Beauty, in the face of adversity.....

'Over there.'
'The blonde one?'
'No! The other one, she's fit as.'
'Personally I prefer the blonde.'
'She's not my type.'
'Slim, with curves that look amazingly sexy?'
'Her mate, has to be.'
'I beg to differ.'

As a deluded young mother, who does not realise that in today's society it is not advisable to care about anyone but number one, lets her children play near deep water, and then says:

'If you're walking down the street and you see a child drowning you automatically go in that water.'

As four year old children are stabbed to death, you remember something beautiful:

Maybe you were disorientated from the second can of energy drink you had guzzled on your break, but her eyes were the first thing that caught your attention. When a woman applys alot of make up around her eyes, it usually hides what's really there, in her case however it seemed to magnify her beauty. Her stunning blonde hair, flowing over her shoulders effortlessly, fair skin that looked smooth and light to the touch, certainly she was the best looking young women you had seen all day, no doubt.

Seing women who look as good as her is a very rare occasion in your time, it's only happened a few times so far and you certainly weren't expecting to ever see her again, but still you thought you would be ready if it happened. God must have been listening and watching, because a few weeks later she walked through the door again. This time the sight of her hit you even harder, not painfully but surprisingly. You've always had a taste for women who wear there hair down, free flowing, this time however, your taste was immaterial, her blonde hair was tied back, but still you found her attractive.

She smiled at you, it took you by surprise, but it wasn't an effort to return the favour, because the warmth of her manner radiated like a bright sun. As you walked past her again, you winked and smiled, taking a bold step, but not having the courage to let the opportunity pass by. Minutes later, you walked by the line and she was nowhere to be seen, you looked up and down, still she wasn't visible.

Seconds later, she came into your line of sight, she wasn't walking she was skipping, she smiled beautifully, her face lighting up with complete delight, she hugged her friend and shouted:

'I got it!'

You walked away with a smile on your face, thinking and wondering, how something so beautiful, so spectacular could ever be created. With that sight in mind, maybe heaven is not a place after all, but a moment where feelings from one person, can be felt by another, without even a word exchanged between them both.

You wouldn't know though, because as a Police Officer, feelings are an alien concept to you, and always will be.

Sisters are doing it......

You won't lie, you used to believe that women shouldn't be allowed to be Police Officers, that they weren't 'cut out' for doing the job, that really the only way they could contribute would be by dealing with female victims. You have had the pleasure of being paired with a few female cops so far, all these shifts were interesting experiences, but one was exceptional:

The first time you ever saw this Officer walk into the briefing room, you were completely taken off guard. You had only ever seen one female officer all your life, and that was from a distance. With her long blonde hair swinging over her shoulders and amazing eyes, you began to realise that maybe doing the job for free, wasn't so bad after all. If sights like this were common place in the Police, you would sign yourself up for more hours each month, gladly. She welcomed you, more so than the other Officers, she was friendly, in the car she would laugh and joke. You knew the debate about whether women can actually do a good job as Police Officers would come up:

'So Julia, do you think women like yourself can actually cut it as bobbies?'

'I've been in this fifteen years, so yes I think they can.'

'Fifteen years, I was three when you started.'

'Don't, you're making me feel old!'

'You certainly don't look it.'

'Creep. There are advantages to being female in this job, people see me as less of a threat, I feel it's helped me out alot. But don't get me wrong, there have been times when I've showed up at a job and people have been like: 'What's a woman gonna do about it?'. But I suppose I've just got on with it.'

'No one will ever be perfect for the job, every one's got good and bad points, right?'

'That's the one, the modern police force being representative of the community it serves'

'With lines like that, why aren't you Superintendent?'

'I'm a woman, glass ceiling and all that.'

Even in the face of what she thought was an obstacle, she still managed to have a sense of humour. She went on to tell you all about how, as a single mother, she had to juggle work and the kids. Even though she had clearly a stressful life, she still managed to have a smile for almost everyone, except the man who told her to 'Fuck Off'.

Despite what politicians would say, the Police is still very much 'a man's world', even in it, she did her job to a high level of competency and she maintained her status as a woman, a beautiful woman at that.

Misguided feminists beware, whilst still shaving their underarms, doing their hair, make up and nails, talking softly and with womanly charms, women are doing exactly the same job as a man, and in many a case, doing it with more competence, humour and self respect.

'Remember, Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but backwards and in high heels.'

Faith Whittlesey

Turning a blind eye....

'What would you do?'

'How do you mean?'

'If you were walking through a shopping center and there was a bomb scare?'

'I'd be so scared i'd run away.'

'No you wouldn't.'

'I'll give you a piece of advice, never be a person that sprouts bravado and bravery, because no one knows what they will actually do in a situation until it actually happens to them.'

'You've got a point.'

'With my brains in my crouch, how could I not.'

Your Sociology teacher taught you about bystander apathy, he was someone who you respected and admired, the way he said things and what he said will always be on your mind, one being more than other's was the story of a woman called Kitty Genovese. As he explained how she was stabbed and stalked you thought that it was just one of the 'standard' murders, but the reason you remember it is that as she died, many 'respectable' people watched and listened to her screams, and did virtually nothing to stop it.

Granted, some people called the Police and one woman called out to the man to 'let that girl alone' but no one went out to investigate the screams or to see what was happening, the killer ran away, but due to there being no intervention, he searched for her, found her, sexually assaulted her, and then murdered her. If one of these 'bystanders' had gone out, maybe it would have been different, maybe this young woman, only twenty eight years old, would have got married, had children and lived a life of happiness and joy.

The point here includes the war in Iraq, just because everyone can't be helped, it doesn't mean no one can. Yes the circumstances in Iraq were similar to many other countries around the world, but to take a stand somewhere, in one Country, can set the standard for the other's. If a person is arrested for assaulting a Police Officer, charged, prosecuted and sent to prison, maybe another person will think twice before they attempt to murder one.

If there's one thing you are sure of, is the fact that you would most likely have done nothing more than the 'respectable' New Yorkers who sat by and listened. If there is one thing you are, it is a coward. You believe in self preservation, above all else, if a bomb exploded in a town centre, you would run away from the carnage, not towards it.

Therefore a question that always plays on your mind when you put on the uniform, is why do people stand by and do nothing? Why did the young man stand across the road and watch as two girls beat up a young lad on his way home from school? Why did the next door neighbours just watch television as a woman screamed for help? Maybe you should be able to answer your own question here, but you don't have any feelings about why, however if you did, their sense of apathy and selfishness would sicken you.

Yes you may be a hypocrite, but you're a hypocrite with a point that is hard to ignore.

'I have a very strong feeling that the opposite of love is not hate, it's apathy, not giving a damn.'

Leo Buscaglia