I respect all police officers for risking their lives every day to keep law-abiding citizens safe. They could easily have chosen a different and more respected career path, but they didn't. To all the selfless police officers out there: thank you very much! You people don't get the respect you deserve.

Five stars for the profession, which is absolutely indispensible to a civilized society; less for too many of its practitioners who abuse the power of their office. One thing I will say is that things have greatly improved -- the training appears to be more thorough and careful, officers are better educated, and there is far less of the overt brutality and racism than I used to see in the sixties and seventies, when some police forces were little more than government-sanctioned goon squads. Five stars then, for indispensibility and improvement.

I've met more good cops than bad ones. . .police officers suffer because citizens NEVER forget a bad cop. But I believe that most of these professionals are decent people. (Although I have experienced macho thug-types that were dispicable. . .) As I grew up, my relationship with the police became better by just being honest. I can't imagine being in a job where everyone LIES to you all day. . . When I get pulled over I answer honestly: "Yeah, I ran the light." Or "Yeah, I'm in a rush. . .I was going a little fast." This doesn't get me out of a ticket (sometimes it does) but the encounter always goes a little smoother. As I get older, I am gaining respect for the job.

I respect their work (specially because my father is a police officer too). They have a hard job.

Am I rating the occupation itself or the people who are police? The occupation itself is an admirable one.....Too bad most police are more criminal than I am. I dont trust them any further than I could throw one. I can only remember one of maybe 7-8 police experiences that I had that was a positive one. Most were like being abused by a bully. Being bounced around and verbally abused or worse because of an expired sticker or passing thru a blocked off zone that I wasnt aware of. The problem is that You cannot give this kind of power to most young men. They just cannot handle it. I think most of the cops I dealt with were picked on as kids or social misfits who are now gym rats and guys who couldnt get into the armed forces. "Big Bullies" in short. Dont respect them and have a hard time trying to teach my kids to do so. I think there should be a minimum age of at least 30 to have this occupation. How many times are we seeing cops in the media abusing there power?And I believe very strongly if we knew just how corrupt they are it would be astounding. I dont have answers to fix this but I do not trust city Ploice forces. Highway patrol seem to be a better and different cut.

Once I witnessed a hit and run. I was asked to ride in back of the police car to the mans house and ID him when he came to the door. In the meantime they found out he was a lawyer and the Chief radioed the police man and told him not to arrest him. My brother in law bought more stolen property then you could shake a stick at. He made captain because he protected the Chief when the Chief got caught with his hand in the "cookie" jar. The head of the State Police made a habit of doing 70 MPH in a 30 MPH zone and used to laugh about it because he knew the local police wouldn't stop him. We had one patrol man that turned in a Sergent that stole property while investigating a break in while the Chief was on vacation. When the Chief came back he chewed out the patrol man for turning him in. When the sheriffs at the county jail turned in a Lieutenant for beating a handcuffed prisoner. The Chief told the whole group of offiers that they shouldn't talk to the sheriffs because they turned in the Lieutenant.

I try not to rate things of which I have little or no knowledge of, unlike so many on here. However, I was a police officer in Florida for several years. I have always found it strange that the same individual who gets stopped for doing 40 through a 15 MPH school zone gets upset when we cite them, then is the first to call 911 when someone enters their home at 3 AM (and their intent is not to sell Girl Scout cookies). But we show up and do our job. Have any of you out there ever entered a dark building in the middle of the night, not knowing what to expect? Have any of you ever had a 12 guage shotgun pointed at their head? Have anyone ever had to go to someone's home to give a death notification? Have any of you tried to provide life support to a seriously injured victim in a car crash and had them die on you? Well, I have. I seriously suggest that anyone who wants to criticize the police, not call them if you need them. Deal with it yourself. I had to wear 2 weapons and a bullet resistant vest to go to my job. What do you wear to go to yours? This is my very first rant.

After seeing all those COPS shows, I have the upmost respect for them, they have to put up with so much crap from all of those low-lifes.

Police officers should get paid much more for what they do. These men and women go out everyday and risk their lives. I have respect for police officers. It takes alot of courage to do the jobs they do.

I really admire the job that Police Officiers do. It is a rather thankless job, but we must always remember that they put their lives on the line to keep us safe. They really do have to put up a lot of crap from people who don't really care about the order of the law. It would be a very frightening world if there were no law enforcement officials taking care of the bad guys. Anarchy does not work; police officers and other law enforcement people need to be made avilable to make sure that society can function. There are some cops out there that are bad apples, but they are a rarity and when negative police behavior does become known, they are usually penalized heavily for their actions; the police can police themselves. There is no need to be against police officers, they are here for our protection from coercion. They deserve all of our respect.

