Rookie Cop: Defined

There are rookie ball players, of whom their teams have great patience with and hope for, and there are rookie soldiers, who are trained with great care to ensure their survival in battle.  And then there are rookie cops who are unknowing clowns, dressed up for the sport and and hazing of senior officers, and entertainment of the citizens of the city. Again, this may not be true but it is the perception of the world the rookie cop exists in.

I don't know where the term rookie came from, but I know what it means to be a rookie cop. It means you're the dumbest, slowest, busiest, least respected, most teased, most naive and trusting person in town. You are willing to believe and trust everyone, including your supervisors and superiors on the police department. A good half of the humor on the police department is at the expense of rookie cops.  Picture rookie cops as innocent as Adam in the garden of Eden. Wow, this is beautiful.  I have a job that is exciting, pays the rent, buys a few groceries, and I get to help people. What a paradise. After a few nights on patrol, paradise begins to lose it's glitz, it's not that exciting, and people don't seem to want your help or your advice.

Your sergeant sends you to investigate the theft of tomatoes from someone's garden and solemnly advises you to take the camera and fingerprint kit along.

Someone calls you at the desk with a stuttering voice to report that he thinks he has just killed his friend for stealing his wine. This gets a quart of adrenaline to pump out of your rookie glands. You run to your supervisor, who tells you since you received the call, it's your case, and you run toward the cruiser, strapping on your gun, but there is a subconscious recognition of the red faces, suppressed smiles and mock seriousness of your comrades. You realize that you might need a back up and run back and ask, "Ain't anyone else coming?" with a still earnest and determined look on your face. This is when the laughter can no longer be suppressed and the room explodes at your expense, and the stuttering voice on the phone is mimicked by your training officer.  The red face now is the one you shave every morning.

The term rookie finally wears off when you find out how gullible you really are, and learn who you can trust and believe, and who you can't.  At this point, a police officer loses his innocence and gains a healthy cynicism that will serve him well throughout his career. You learn also that you really can and must trust your comrades with your life even though practical jokes are a part of life as a cop.