Is law enforcement a good career for Aspies?

[LoneHeart]

Since I am kind of a big guy, I have been thinking about possibly becoming either a police officer or maybe even a corrections officer, but I am not sure if it would be a good idea or not since I think both would require alot of interacting with people, plus it may involve me being able to recognize certain social situation at times that I might not be able to. I am trying to find a career that i wont have to spend an arm and a leg to get a degree for. If anyone has any input on this at all I would really appreciate it as I am trying to figure out what I am going to do with my life.

 

[Judge]

Good question. As a fellow self-diagnosed Aspie it wouldn't be something I'd want to volunteer when it comes to any position overtly requiring a combination of discipline and teamwork. However whether or not invasive screening processes might uncover such a thing is another matter, let alone any required oath of obedience reiterating terms like "without reservation or purpose of evasion".

On a practical level what would concern me most is any social interaction with suspects and citizens to use as a tool to "read" them and their intentions. It just strikes me as something best left to Neurotypicals. Of course this is all only my opinion. I had similar concerns myself stated in another thread over a job interview and everything associated with the job, however it wasn't law enforcement. However it would have required similar skills in reading people through social interactions.

 

[Ste11aeres]

I think it could depend on the individual ASD person.

 

[LoneHeart]

Good question. As a fellow self-diagnosed Aspie it wouldn't be something I'd want to volunteer when it comes to any position overtly requiring a combination of discipline and teamwork. However whether or not invasive screening processes might uncover such a thing is another matter, let alone any required oath of obedience reiterating terms like "without reservation or purpose of evasion".

On a practical level what would concern me most is any social interaction with suspects and citizens to use as a tool to "read" them and their intentions. It just strikes me as something best left to Neurotypicals. Of course this is all only my opinion. I had similar concerns myself stated in another thread over a job interview and everything associated with the job, however it wasn't law enforcement. However it would have required similar skills in reading people through social interactions.

That's what I was thinking. I wouldn't want my inability to read situations to lead to me getting either myself or someone else hurt or possibly even killed. I guess I am going to have to continue on thinking about this. That's the part I dislike about this condition, the not knowing what path to choose. I wish I could have just found out about this condition when I was a kid and just became a computer engineer (which is actually what I originally wanted to do as a teen but went away from) instead of wasting my life chasing behind things that I wasn't "wired" to do.

 

[Soup]

You may want to talk to one of our members: POEY. She is a former police officer so she would likely be able to say some well informed things about this subject.

 

[Judge]

I wish I could have just found out about this condition when I was a kid and just became a computer engineer (which is actually what I originally wanted to do as a teen but went away from) instead of wasting my life chasing behind things that I wasn't "wired" to do.

I hear that! How different life might have been had I knew what jobs to avoid at a much earlier age. But you're still relatively young. Hang onto to your optimism.

I switched careers at 40...retrained in a completely different field which turned out to be a much better fit considering my having AS.

 

[Ereth]

I don't think anything is set in stone for Aspies regarding careers. It all depends on the individual and the career in question. And even then, there's room for personal growth, LoneHeart. I think you'd make a fine police officer. I'm sure the right training will help you.

 

[LoneHeart]

Soup, thanks for that info, I will try to PM her and see if I can get her to respond to this thread.

Judge, I hear you, atleast we both found out while we were still relatively young, I feel bad for those that found out when they were 60+. The teenagers at this board should feel really lucky to know about this at their age.

Ereth, thanks for your encouraging words, with me being down and somewhat discouraged that is exactly what I needed to hear.

 

[Soup]

There are many different options that fall under the umbrella of law enforcement. If you are good with computers, you can be a cyber cop holed up in your office tracking down certain type of criminals. You do not have to become a classic 'beat cop'.

 

[Judge]

Judge, I hear you, atleast we both found out while we were still relatively young, I feel bad for those that found out when they were 60+. The teenagers at this board should feel really lucky to know about this at their age.

Actually I'm pushing 60. But as I've posted elsewhere, I think it's still important to know at any age. I may not be able to do anything so constructive as carve the right career path as you can, but it does allow me to put my long past into great perspective, and give me clarity over things that have baffled me for more than half a century.

 

[poey]

Hi LoneHeart,
Welcome to AspiesCentral first and foremost. Sorry i didn't respond right away.

