approach, and being able to cope with the visual images seen after vicious crimes. The life of a law enforcement officer, who protects and serves, is both challenging and rewarding. The first law enforcement system was established in Boston, Massachusetts over 350 years ago. During this time in the Colonies that were not heavily populated, the sheriff served as the main law enforcement officer. During the 1800’s, 24-hour law enforcement service and systems similar to what is used today began to emerge (NLEMI). Law enforcement officers face incredible dangers. With over 900,000 law enforcement officers nationwide the Federal Bureau of Investigations reported approximately 1,165,383 violent crimes in 2014. Approximately one law enforcement officer dies every 61 hours (NLEMI).The law enforcement profession is the most challenging and dangerous career, because officers must be aware of every law and action they take at all times, manage constant training and stress, and protecting others as well as themselves in the line of duty.

Line-level law enforcement officers, investigators supervisors, and police executives are more educated and sophisticated with technology in their arsenal to enhance job performance. Despite having better education, training, equipment, access to specialized resources, and information, law enforcement agencies struggle with sharing power with their workforce. The result of this failure to modernize leaves law enforcement officers going through the motions and working at less than maximum efficiency.