October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 86 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events[link]

• 105 BC – Battle of Arausio: The Cimbri inflict the heaviest defeat on the Roman army of Gnaeus Mallius Maximus.
• 69 BC – Battle of Tigranocerta: Forces of the Roman Republic defeat the army of the Kingdom of Armenia led by King Tigranes the Great.
• 68 BC – Battle of Artaxata: Lucullus averts the bad omen of this day by defeating Tigranes the Great of Armenia.
• 404 – Byzantine Empress Eudoxia has her seventh and last pregnancy who ends in a miscarriage. She is left bleeding and dies of an infection shortly after.
• 1582 – Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar, this day is skipped in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
• 1600 – Jacopo Peri's Euridice, the earliest surviving opera, receives its première performance in Florence, signifying the beginning of the Baroque Period
• 1683 – German immigrant families found Germantown in the colony of Pennsylvania, marking the first major immigration of German people to America.
• 1762 – Seven Years' War: conclusion of the Battle of Manila between Britain and Spain, which resulted in the British occupation of Manila for the rest of the war.
• 1777 – American Revolutionary War: General Sir Henry Clinton leads British forces in the capture of Continental Army Hudson River defenses in the Battle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery.
• 1789 – French Revolution: Louis XVI returns to Paris from Versailles after being confronted by the Parisian women on 5 October
• 1849 – The execution of the 13 Martyrs of Arad after the Hungarian war of independence.
• 1854 – England: The Great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead starts shortly after midnight, leading to 53 deaths and hundreds injured.
• 1876 – The American Library Association was founded.
• 1884 – The Naval War College of the United States Navy is founded in Newport, Rhode Island.
• 1889 – American inventor Thomas Edison shows his first motion picture.
• 1898 – Ossian Everett Mills founds Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia in Boston, Massachusetts.
• 1903 – The High Court of Australia sat for the first time.
• 1908 – Austria annexes Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• 1910 – Eleftherios Venizelos is elected Prime Minister of Greece for the first time (7 times in total).
• 1923 – The great powers of World War I withdraw from Istanbul
• 1927 – Opening of The Jazz Singer, the first prominent talking movie.
• 1939 – World War II: Germany's invasion of Poland ends with the surrender of Polesia army after the Battle of Kock
• 1945 – Baseball: Billy Sianis and his pet billy goat are ejected from Wrigley Field during Game 4 of the 1945 World Series (see Curse of the Billy Goat).
• 1973 – Egypt launches a coordinated attack with Syria against Israel leading to the Yom Kippur War.
• 1976 – Cubana Flight 455 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after taking off from Bridgetown, Barbados after two bombs, placed on board by terrorists with connections to the CIA, exploded. All 73 people on board are killed.
• 1976 – New Premier Hua Guofeng orders the arrest of the Gang of Four and associates and ends the Cultural Revolution in the People's Republic of China.
• 1976 – Massacre of students gathering at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand to protest the return of ex-dictator Thanom, by a coalition of right-wing paramilitary and government forces, triggering the return of the military to government.
• 1977 – In Alicante, Spain, fascists attack a group of MCPV militants and sympathizers, and one MCPV sympathizer is killed.
• 1977 – The first prototype of the MiG-29, designated 9-01, makes its maiden flight.
• 1979 – Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit the White House.
• 1981 – Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat is assassinated.
• 1985 – PC Keith Blakelock is murdered as riots erupt in the Broadwater Farm suburb of London.
• 1987 – Fiji becomes a republic.
• 1995 – 51 Pegasi is discovered to be the first major star apart from the Sun to have a planet (and extrasolar planet) orbiting around it.
• 2000 – Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević resigns.
• 2000 – Argentine vice president Carlos Álvarez resigns.
• 2002 – The French oil tanker Limburg is bombed off Yemen.
• 2007 – Jason Lewis completes the first human-powered circumnavigation of the globe.

