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The Risk of Injury on the Job

Being a police officer is a profession like none other: it provides you with experiences that little can rival and allows you to help your community in countless immeasurable ways every day. Helping others is part of the job, but it’s important that you don’t forget to help yourself, too. As an officer of the law, you run a higher risk of becoming injured, paralyzed, or disabled than the general citizen because you put yourselves in high-risk situations more frequently.

Because police officers are often involved in situations like high-speed chases, foot chases, returning fire, or physical combat, we can assume that the risk of injury or disability is higher for an officer than a regular citizen. Police officers place their lives on the line every day to provide necessary assistance to others and sometimes face consequences for that selfless behavior, be it paralysis from a gunshot wound, disability from a car accident, or head injury from a physical alteration. Bulletproof vests can only go so far.

As an individual with a job that could include danger at any time, have you considered how you will handle an injury or disability? Long term care is often needed when a situation like that comes to fruition, and long term care is far from affordable for the majority of people. Long term care includes services that provide care for someone for an extended period of time. Most people think of nursing homes when they hear the term “long term care”, but nursing homes are no longer the primary care setting. The majority of people who receive long-term care actually receive that care at home.

Despite a common misconception, the government doesn’t pay for the cost of long term care. Medicaid will if you can qualify, but in order to be eligible, you must have essentially spent through all of your assets. The retirement pension plans provided to most police officers make them ineligible for Medicaid or Medicare, which can also cover long term care, but only for a brief period of time. Since police officers are not able to withdraw funds from these programs due to their pension plans, establishing your own plan is vital to your retirement security.

Some states have even set up organizations that help provide police officers and firefighters with long term care coverage. If you haven’t begun looking yet, now is the time. Even if you are a young officer, it pays to consider these things far in advance. It’s also important to note that 40% of individuals receiving long-term care in the United States are between the ages of 18 and 65. Again, this isn’t just for nursing home care. Especially in the line of duty as a police officer, the risk of injury is relatively high no matter what your age. Being a police officer is one of the most rewarding professions out there and regardless of the risk of injury, the reward of helping others makes the risk seem inconsequential. Take the time to look out for yourself and your family by planning ahead for any potential injury or need for long-term care.

If you are not yet an officer but are looking into the honorable profession that is being a police officer, please take the time to read our other posts about why you should become a police officer and the prestige of the badge.

Why AARP may be better for retired officers

Once you are 50 years old, it is prudent to join a retirement club so as to continue living a comfortable and fulfilling life. AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) and AMAC (Association of Mature American Citizens) are some of the major retirement benefits that any American Citizen can join. One of the major benefits of joining this club is that members qualify for a wide range of discounts and benefits that are not accessible to non-members.

AARP Benefits

I recently joined AARP and honestly, the discounts and offers that are at my disposal are just amazing. Here is a quick review of some of the benefits to help you get a clear picture of this club.

Travel deals: As a member, you will get to enjoy great rental car discounts in several car rental companies as well as hotels. For example, I am entitled to a 20% discount in hotels such as Wyndham and Sheraton. Additionally, if decide to go for a cruise trip, I will enjoy a 5% off at selected cruise companies such as Norwegian and a 10% discount on Endless Vacation Rentals. Airline companies such as Travelation, CheapOair, One Travel also offer post travel deals for seniors.

Be sure to watch the video on Long Term Care Insurance

Insurance deals: This is one of the supreme factors why you should join this club. Members who register for an auto insurance program via the AARP Auto Insurance Program can save up to $100 on their monthly premiums. However, the rates vary depending on one’s age, driving record, location, health, and other terms and conditions that are stipulated in the agreement document. We even shopped for the AARP Long Term Care Insurance plan and found a good resource on why they don’t offer that here.

AMAC Retirement club

This is another accredited retirement club that also offers deals such as discounts that are tailored to help its members save money. I joined it almost one year ago and the benefits are nothing short of amazing. Let us briefly look at some of the best deals that you too will enjoy by joining.

Traveler Auto & Home Insurance Deals: One of the leading auto insurance providers, Traveler, is currently offering special rates on home and personal insurance policy to all AMAC members. Some of the benefits include; multiple money-saving discounts, a 12-month auto policy option, 24/7 claim reporting, convenient payment options, and the list continues. Be sure to indicate that you are a member of this club when registering to access these deals.

Car & Truck Rental discounts: This is my favorite deal, Budget and Hertz car and truck rental companies are currently offering 25% and 10% discounts respectively to all AMAC members.

Health and Wellness: Beltone Company is now offering a 20% off retail price on all hearing aid gadgets to all AMAC members. Also, Life Line Screening Company is currently charging members $135 for 4 comprehensive screenings and expert Osteo service for $10.

