As a law enforcement family, I’m sure you’ve heard those words: “you signed up for this” in regards to the job.
Those words are hurtful, untrue in MANY aspects, lack empathy, and truly show just how misunderstood this job {and the impact it has on officers and families} is.
Let me start off by saying this: this “job” is so much more than a job. It is a lifestyle that impacts an officer’s life mentally, emotionally and physically and their families lives. The job does not end when an officer clocks off shift. Everything they see and experience stays with them for hours, days, weeks after their day has ended. And in many cases, certain experiences stay with them forever, building over time, and most of what they see has a lasting impact.
Did you know that, on average, about 70% of adults experience ONE traumatic experience in their lifetime? But police officers face, on average, 3 traumatic experiences every 6 months on the job.
So, of course, the job impacts well beyond the scope of their daily shift.
But is that “what they signed up for”?
As a law enforcement family, you may have seen posts and comments on social media, or even been told that when a police officer deals with deaths, shootings, attacks on themselves and their families, hatred for just wearing the uniform, etc. that they should expect that. They just “need to deal with it” because it is “what they signed up for”.
This tells me more about the person SAYING THESE WORDS than it does about law enforcement officers and what “they signed up for”.
No one, and I repeat, no one signs up for a job to willingly be hated, attacked, spit on, shot, injured, and have no support while going through it.
If you happen to be a person that has said those hurtful words before, I say this respectfully, JUST STOP. Instead, educate yourself on WHY law enforcement officers do the job that they do.
Let’s talk about what law enforcement officers and their families DID sign up for.
Here’s What a Law Enforcement Officer and Family Did “Sign Up For”:
A Law Enforcement Officer Signed Up to Make a Difference
First and foremost, police officers of course know the risks of the job, but the risks are not WHY they go into law enforcement. They go into law enforcement to help, serve others and their communities, to make a difference, and contribute to their communities being a safer place to live.
Do police officers EXPECT to get recognition, thanks and appreciation for helping and serving? Of course not. It is NEVER expected. But I think it is the least we can do for the men and women of law enforcement who run towards danger.
A Law Enforcement Family Signed up to Support Their Loved One
When your loved one tells you they want to go into law enforcement, you make a choice to support them. Of course families are aware of the risks this job presents, too, but overall, they focus on the pride they feel for their loved one doing such a noble job and how they can support him/her through it. They also sacrifice their lives in many ways just to support their family member in law enforcement.
A Law Enforcement Spouse Married a Person They Love….
…that person just so happens to have a career in law enforcement.
Period. We don’t marry someone for what they do, but who they are.
While this career choice is not for the weak, our loved ones are MORE than the job. They are real people with loving, serving hearts and that is one of the many reasons we married them.
I close with one final reminder, police officers are not superhuman. They don’t sign up to be professional punching bags with bulletproof emotions. Treat them with the support, respect and empathy they deserve.
To every law enforcement family reading this, I support you. Whether you are navigating this lifestyle easily, are just beginning, or you are in the thick of it wondering how in the world can I do this. I commend you for doing the hard.
If you need more support, be sure to grab my newest book Proud Police Wife: 90 Devotions for Women Behind the Badge. It will be your hope for today and strength for tomorrow.
Support for Law Enforcement Families
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