University of Illinois at Chicago

The Bolingbrook Police Department

Becoming One of Them

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OVERVIEW

            Treating everyone with respect, especially the lawbreakers, is one of the top priorities for police officers.  This is one of the most intense and valuable benefits I learned during the last few weeks of my 1999 summer internship with Bolingbrook Police Department.  I have to admit that I embarrassed myself.  I laughed.  And that was wrong, because even though a drunk is clumsy and funny to watch, this was, more accurately, just sad.  Here is what happened...  

            Two male officers, along with our female sergeant, were administering sobriety tests to a white female in the grassy commons area of her apartment complex.  Quite honestly, I am rather naive about such matters as seeing an intoxicated woman in the middle of a sunny afternoon, and she did something that surprised me.  After performing the ‘walking’ test, staggering heel to stumbling toe, and after the touching-of-her-nose-with-the-tip-of-her-finger-test, all the while swaying back and forth, she unexpectedly decided that she had experienced enough of these ‘games and tests,’ picked up her keys and wallet from the grass, and teetered toward her apartment building.  The sergeant reached out to touch her, so to speak.  She grabbed her by the arm, as gently as the circumstances would allow, and got her point across to the woman that she would not be allowed to simply walk away from a DUI.

            I was riding with one of the patrol officers that day, and I remember feeling a little embarrassed because I quietly snickered when the woman totally lost her balance during her sobriety tests.  I had never before seen these tests being performed.  Of course, the officer would not permit me to get out of the car for safety reasons.  However, we received the honor of transporting her to the police station for booking.  I am not exaggerating when I say that her breath, emitting from the back seat, smelled horrible.  It was a hot day and the air conditioner was cranked in our patrol car; however, the back seat was still uncomfortably warm.  The officer called in his mileage to the dispatcher, and we began our two-mile trek to the police station.

            During this period of a few short minutes, I observed from the patrol officer that respect and consideration toward everyone, even during arrest, are of utmost importance in the everyday life of a police officer.  He asked the woman several times “How are you doing?  Are you okay?  Are you feeling okay?”  She was reclining on the hard, plastic back seat, and the handcuffs were biting into her wrist flesh.  When she whispered, “They hurt,” the officer sincerely said “I’m sorry that I can’t do anything about that right now, but we’ll be there soon and I’ll take them off then.”  He had her comfort in mind and aimed the air conditioning toward her, hoping all the while that she would not vomit in his squad car.  When we arrived at the police department, he was polite to her as well.  He helped her up and out of the squad, making sure she did not bump her head or otherwise hurt herself, talking to her the entire time, and informing her of what was happening.  Once inside, the sergeant considerately helped her to the restroom.  The arrested woman was calm (actually she was ready to pass out), the officers were calm, and the entire ordeal went smoothly.

            I learned that even though she was under arrest for DUI, and it was rumored that her erratic driving caused her to collide with a parked vehicle, and even though she was so extremely inebriated that she would probably remember none of this episode, the officers’ duty to show respect and dignity remains imperative.  This is one of those unwritten responsibilities that I will never forget.  Fictionally speaking, this is probably how everyone would prefer to be treated--with respect and dignity--if ever arrested.  Police see the ugly part of society in their line of duty, and to compensate for having a bad image (being the ‘blue’) and not having great respect (from criminals), the police must remain respectful and courteous of others to bolster their own self-image.

HISTORY

            I began my summer internship at Bolingbrook Police Department not knowing exactly what to expect.  The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Internship Coordinator, Rachel Mestad, arranged everything and said that I would probably receive a lot of grunt work.  I did not mind.  I was very excited to be involved in this hands-on learning experience.  Even though I anticipate receiving dual majors in Management and Marketing in May of 2000, my true infatuation remains with my Criminal Justice minor.  For nearly four years, I have known that my passion in life is to have a career as a police officer.  I knew the internship would teach me things I could never learn from textbooks and professors.  When people ask me why I want to become a police officer, I tell them there is no simple answer, but that I want to serve and protect the people and that I want to work outdoors and with the public.  There is not a better career in the world as far as I am concerned!

AS TIME WENT ON

            As a mere neophyte, like a sponge, I am desirous of absorbing all the police wisdom possible.  About three to four weeks into my internship program, I noticed a gradual change in the officers.  They were beginning to include me as one of them.  They joked around me, told me stories, and asked me questions about my college and career goals.  They were immensely helpful in answering my many questions about their experiences as officers of the law.

LEARNING ON THE JOB

            I must mention that several of my ideas and attitudes have changed during the past eight weeks of my internship, and I have grown as an individual as well.  One of my attitude adjustments consists of broadening my scope for a police career.  I am currently on the eligibility list at Bolingbrook Police Department and would be absolutely thrilled to be hired on in any Chicago suburb.  However, at the time I began the internship, I had a negative opinion of working for Chicago Police Department because of the enormous size of the department.  I was afraid of being lost in the shuffle and ‘just out there fighting crime all by myself.’  Now I know better and realize that just the opposite occurs among fellow police officers in a department, no matter what its size.  I very quickly discovered that the camaraderie, cohesion, morale, support, loyalty, dependability, and reliability of police officers is so strong that the guys (I call them guys because that is what most police officers consist of) think of their fellow officers as their alternate family away from home.  Surprisingly, even though the 911 communication operators are isolated in their own segregated block room, they are closely integrated with the officers as well.  Some Bolingbrook police officers have previously worked for Chicago Police Department and thoroughly enjoyed it, but came to work for Bolingbrook Police Department to ‘settle down and raise children.’  After hearing of their pleasant experiences with Chicago Police Department, I no longer feel I would be lost in the vast windy city and am welcome to the thought of working in either a large city OR a suburban area.

