I had a rare chance of interviewing the Chief of Police for Hinds Community College Mr. William Evans in his office on Wednesday 19 November, 2014 at 5 p.m. Mr. Evans is a very busy person and the fact that he set aside one hour out of his busy schedule to answer my questions was a real privilege. In most cases, the officer closes work past 6 p.m. therefore conducting the interview between 5 to 6 p.m. cannot be said to have created any opportunity for getting inaccurate results due to fatigue or lack of concentration on his side as the time was still within his normal work schedule.
I learned many important lessons from the interview with Chief Evans. First, I learned that despite the huge pressure that comes with being Chief of Police, there are many factors that motivate people to fight for the rank. Chief Evans was motivated by a strong desire to help others and make a difference in society. I also learned that the position of Chief of Police has huge responsibilities. When I sought to know what Officer Evan’s responsibilities are, he said, “I am responsible for day-to-day operation, budgets, scheduling, personnel, community relation, and information sharing” (W. Evans, personal communication, November 19, 2014).
Police officers are always considered the least learned of all civil servants (Cole & Smith, 2010). However, I realized that being an officer requires rigorous training and an acceptable level of education. One must be a certified law officer with relevant training in firearms, driving, and self–defense to become an officer. The bar is even higher for being a police chief. One needs “a B.S. degree in business management, criminal justice, and five to seven years of supervisory experience with knowledge in budgets, investigations, and community relations” (W. Evans, personal communication, November 19, 2014).
The police service is one of the most challenging work environments. It is extremely demanding and puts those in it at great risk almost all the time. Even though lower-level officers have many challenges to cope with, those in the higher ranks have even more challenges to handle. Chief of Police, for instance, has to deal with his assigned duties while at the same time attending to personal problems of his subordinates.
As such, Chief of Police must be endowed with characteristics such as the ability to prioritize, good time management, multitasking, and able leadership. According to William Evans, “the accomplishment of taking a troubled student and turning them into a student with goals” is rewarding enough for the risk he takes to serve as Chief of Police (W. Evans, personal communication, November 19, 2014). Just like any other job, being Chief of Police comes with many challenges.
However, against the expectations of many people that the greatest challenge of serving in the forces is the high level of risk involved, Evans insisted that his greatest challenge is “having the right people at the right place for the same goals” (W. Evans, personal communication, November 19, 2014). The interview made me learn that job experience is very important. Before becoming Chief of Police, Mr. Evans had served as a lower-level police officer for 9 years at Clinton Police Department.
He also served at Madison County Sheriff Department for two years. Most importantly, I have learned that success in any job requires making sacrifices. However, one must know what to sacrifice. According to Evans, regardless of how much responsibility one has to shoulder in line with his or her job, “time for self, and family and peace have to balance” (W. Evans, personal communication, November 19, 2014).
No matter how good one may be at his job, they can still encounter challenges that are almost if not insurmountable. Despite Evan’s vast experience and good educational qualifications, he confessed to having faced a situation he did not know how to handle. He talked of a person who committed suicide in front of innocent children at a daycare center.
I relied on a notepad to collect data during the interview. Even though I believe it was effective, using a tape recorder could have made the data collection process more effective. Using a tape recorder allows an interviewer to concentrate on the interviewee thereby making them free and composed which increases the chances of giving accurate responses (Polking, 1993). I was torn between taking notes and listening to Chief Evans in many instances.
As a result, I missed many points and could not remember them later on. If I were to conduct a full study on the same subject, I would carry my notepad and a tape recorder to ensure that I do not miss any point. In fact, Opdenakker (2006) supports the use of tape recorders during interviews by saying, “Using a tape recorder has the advantage that the interview report is more accurate than writing out notes.” Additionally, I would organize the interview a bit early to avoid chasing time.
References
Cole, G., & Smith, C. (2010). The American system of criminal justice (12th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Opdenakker, R. (2006). Advantages and Disadvantages of Four Interview Techniques in Qualitative Research.Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 7(4), 1-11.
Polking, K. (1993). Beginning Writer’s Answer Book (5th ed.). Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer’s Digest Books.