I was a police officer in my early 20's. I went to police academy because all the men in my family said women had no place in law enforcement. After joining a department in 1996, i worked alongside some fantastic people. I was a regular patrol officer and made traffic stops and arrests. I made a great reporting officer, enjoying the paperwork and detective work involved, and in crisis modes, i ended up with a cool head that left others calm. However, i hated conflict. So pulling someone over and giving them a ticket caused overwhelming anxiety. I have on radar that they are speeding, however, when they got beligerant it was hard on me. When i made the decision to bust them for breaking the law, i got anxious..

Arresting people was a different story. If they had a warrant out on them, and i arrested them, i kept a calm head there too. For some reason, since they were already accused, and i didn't make the accusation, i didn't care if they were beligerant. I have no idea if that makes any sense at all, or has any reason to it.

I eventually quit because i couldn't read peoples' faces and couldnt' tell when they were telling me the truth or not. I took things too literally, and the phone company offered me more money, and air conditioning.

I think depending on your limitations, and how well you can handle conflict would be your best determining factor here.

Hope that helps.

 

[LoneHeart]

Thanks so much for the responses!

Soup, that is a very good idea, I am going to look into that, it is actually perfect for me.

Judge, I totally agree, its better to know than not know

Poey, thanks for finding your way to this thread! The point you made about dealing with conflict is a good one, I used to hate it too, but I have gotten better at it. Though I have to admit that I am definitely not looking forward to pulling people over, that would definitely be the aspect of the job I would have the most issues with. I also thought about going to work in corrections but I don't think an Aspie having to interact with criminals on a daily basis is the best of ideas. I am going to start getting information from the academy next week but I am definitely going to find more info about becoming a "cyber cop" as Soup suggested.

 

[nowwhat]

I have cops in my close family, and I wouldn't think so. Such jobs are all about dealing with people, expertly, quickly and subtly. Not exactly aspie super-powers, neh?

 

[HelloDizzy]

I really want to go into law enforcement but I don't know how to drive on the interstate.

 

[Judge]

I really want to go into law enforcement but I don't know how to drive on the interstate.

Reminded me of being in a supermarket parking lot yesterday. Where while moving no more than five miles an hour that I have to mindful in 360 degrees of other drivers coming, going, or backing out. Makes my head spin on occasion. Made the interstate look a little friendlier.

 

[Johnny]

If you become a cop, you're part of the problem, not part of the solution. It's your fault people have to pay school taxes and send their children to bully-infested schools.

 

[King_Oni]

If you become a cop, you're part of the problem, not part of the solution. It's your fault people have to pay school taxes and send their children to bully-infested schools.

So... you propose to not have cops and people sort it out themselves?

While I guess there's too much of a "police-state" going on at times (and it might get worse in the future) I don't see how wanting to uphold the law is a problem in itself. Unless we're all model citizens.

 

[LoneHeart]

If you become a cop, you're part of the problem, not part of the solution. It's your fault people have to pay school taxes and send their children to bully-infested schools.

Um what? How do you even figure something like this?

 

[apt-get]

Um what? How do you even figure something like this?

Possibly because police in America tend to be corrupt or pretty much completely unaccountable for abuses of power. This isn't just a few bad apples. This is something that happens quite frequently. While we definitely need police officers, the current system is **** and needs to be replaced. So, I guess that I agree that given the US's current system, becoming a cop is becoming part of the problem and not part of the solution. The exception is if someone who wants to be a cop goes in and fixes the system so it works properly.

Just because cops are necessary doesn't mean they can't be criticized or even be problematic.

 

[Flinty]

The good news is that an Aspie cop is likely to understand the rules and laws and attempt to enforce them properly.

The bad news is probably everything else. At the very least I would want nothing to do with hand-to-hand combat.

Police in America are bad largely due to the selection system. If there are only five people who want to police Jefferson Davis County, then you get what random selection provides. The larger the pool of possible applicants, the better police you'll get. (Fun fact: when my cousin wanted to join the Mounties, he wasn't allowed because he had to be one of: female, bilingual, aboriginal, or university-educated.)

Also, county and state police are less about enforcing the law and more about finding property to seize because there just might be evidence of cannabis, amphetamines, cocaine, et cetera on that property.