Births[link]

• 1289 – King Wenceslaus III of Bohemia (d. 1306)
• 1459 – Martin Behaim, German navigator and geographer (d. 1507)
• 1510 – Rowland Taylor, English clergyman (d. 1555)
• 1510 – John Caius, English physician (d. 1573)
• 1552 – Matteo Ricci, Italian Jesuit missionary (d. 1610)
• 1573 – Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, English patron of the theater (d. 1624)
• 1591 – Settimia Caccini, Italian composer and singer (d. 1638)
• 1610 – Charles de Sainte-Maure, duc de Montausier, French soldier (d. 1690)
• 1716 – George Montague-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, English statesman (d. 1771)
• 1732 – John Broadwood, Scottish founder of the piano manufacturer Broadwood and Sons (d. 1812)
• 1738 – Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (d. 1789)
• 1744 – James McGill, Scottish-Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1813)
• 1767 – Henri Christophe, king of Haiti (d. 1820)
• 1769 – Sir Isaac Brock, British soldier (d. 1812)
• 1773 – King Louis-Philippe of France (d. 1850)
• 1801 – Hippolyte Carnot, French statesman (d. 1888)
• 1803 – Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, German physicist (d. 1879)
• 1820 – Jenny Lind, Swedish soprano (d. 1887)
• 1831 – Richard Dedekind, German mathematician (d. 1916)
• 1838 – Giuseppe Cesare Abba, Italian patriot and writer (d. 1910)
• 1846 – George Westinghouse, American engineer and inventor (d. 1914)
• 1866 – Reginald Fessenden, Canadian-born inventor and radio pioneer (d. 1932)
• 1872 – Mikhail Kuzmin, Russian writer (d. 1936)
• 1874 – Frank G. Allen, 51st Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1950)
• 1876 – Ernest Lapointe, French-Canadian politician (d. 1941)
• 1882 – Karol Szymanowski, Polish composer and pianist (d. 1937)
• 1886 – Edwin Fischer, Swiss pianist and conductor (d. 1960)
• 1887 – Le Corbusier, Swiss architect (d. 1965)
• 1888 – Roland Garros, French pilot (d. 1918)
• 1892 – Jackie Saunders, American silent film actress (d. 1954)
• 1895 – Caroline Gordon, American writer and critic (d. 1981)
• 1897 – Florence Siebert, American medical researcher (d. 1991)
• 1900 – Stan Nichols, English cricketer (d. 1961)
• 1903 – Ernest Walton, Irish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
• 1905 – Helen Wills Moody, American tennis player (d. 1998)
• 1906 – Janet Gaynor, American actress (d. 1984)
• 1908 – Carole Lombard, American actress (d. 1942)
• 1908 – Sergei Lvovich Sobolev, Russian mathematician (d. 1989)
• 1910 – Barbara Castle, British politician (d. 2002)
• 1912 – Perkins Bass, American politician and former Member of the United States House of Representatives from New Hampshire (d. 2011)
• 1914 – Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian explorer (d. 2002)
• 1914 – Joan Littlewood, British theatre director (d. 2002)
• 1915 – Alice Timander, Swedish dentist (d. 2007)
• 1916 – Chiang Wei-kuo, adopted son of Chiang Kai Shek and Chinese Kuomintang military commander. (d. 1997)
• 1915 – Carolyn Goodman, American psychologist and civil rights activist (d. 2007)
• 1917 – Fannie Lou Hamer, American civil rights activist (d. 1977)
• 1918 – Goh Keng Swee, former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore (d. 2010)
• 1918 – André Pilette, Belgian racing driver (d. 1993)
• 1920 – Pietro Consagra, Italian sculptor (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Lord Donaldson of Lymington, British judge (d. 2005)
• 1921 – Yevgeniy Landis, Russian mathematician (d. 1997)
• 1921 – Joseph Lowery, American Civil rights movement leader
• 1922 – Joe Frazier, American baseball player
• 1925 – Shana Alexander, American columnist (d. 2005)
• 1927 – Bill King, American sports broadcaster (d. 2005)
• 1930 – Hafez al-Assad, President of Syria (d. 2000)
• 1930 – Richie Benaud, Australian cricketer
