Avoid the Top 10 Rookie Mistakes

Remember. EVERYONE has a camera and you the star of the show.

ok thanks tinman..i'll definitely keep that in mind. but at the same time, i've learned in life that sometimes u have to play the game of life in order to get to where you wanna be. I will never try to be something i'm not but I jus wanted to know if my nonchalant approach to the smaller things (like writing citations lol) would hinder me from promotional advancement in some departments.

Reggieh34: You are your own person, and as such, you are responsible for the directions you take in life. You can become the letter-of-the-law type who will not use any discretion and still be your own person... it will be the person you chose to turn into. There may be some agencies out there that take most of your discretion away (I don't know of any), and if you get hired by one, then you have to either leave or comply with the rules.
Reading people is a necessary skill that will help you determine what action to take. To use your example (ticket writing), I would sugest finding a starting point for yourself, a set of guidelines, until you have developed a good instinct on who will learn from a warning and who will not. I had a very good training officer that once asked me a simple question when I told him that I didn't think the violator needed a cite (she was very nice, respectful and had 2 small kids in the car with her): He asked "Was it safe?". 3 words that changed my perception until I was wise enough to make solid decisions based on experience. A nice side benefit of this 'guideline' was that it took all anxiety out of the process of deciding who was going to get cited and who was not. It helped me out a lot.
Remember something: No one can change who you are except you. Be your own person and adapt to the rules of your agency. If a new hire doesn't act appropriately for this profession, then improvement is necessary. Some changes are a good thing and do not make you a 'robot'.

IT IS HARD ENOUGH WHEN SOMEONE ADMITS TO A POLICE OFFICER ,,,,,THAT IN THEIR OWN HOME THEY THINK THEIR BEING ABUSED,,,,,,,PLEASE INVESTAGATE BEFORE MAKING JUDGEMENTAL REMARKS........

im pretty sure about knowing that i want to go into police. in terms of getting promoted, is it better to be your own person or one of those officers who follow every word of the law and writes citations for every little thing??

I'm a retired captain and instructor, I want to share with you my number one topics with new recruits. You don't get paid to let these people hurt you, alway's maintain control of your incident and watch the hands of a suspect, those hands will kill you not his face. Don't be afraid to use force when the situation calls for it. Once you have control STOP THE FORCE, don't be a news video victim.

Yes, put your car in park and never complain about mics!!! I was out of FTO only a few weeks and while on a welfare check speaking to the people in their driveway my patrol car begins to roll...of course the wheels were canted to the left. The car began to roll and all I saw was the house across the street. I caught up to the car, but of course the doors were locked as they always are when I am on a call. The unit hit the corner of the house. It missed the main gas line by inches. Needless to say I was scared to death. I was a female rookie.....enough said! As it turns out you could hear on the audio me checking out on the radio AND putting the car into park. Upon further investigation...at the local mechanics shop there was a censor out in the transmission. WHEW!!!!