9781422274859

A police officer writes a speeding ticket for a driver.

You don’t have to come from a long line of police officers to be successful in the field. Many young people watch the work of police officers and decide that they want to help improve their neighborhoods when they grow up. That’s how Tariq, a police officer for ten years, describes what encouraged him to become the first person to work in law enforcement in his family. “I grew up in a high-crime area in the inner city,” he recalls. “There were many great people inmy community, but drugs and gangs had a stranglehold onmy neighborhood. There were certain areas you couldn’t walk through because of the gangs, and I remember having to occasionally dodge gunfire on the way home from school. A friend of mine was even killed by gang crossfire.” Tariq was bothered by all the violence in his area. “I remember thinking to myself, How can we live in one of the most powerful countries in the world, but people in certain neighborhoods

10 CAREERS WITH EARNING POTENTIAL: POLICE OFFICER AND DETECTIVE