• 1931 – Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh, Russian astronomer (d. 2004)
• 1931 – Riccardo Giacconi, Italian-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1935 – Bruno Sammartino, Italian strongman and professional wrestler
• 1935 – Charito Solis, Filipino actress (d. 1998)
• 1938 – Serge Nubret, French bodybuilder (d. 2011)
• 1939 – John LaFalce, American politician, and former Member of the United States House of Representatives from New York
• 1939 – Jack Cullen, American baseball player
• 1940 – Ellen Travolta, American actress
• 1942 – Britt Ekland, Swedish actress
• 1943 – Michael Durrell, American actor
• 1943 – Alexander Maxovich Shilov, Russian painter
• 1944 – Boris Mikhailov, Soviet ice hockey player
• 1944 – José Carlos Pace, Brazilian racing driver (d. 1977)
• 1945 – Ivan Graziani, Italian singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
• 1946 – Eddie Villanueva, JIL Spiritual Director, Owner of ZOE Broadcasting Network
• 1946 – Lloyd Doggett, American politician and Member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas
• 1946 – Vinod Khanna, Indian actor
• 1946 – Tony Greig, South African–born English cricketer
• 1946 – Millie Small, Jamaican singer
• 1947 – Patxi Andión, Spanish singer-songwriter
• 1948 – Gerry Adams, Northern Irish politician
• 1949 – Leslie Moonves, American businessman
• 1949 – Nicolas Peyrac, French composer, lyricist and singer
• 1950 – David Brin, American author
• 1951 – Manfred Winkelhock, German race car driver (d. 1985)
• 1951 – Kevin Cronin, American musician (REO Speedwagon)
• 1952 – Ayten Mutlu, Turkish poet and writer
• 1952 – Jürgen Schulz, German footballer
• 1953 – Klaas Bruinsma, Dutch drug lord (d. 1991)
• 1954 – David Hidalgo, American musician (Los Lobos, Latin Playboys)
• 1954 – Darrell M. West, American political scientist
• 1955 – Tony Dungy, American football coach
• 1956 – Kathleen Webb, American comic book writer and artist
• 1958 – Joseph Finder, American novelist
• 1959 – Brian Higgins, American politician, and Member of the United States House of Representatives from New York
• 1959 – Dennis Ray Boyd, American baseball player
• 1959 – Walter Ray Williams Jr., American bowler and horseshoes champion
• 1962 – Rich Yett, baseball player
• 1963 – Elisabeth Shue, American film actress
• 1963 – Jsu Garcia, American actor
• 1964 – Ricky Berry, American basketball player (d. 1989)
• 1964 – Matthew Sweet, American musician
• 1964 – Tom Jager, American swimmer
• 1965 – Rubén Sierra, Puerto Rican baseball player
• 1965 – Steve Scalise, American politician
• 1966 – Niall Quinn, Irish footballer
• 1966 – Jacqueline Obradors, American actress
• 1967 – Kennet Andersson, former Swedish footballer
• 1967 – Svend Karlsen, Norwegian strongman
• 1968 – Bjarne Goldbæk, Danish footballer
• 1969 – Troy Shaw, English snooker player
• 1969 – Adrienne Nesser, Billie Joe Armstrongs wife
• 1970 – Darren Oliver, American baseball player
• 1970 – Amy Jo Johnson, American actress and singer
• 1970 – Shauna MacDonald, Canadian actress
• 1971 – Phil Bennett, British racing driver
• 1971 – Lola Dueñas, Spanish actress
• 1971 – Takis Gonias, Greek footballer
• 1971 – Alan Stubbs, English footballer
• 1972 – Ko So-young, South Korean actress
• 1972 – Anders Iwers, Swedish musician
• 1972 – Ryu Shi-won, South Korean actor and singer
• 1972 – Mark Schwarzer, Australian footballer
• 1973 – Sylvain Legwinski, French footballer
• 1973 – Jeff Davis, American comedian
• 1973 – Ioan Gruffudd, Welsh actor
• 1973 – Rebecca Lobo, American basketball player
• 1974 – Walter Centeno, Costa Rican footballer
• 1974 – Alexis Georgoulis, Greek actor
• 1974 – Kenny Jönsson, Swedish hockey player
• 1974 – Jeremy Sisto, American actor
• 1975 – Reon King, West Indian cricketer from Guyana
• 1976 – Barbie Hsu, Taiwanese actress and singer
• 1976 – Magdalena Kučerová, German tennis player