Other benefits available for AMAC members include dental insurance deals, RoseMark Financial Planning services, Discount Vision Plan, Dental Discount Plans and the list is endless.

Bottom line: Join one of these retirement clubs today to access great deals that will save you money for your other financial obligations.

The Prestige of the Badge

Of all professions, becoming a police officer is without a doubt, the most difficult and tough one. Why? First, the job requires passion and dedication from someone in order for him to become an effective police officer. Second, being a police officer necessitates a lot of courage and perseverance. More than anything else, before anyone can become a police officer, an individual must possess selflessness and compassion for others.

With all of the factors to take into account, the question now that lies in the heads of many aspirants or wannabe police officers is really, how to become a police officer? Well needless to mention, the most essential and practical answer that would pop up to everyone’s mind is to enroll in courses related to criminology or join a police academy. That actually is a “no brainer”. Seriously, attending a police academy to become a police officer is almost at the lasts phase of becoming an officer. The issue here is what actually needs to be done or what are the preparations to take upon prior to affiliating with a police academy.

To make things straightforward, the basic requirement that must be addressed before an individual could qualify as a police officer is first to become an upstanding citizen. Being an upright, righteous, decent, and respectable citizen involves having no criminal offense or not being linked to any illegal issue and the like. Naturally, police officers should be role models of society. Second, a police aspirant must fortify his work ethic. An individual must engross himself with pubic-related activities. He must showcase a sense of responsibility and accountability of those around him, in one way or another. As long as possible, an individual may also indulge himself with tasks that are commensurate to a guardian of the citizens or of police. In addition to that, a police hopeful must be physically fit. It warrants emphasis that the work of a police officer is tremendously strenuous and challenging. With this, it is critical for an individual to prepare himself physically.

In addition to the points stressed earlier, a police candidate must be emotionally and mentally fit or prepared. Unavoidably, the work of a police officer entails one to undergo heart-rending and/or poignant cases. Now, if an individual is not emotionally and mentally strong enough, he or she might not be able to succeed in his or her chosen career. Anyway, after all those preparations and more, a police aspirant may now be prepared to fulfill education and other training requirements. Normally, an individual must first pass high school prior to attaining higher education. After this, a police officer aspirant should enroll with a police academy and thrive with all of the training and tests. Commonly, training lasts for 2 to 4 years. After which, a police hopeful must hurdle successfully the examination or licensure for police candidates. Should he be able to pass the examinations, then his dream of becoming a police officer will now turn into a reality.

Without a doubt, becoming a police officer is the most difficult test anyone could embark on. Not to mention the inherent risks that this job introduces and/or imparts to a police officer. Nevertheless, it is all worth it at the end of the road.

Why You Should Become a Police Officer and How to Become One

People are motivated and inspired to become police officers for a lot of reasons, including their desire to help others, to have an exciting and fulfilling career, and simply to have a more respected job with great benefits like a secure retirement plan and a decent salary. However, being a police officer is not always as thrilling and exciting as it seems on media. Being a cop means putting yourself in many dangerous situations for your fellowmen’s sake. Sometimes, you should also expect to work for long hours that might interfere and affect your personal life. Every day, you will have to deal with different violations of the law through doling out tickets, writing incident reports, as well as investigating noise complaints.

Why Should You Become a Police Officer?

No matter what your position is as a police officer, you should make sure that your background is clean and you have a good moral character. That is to avoid the abuse that might take place against the power or authority that is given to you. Take time to examine your personal reasons for wanting to have a position as a police officer before you start the process of applying as a police officer.

Before applying to become a police officer, you must see if your personality and skills are typical of people who are now in the police force. As a matter of fact, successful detectives and police officers are entirely skilled in critical thinking, assessment, and active listening. These skills are very important on the job because cops must use their senses together with their own perception in order to duly monitor tense scenes as well as to quickly decide on how and when to respond. The cops should also be excellent at negotiation and problem solving because as a peacemaker, they should be able to handle and persuade people to make the right choices and stay calm to avoid crimes.

How to Become a Cop

Becoming a police officer is not as easy as it will take lots of preparation and effort. You will encounter differences in the requirements to become a cop in accord with the kind of police force you want to apply to. However, there are also universal requirements that you will have to accomplish whether you want to apply to the office of the county sheriff or to the FBI. No matter what kind of police officer you want to become, you should expect that they require the following qualifications:

Demonstrate that you are physically fitted for the job through endurance, strength, and agility tests.
Earn at least a secondary or high school diploma, but remember that having a college degree will definitely give a competitive edge in the job market
Make sure to pass your civil service exam as it tests your own abilities when it comes to problem-solving, as well as aptitude and general knowledge for the job.
You should pass the criminal history check.
Try to impress people through how you respond to the interview. Make sure to demonstrate the reason why you are a trustworthy and viable candidate for a job that involves protecting the public.