Like everyone on this board, I used to have a favorable opinion of police officers. Unfortunately my opinion has changed. My parents was attack by six black teenagers. These thugs tried to steal our car radio. Luckily the car alarm scare them off. But one of the losers threw a rock at my father. This happen at 6:30 PM at Macys. Nobody helped my parents. Did the finest do anything? My father went to the nearest police car and reported the crime. The officer ignored my father and drove off. Is it because we are minorities? or Is the officer afraid of these thugs? Who knows?. Thank goodness nothing happen to my parents and car. But I would love to see the police officer do their job and help my parents. Anyway, I would have to agree with GrossSmith. Good policeman are hard to find.

mostly a brutal racist profession--guess i give the third star for 9/11

Where would we be without them? Think about that for a second. Talk about a scary thought.

upholding justice, keeping internal peace. This job seems to be very honorable and selfless.

It is definite that we need order to survive and have police to protect us from criminal behavior. However, there is far too much racial profiling and brutality that goes in the law enforcement community. I respect them for their work, but it was and still is disgraceful to see the senseless beating of Rodney King in L.A. back in '92 and the Diallo shooting in NY a few years back.

They work hard, no doubt about that. But I've never had as much respect for the police as with other uniformed services; they can come across as being rude people. And we know there is a record of police brutality in history. They probably end up doing more highway patrol than criminal-chasing. It's always made me wonder- it doesn't seem like a policeman/woman always has to be very physically fit to be a cop. Police detectives always interested me more. Maybe if I'd had a personal experience when a police-person helped me out, I'd have more respect but that's not the case.

This has to be one of the most frustrating and difficult jobs in the entire world. My hat is off to those who put their entire being into it - which I think is definitely a prerequisite. I have no idea what they are paid, but like firemen I'm sure it couldn't nearly compensate for the dangers, stress, and risks they take on a daily basis. Never a cop when you need one? Well, I guess they can't be in all places at all times. But I will never forget one lonely night in Hawaii when I got lost and my car broke down in the middle of nowhere and in front of a graveyard no less. I was never so happy to see anyone in my entire life, as I was when I saw a police car pull up to assist me. He was a very much-needed answer to a very frantic prayer. When you think about it - they usually are.

if the cops in my area ever did anything heroic i would die of shock. maybe i just have a good neighborhood, but cops in my town seem so bored, that when they're not picking on poor little hippie teenagers, they're flagging down traffic at the end of the month to fill their ticket quota. often they use methods that are just as illegal as smoking weed. but then i heard their attitude problems come from their hours of dealing with the scum of society and the mentally insane being lengthened to 12 hours a day! who's to blame? all i can say is our law-enforcement system in general needs a good reform.

Being a policeman has got to be one of the hardest jobs in the world. Thank God for our police. It really disturbs me that certain special interest groups along with the mainstream media take every opportunity they can to discredit our police and make them look bad. We need to show the police departments and policemen all over America how much we appreciate them. Where would we be without them?

These guys do a great job despite being underpaid and underappreciated. They risk life and limb every day for citizens. I appreciate their work very much.

I give police officers four stars, but not because I think they have a great job. I think they have a terrible job, but we need them and without them our life would be a nightmare. I could never be a police officer. I do not have the nerve or the patience. It must be tough to try to help people, when many of the very ones they are helping, turn on them and give them a hard time. I think there are some bad cops, but by and large they have earned our respect and deserve our gratitude.

The police hold one of the most important jobs in this great nation. Where would law be without enforcement? There may be a small percentage of corrupt cops in various departments, and I despise them for encouraging the American public to associate racism with their profession. But this does not stop us from needing a someone to carry out justice. People, we don't really want to turn into the Lord of the freakin' Flies, do we? The next time you see a policeman in your neighborhood, don't shout "Rodney King!", give him a big hug and thank him for his service.

No, I am not a police officer.I give this profession 5 stars because it's got to be very hard.The last time I got a speeding ticket,I was convinced the State Trooper was going to fine me as much as possible.Why? I didn't pull over soon enough,I was sure those lights and sirens were for someone else,not me,I didn't see him walk up to my car because I was convinced I was going to throw up,so I look up,and see this trooper,who looks to be about 12 feet tall and he's laughing at me!Point is,he could have been a real hard case,I certainly deserved it.He did fine and ticket me,but he really could have made it alot worse for me.Maybe I got lucky,but I have alot of respect for the police.And speed limits.

It's a very hard job

I have a ton of respect for cops. How would you like to have a job where you might get shot at (hats off to convenience store workers as well)? It's a good thing there are people in the world who are attracted to this profession, because I would think a low-paying, dangerous job where you're sworn to help and protect ungrateful people wouldn't be all that much fun.