Aspie police officer

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I would like to be a detective but you usually have to be a regular police officer before that and I could never be a cop for obvious reasons. However, I am hoping to be a prosecutor when I graduate from law school. I figure that job will allow me to participate in investigations, conduct witness interviews, work with the police, and do lots of trial advocacy.

Being a police officer sounds like the exact opposite job that someone with Asperger's Syndrome should be doing. It requires so much social interaction. It also requires physical coordination and fast reflexes. I don't know about you, but I am really uncoordinated, always have been thanks to AS. Also, the social interaction in police work is with people on an NT level. You have to be able to read between the lines. You also have to do a lot of politicking (forming alliances with perpetrators, based on figuring out what they want or need, using deception on a regular basis). This type of stuff is beyond most people with AS. We can't do it in real time because we don't have the brain wiring.

Detective work sounds more aspie-friendly, to a degree. Sort of like Monk. I love that show! He makes me crack up and I can totally identify with the ridiculous things he does even though I don't do all of them LOL

There is a job that an aspie may be able to do, it is a newer police job or should I say function. It is called technology officer. There is not always a title for this position but often someone is doing it because it is a necessity.

Shows that that just irritate me.

The premise is hands-down IMPOSSIBLE. Someone that dysfunctional would never be made a detective and could have never been hired in the first place. Detectives aren't direct-hire positions unless you came from another agency.

So, the show conveys the illusion that someone that "odd" can have a job like that in the first place.

Just like every cop show since the 1970's that presented an eclectic band of misfits fighting crime. It doesn't happen in real life.

Nobody who is really an aspie could be a successful police officer, soldier, or anything of this nature. One might get into those fields somehow, but will never be good at those jobs, if someone is in those fields and good at what they do, they are 99% probably not ASD at all, except maybe a little ADHD which can be controlled with meds enough to make you functional.

This is because being a cop requires a lot of socialization, knowing how to talk to people, making sure nothing goes over your head, because people always try to scam and rip off cops or talk their way out of a ticket. An aspie would not handle this pressure and would miss vital social cues left and right. Not to mention cops have a brotherhood, one wrong social move with fellow cops and your life may be ruined forever, even long after leaving the career, your name and reputation may stick around the region for generations of younger cops, you may become a guy that every cop in that area intentionally messes with. This sounds rough but things like this are common, cops are mostly NT "alpha male" personalities.

I am not entirely sure what you mean by technology officer, but any position which requires making decisions about doling out punishment or trying to sift through two or more people who are all trying to tell you different things (which implies only one is being honest, if that, they all might be lying)...these are things an aspie would struggle with, as they require knowing social cues and being able to call out liars with a high degree of accuracy. THe average aspie has trouble with social cues as well as determining to what degree people are being truthful and honest.

There is a reason that so many people on this forum talk about their dread of being in managerial or authority positions. Maybe this stuff does not apply to being a technology officer, though. In the 21st century there are ample jobs in IT security, such as basically being an internet detective for the government, but even these jobs may be bad for an aspie, because you might be responsible for not only investigating cyber crimes, but determining why a criminal did the crime. While on paper this might sound like a "logical" sort of job which is great for an aspie with a love of IT stuff, crime is rarely logical, I think an aspie trying to piece together why a given crime occurred, online or otherwise, would be very difficult, because we would probably tend to apply hard logic to the criminal mind, and the criminal mind is anything but logical in most cases.

Yes this is coming from an insider position, how things operationally work. The typical officer is woefully unequipped to make decisions on technology on its use what to buy. Basically what happen is all there info often comes from salesmen. And what is the first question sales wants answered? How much do you have to spend. Also things just do not get done. They will think I can just plug it in an it will work. Of coarse that rarely happens. The highly political nature of PD's skill-sets are the polar opposite of what is needed to address technology.

This is certainly true. So in a way it sounds like you are speaking about technology consulting, which is very good for an aspie outside of some potential "sales" type work, but an aspie can spot the flaws in someone's "chain" of technology and help them strength the chain by offering better links, as it were. I could see myself enjoying that work, but I don't really have an official background, degree or network of people to help me find my way into that sort of job. I wish we still lived in a time where people got hired based on displayed knowledge or ability, rather than showing people a degree. Some of the people with the best degrees and CVs are also some of the worst workers you will ever find, yet their poor abilities are overlooked simply because a piece of paper from a college says otherwise.

I would think the problems of an aspie Police Officer would be very high for the officer level position. It is very reactive and does require the ability to make quick decisions based on nuance. These decisions are based on the need for the safety of the officer and the bystanders. On the other hand, the ability of an NT to feel or know someone is lying is not evidence and does not create a case. I believe that may be a crutch for an NT that puts them on the stand in a criminal trial, and not the evidence. Therefore, on an investigation, I believe a person with Aspergers actually has an advantage. An Aspergers' need to see the logic in a situation will likely lead them to find the facts to support or refute the suspects statement/actions.
That being said, the internal stress of either local or Federal will not make for a long career. Internal politics, unwritten rules and the desire for visibility will eventually cause too much stress. There is only so long you can try to fly under the radar, work your own cases and control your environment before someone's personal agenda comes crashing down on you.

With that attitude I am glad you can't be a cop, people like you in the force give good cops a bad name.

Being an Aspie (if you can manage the condition) is a gift for certain areas of police work , I have been a cop for 18 years a detective for 16 of them (in England). It would not however be wise to disclose any diagnosis when applying for the role , see how you got on with the application process.

AD

So, you are a real-life Sherlock? Cool! Just don't shoot up your apartment when you are "BORED!"

I agree about the withholding of any diagnosis unless required. Also, there are jobs available to non-sworn law-enforcement officers within law-enforcement agencies and private investigators. Those jobs are probably not as restrictive to those with ASD.

Yeah I have Sherlock type traits ha ha I had a skill in assessing complex / voluminous data and multiple strands of evidence / intelligence in multi defendant cases. They don't let us take guns home in the UK lol

Very nice abilities you have! So, you are trusted with a firearm while at work, but not at home? Bah! I will send you one (we have oodles here in Utah).

KIDDING!

...Maybe you could emigrate to the US ? Do you have relatives in North Charleston , Ferguson or Baltimore who could sponsor you ???????????