Being a Corporal Officer in the Narcotics Division

Introduction

It is important to note that police work is a challenging and dangerous endeavor, which is heavily reliant on one’s capability to make correct decisions and resolve conflicts effectively. The given interview was taken from a police corporal Davis, who works in the narcotics division. He is 34-years old and a highly experienced professional when it comes to operating in his environment. Davis provided valuable insights into how police corporals in the narcotics division work, what qualities are needed, what are the main challenges, and how to be a proper leader.

Insights Into How Police Corporals in the Narcotics Division Work

Firstly, when it comes to Davis’s greatest strengths, he responded by emphasizing knowledge and experience. He stated that it is critical to “have full knowledge of my profession and experience to perform my duty professionally” (“Interview questions,” 2022, para. 2). In other words, knowing how to perform one’s duties and being able to rely on one’s acquired abilities enables a high degree of professionalism. However, Davis’s key weakness is the lack of resources to perform his obligations because certain items or materials are not always available to fully utilize his knowledge and experience as a police corporal. Therefore, it requires some level of creativity and flexibility to conduct the professional work with what he has in his reach.

Secondly, Davis is regularly confronted with hard ethical decisions on a daily basis, but the toughest one is to know when he no longer has the competence to provide advice or recommendation. He states that it is difficult to know when he should refer junior officers to senior individuals to address specific matters or when he should provide them with knowledge of the key department policies (“Interview questions,” 2022). In other words, Davis’s position requires him to be aware of his abilities and expertise because he might not always be to make a sound recommendation because the latter should be done by someone in a higher position.

Thirdly, Davis must constantly work with other people, mostly civilians, to perform his duties. Therefore, the toughest challenges at work include working with people from different backgrounds (“Interview questions,” 2022). Finding commonalities and similarities is critical since individuals might come from diverse racial, ethnic, sex, age, religious, and cultural backgrounds, where miscommunication can easily take place. Being able to overcome these major differences is a serious obstacle that needs to be dealt with accordingly.

Fourthly, Davis was open to informing that there are no residency requirements to become a professional similar to him. However, he points out that one needs to be between 18 to 35 years old to become corporal police in the narcotics division. The provided information is insightful and valuable since the career path is open to everyone regardless of the place of residence. The only restriction is one’s competence and age, which is understandable considering the nature of the job.

Fifthly, it is important to note that Davis’s positions are critical to his office. He states that “it helps me in my daily duty to make correct some decisions to deal with breaches of the law” (“Interview questions,” 2022, para. 6). In other words, the office work is tightly interconnected and dependent on each officer’s performance, where the cases must be identified with their corresponding legal violations. Since it also requires working with people, who might be addicts, minors, or drug sellers, the effort required is immense.

Sixthly, Davis enjoys his work and loves what he does for a living, but his favorite task is doing undercover duties. He states that he excels at going undercover and ‘busting’ criminal activities on-site because it makes it easier for the entire department to convict a lawbreaker. In other words, it is an effective way to prevent and minimize the rate of crime since undercover operations make criminals reluctant to violate the law. The main reason is that there can always be an officer working undercover, which reduces trust and willingness to engage in criminal activity.

Seventhly, Davis has a specific method when resolving the conflict at the office. He states that conflicts among subordinates can occur, which he handles by having a dialogue among the conflicting parties (“Interview questions,” 2022). Thus, he has a conflict management style, which is rooted in conversation and compromise, where he personally oversees both sides and helps them find a correct solution. It is evident that such a stressful work environment creates pressure on officers, who can easily fall into conflict with each other. Therefore, it is up to senior officers, such as Davis, to be involved in these occurrences to eliminate the destructive and unproductive factors.

The problem of resolving conflict situations is important because, in the modern world, officers of various levels lack basic knowledge of resolving conflict situations in practice. Davis believes that it is not only possible to resolve conflict situations in the old-fashioned way, that is, by using pressure, and they do not realize that there are other officers with more peaceful methods of resolving them. For a modern leader, conflict resolution should be one of the most important functions. He says that departments should not spend a significant portion of their work time resolving various types of conflicts. Although some conflict situations have not only destructive but also constructive results.

Eighthly, Davis understands and values proper leadership, which makes him aware of the core characteristics needed to be an effective leader. He states that a good leader must be willing to listen to his or her subordinates and implement the necessary changes to the work environment in a rapid fashion (“Interview questions,” 2022). In addition, he emphasizes the importance of motivating the department to perform better since the costs and risks are high. He knows that the solution of one problem entails a bunch of other problems or, when a problem remains unsolved for a long time, a number of other problems arise. Many of the problems that have arisen in the departments have precisely this origin. These problems have no way to be resolved for the reason that they will entail the need to solve a number of others. For example, a common cause of conflict in the workplace may be the dissatisfaction of workers with conditions and division of duties.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Davis provides a significant amount of insight and knowledge on how to be a corporal officer in the narcotics division. He is well aware of his strengths and weaknesses and knows how to deal with major ethical decisions as well as challenges. Davis constantly works with people from diverse backgrounds by being a proactive communicator and putting a great deal of effort into contributing to his department. He is an outstanding leader who knows how to handle his subordinates. Davis also enjoys what he does, especially when it comes to undercover duties.

Reference

Interview questions [Word document]. (2022).