            Another aspect of policing that I now realize is that it is definitely not for everyone.  People with weak stomachs, lack of energy and compassion, or a need for constant climate controlled comfort should probably find alternate work.  While riding with Bolingbrook’s animal control officer, I saw such things as wild baby skunks (a big pest problem) being put down.  As a member of Bolingbrook’s 1st Citizen Police Academy, I saw graphic photographs of an investigation wherein a man was brutally murdered, then months later the body was discovered and dug up from his own back yard.  Viewing the remains (reconstructed skeletal bones) would be more than many people could handle.  The detective handling the case did not seem to mind.  Another topic worth mentioning is the long, unusual hours and requirement to constantly be alert and ready for anything.  Every day, police officers endanger their lives in order to protect others.  Bolingbrook Police Department recently implemented two 12-hour shifts (0600-1800 hours and 1800-0600 hours).  The officers shared with me that after working these long shifts, there is not much time and energy remaining for family life. However, the benefit of this new schedule is that they are off-duty every other weekend to spend time with their families.

            Like all jobs, being an officer of the law has its advantages and disadvantages.  The pay, benefits, retirement, job security, and camaraderie are excellent.  Also, even though this job is physically draining, it is easy to notice a very positive attitude oozing from the officers.  That is that the majority of the officers love their jobs.  They actually live, eat, and breathe police work.  In fact, one sergeant is in the midst of four weeks of summer vacation, yet I see him at the station nearly every time I am there, putting his heart and soul into planning a benefit fund raiser to financially help the family of a deceased fellow officer, Ray Browne.  He obviously enjoys spending time with his fellow officer cohorts at the Department during his days off.  Some seasoned officers admit their jobs are boring at times, but that when ‘something goes down,’ it is the best feeling in the world to assist the public or to be involved in getting crime out of Bolingbrook.  On the other hand, nearly all officers dislike report writing.  Another negative is that family life is more difficult and divorce rates among officers are higher compared to divorce rates of non-police employees.  This is due to several factors, but what I experienced includes working strange hours, including holidays, and working in an extremely high-stress career.  In fact, one of the communications officers told me today that it has been five years since he last spent Christmas Day with his family.  Another officer told me that it is difficult to retain non-police friends.  Many Monday through Friday ‘9 to 5’ non-police employees are not willing to adjust their schedules around the inopportune work schedules of their police officer friends.

SOME THINGS I LEARNED

            During the past eight weeks, I realized four interesting facts that I would like to share.  First of all, even though the police academy teaches new officers Illinois law, after graduation from the academy, officers are assigned to various Field Training Officers (FTO) who teach the day-to-day police functions.  Secondly, I learned that respect does not automatically come with the job.  Any respect that officers enjoy is earned through hard work and devotion to the citizens.  An example of this is the tremendous respect one of the officers received from citizens during the officer’s push to get the C.O.P.S No-Trespassing contract into Winston Village.  Thirdly, discretion and professional courtesy occur within any police department.  Officers generally have a great deal of discretionary ability and make decisions accordingly.  Lastly, even though the world is becoming saturated with women in the work force, the majority of police officers are still male.  At Bolingbrook Police Department, only 2 out of 85 (2.35%) sworn police officers are female, and one of them was recently promoted to the position of sergeant.  Additionally, there are 4 (4.71%) African Americans; all but one are male.  There are four women in the Animal Control Department.  Even though these women are sworn personnel and can write tickets, they are not considered to be police officers, do not carry a gun, and are not counted in the group of 85 sworn police officers.  The desire and effort on the part of Mayor Roger Claar to increase the number of minority and female police officers is certainly to be commended.

CONCLUSION

            I thoroughly enjoyed and will always remember the hands-on learning experiences I acquired during my eight-week summer internship at Bolingbrook Police Department.  As I near the completion of my internship, I wish to thank University of Illinois at Chicago’s Professor Jess Maghan for sponsoring and supporting me during this wonderful and educational internship program, for supplying valuable reading material, and for answering all of my questions.  I also wish to thank Mr. Robert (Bob) Wulf, Support Services Supervisor at Bolingbrook Police Department, who oversaw my schedule and helped me with any questions or concerns.  It was Bob who kindly injected me into various segments of the police department.  These two gentlemen helped guide my footsteps toward the life of a career police officer.  I would also like to thank Mrs. Julie Moody and Miss Rachel Mestad for encouraging me to begin this internship.  After completion of the internship program, I spoke to Julie Moody who is the UIC Criminal Justice Advisor.  After I told her some of my on-the-job experiences, she asked me if I still want to be a police officer.  I am happy to report that a definite and resounding “Yes, definitely yes!” was my answer.  Needless to say, this internship would not be complete without giving thanks and gratitude to each and every officer and employee (too numerous to mention each name) that I came into contact with during the eight weeks, and especially to Chief Kenneth Each for allowing this internship to take place.  This has truly been a growing experience, and I have learned concepts, generalities, and specifics during this period of time that I could never learn from criminal justice textbooks or classrooms.  I learned how the officers perform their daily functions.  I learned the general attitudes of officers.  And I learned some specifics like how to recognize what to look for when a drug addict is coming down from a high.  Without a doubt, on a scale of 1-10, I would rate Bolingbrook’s professional internship program as a “12”!   

            As I conclude this well-rounded learning experience, I would like to offer a small morsel of advice for anyone desiring to become a police officer.  That advice is to voluntarily visit police departments and experience their inner-workings first-hand.  Become actively involved in the learning experience to make sure it is the right career path for you before you take the plunge.  I did, and now I know, even stronger than before, that law enforcement is my passion!