If you don’t know what a police officer does by now, more power to you. Some of us aren’t quite as fortunate and became well acquainted with men in uniform as soon as we got behind the wheel of a car (friendly advice: speed limits aren’t just “guidelines”). For those law-abiding citizens out there, a police officer is responsible for maintaining order and upholding local or state laws.
There are lots of different kinds of police officers, but for the purposes of this job description we’re going to stick to uniformed police officers. These law enforcers maintain regular patrols and respond to 911 calls (my bad on the loud music, Officer, won’t happen again). It’s a lot like the show COPS, but not as exciting, because you actually have to figure out what to do with the drunk, shirtless guy who can’t walk straight.
Most police agencies are split up into geographic areas called districts or precincts. Officers of a precinct will be assigned a specific area to patrol so that they can get familiar with the neighborhood, and hopefully notice if something just doesn’t look right.