That was the phenomenon that spending their work day
dealing mostly with people on their worst behavior
unconsciously corrodes officers' trust and respect for everybody;
amirite?
I can’t really agree with this though I understand what you’re saying to be partly accurate. It doesn’t erode trust, love or respect you’ve had for people that've earned it due to how they live or carry themselves. That actually remains and even grows because comparatively speaking those people are head and shoulders above a large portion of society. In other words your circle of people just becomes much smaller and more trusted.
What it does do is remove any visual or mental filters that you may have in regards to what does a bad guy look like? How is a bad guy supposed to act so I can see him in the crowd? Men women and children can kill you dead in a heartbeat if you’re not paying attention.
Some people never come across a violent person for many years or even their whole lives, which leaves them with a false sense of security and arrogance of their own safety not being an issue to consider because bad things happen to other people, not them (or not yet).
After a few years when you’ve dealt with every kind of a**h*** you can imagine and now are able to see that just being humans, they (anybody) are capable of doing heinous acts of violence against anybody that crosses their path. The teen in GA that just stabbed his mother to death comes to mind. Or even the cop next to you going into a house, does he have any nefarious connections to this place? Will he sacrifice me to save himself and cover up his crimes? You really just don’t know so it has to remain in the back of your mind and be an active thought throughout your daily existence.
* You begin to realize that the need to mentally vett people you come across daily is a requirement as far as keeping drama and crazy people at bay and out of your circle before they cross over the inner perimeters of life and trust.
* That one there is something most of us do anyway on a regular basis at our ages, if you still have a lick of common sense, no need to be a cop to do that, it’s a live and learn type of thing to pick out the red flags around you and avoid them. I think most here do that subconsciously on a daily basis.
Not much diff than the cop mentality or sixth sense that some people talk about, it’s the same thing just amplified by 100 thru constant daily dealings with everyday people who do really f***ed up things on a regular basis.
It reminds you that there is no such thing as a safe neighborhood, we all lock our doors right? Those that don’t IMO haven’t been exposed to real life violence yet. Whether you physically see it or not, real life is filled 24/7 365 with totally unnecessary violence and drama that humans create. Being a cop just helps you see it easier and try to stay ahead of it. It reminds you that humans are still violent predators at heart, whether it’s a suit and tie or a pair of baggy jeans and are only one pissed off moment away from showing that to you personally on any given day, so you develop better life filters and toss out the old innocent ones that believe all people are inherently good.