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traffic rules, for example, can be relatively safe work. Officers may also have to search people, vehicles, property, and places. This requires having a basic conception of U.S. constitutional law. Many police departments now practice community policing. Officers build relationships with the people who live in local neighborhoods. By interacting with the community, police officers help enlist the public in fighting crime. Another basic task is to respond to calls for help or emergency service. This may involve assisting people in need, identifying and arresting people, or even actively pursuing suspects. You may have to restrain and control resisting suspects and, in extreme cases, use firearms and other weapons. All these tasks require the ability to establish and keep control in explosive situations. Police officers also investigate crimes, suspicious persons, and complaints. They collect and preserve evidence, search for missing people, question suspects, and interviewwitnesses.

p  Although most traffic stops are nonviolent, police officers must take precautions. Police officers often stand behind the pillar that separates the two side windows, behind the driver, in case they approach a dangerous person with a firearm or other weapon. Police Officer  • 13