One of the best skills you can have as an officer is the ability to communicate effectively with the population that you serve. Your mouth can cause you some serious problems or get you out of some sticky situations. Don't be that officer that comes to a scene, talks shit and gets everybody worked up again after the situation has been de-escalated.
When I was in patrol I always kept a carton of Newport Menthol shorts in my duty bag. Everybody in the area I patrolled smoked them.... everyone. That carton of smokes kept plenty of back windows from being kicked out, kept guys out of leg restraints and got me information for reports that I ordinarily wouldn't have received. It was like magic. Stuff like that is part of knowing the area you ride in. The best cops I know aren't high speed low drag type guys. They are the guys that can arrest someone and knows their name, knows their mommas name, knows where they live at and the turd will usually already know that officer by name. With more millenials coming onto my department I don't see much of that anymore. I see officers that would rather text than talk and get to know the area they work.
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