• 1977 – Danny Brière, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1977 – Melinda Doolittle, American singer and recording artist
• 1977 – Shimon Gershon, Israeli footballer
• 1977 – Vladimir Manchev, Bulgarian footballer
• 1977 – Wes Ramsey, American actor
• 1978 – Ricky Hatton, English boxer
• 1979 – David Di Tommaso, French footballer (d. 2005)
• 1979 – Richard Seymour, American football player
• 1979 – Lex Shrapnel, English actor
• 1980 – Abdoulaye Méïté, French footballer
• 1981 – Zurab Khizanishvili, Georgian footballer
• 1981 – José Luis Perlaza, Ecuadorian footballer
• 1982 – Michael Arden, American actor
• 1982 – Levon Aronian, Armenian chess Grandmaster
• 1982 – William Butler, Musician and member of Arcade Fire
• 1982 – Meiyang Chаng, Indian actor, singer, anchor and dancer
• 1982 – MC Lars, American hip-hop artist
• 1982 – Fábio Júnior dos Santos, Brazilian footballer
• 1982 – Paul Smith, English boxer
• 1984 – Joanna Pacitti, American actress and singer
• 1984 – Morne Morkel, South African cricketer
• 1985 – Sylvia Fowles, American basketball player
• 1986 – Tereza Kerndlová, Czech singer
• 1986 – Mohammad Shukri, Malaysian cricketer
• 1986 – Olivia Thirlby, American actress
• 1988 – Maki Horikita, Japanese model and actress
• 1989 – Pizzi, Portuguese footballer
• 1991 – Roshon Fegan, American actor
• 1995 – Jessica Lunsford, American kidnapping victim (d. 2005)
• 1998 – Mia-Sophie Wellenbrink, German actress and singer

Deaths[link]

• 404 – Aelia Eudoxia, Roman empress and consort of Arcadius
• 869 – Ermentrude of Orléans, consort of Charles the Bald (b. 823)
• 877 – Charles the Bald (b. 823)
• 1014 – Samuil of Bulgaria (b. 958)
• 1101 – Bruno of Cologne, German founder of the Carthusian order
• 1413 – Dawit I of Ethiopia (b. 1382)
• 1542 – Thomas Wyatt, English poet (b. 1503)
• 1641 – Matthijs Quast, Dutch explorer
• 1644 – Elisabeth of Bourbon, consort of Philip IV of Spain (b. 1602)
• 1660 – Paul Scarron, French writer
• 1661 – Guru Har Rai, seventh Sikh Guru (b. 1630)
• 1688 – Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle, English statesman (b. 1652)
• 1739 – Françoise Charlotte d'Aubigné, niece of Madame de Maintenon and ancestress of the Heir to the Belgian throne (b. 1684)
• 1762 – Francesco Manfredini, Italian composer (b. 1684)
• 1819 – Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia (b. 1751)
• 1829 – Pierre Derbigny, Governor of Louisiana (b. 1769)
• 1873 – Sir Paul Edmund de Strzelecki, Polish explorer and geologist (b. 1797)
• 1883 – Emperor Duc Duc (pronounced "dzup-duc"), the fifth emperor of the Vietnamese Nguyễn Dynasty (b. 1852)
• 1891 – Charles Stewart Parnell, Irish politician (b. 1846)
• 1892 – Alfred Lord Tennyson, British poet (b. 1809)
• 1912 – Auguste Marie François Beernaert, Belgian statesman and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1829)
• 1945 – Leonardo Conti, Nazi physician (b. 1900)
• 1947 – Leevi Madetoja, Finnish composer (b. 1887)
• 1951 – Otto Fritz Meyerhof, German-born physician and biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1884)
• 1951 – Will Keith Kellogg, American food manufacturer (b. 1860)
• 1959 – Bernard Berenson, American art historian (b. 1865)
• 1962 – Tod Browning, American film director (b. 1880)
• 1968 – Phyllis Nicolson, British mathematician (b. 1917)
• 1973 – François Cevert, French race car driver (b. 1944)
• 1973 – Sidney Blackmer, American actor (b. 1895)
• 1973 – Dennis Price, English actor (b. 1915)
• 1974 – Helmuth Koinigg, Austrian Formula One driver (b. 1948)
• 1976 – Gilbert Ryle, British philosopher (b. 1900)
• 1977 – Danny Greene, Irish-American mobster from Cleveland (b. 1933)
• 1979 – Elizabeth Bishop, American poet (b. 1911)
• 1980 – Hattie Jacques, British comedy actress (b. 1922)
• 1980 – Jean Robic, French cyclist (b. 1921)
• 1981 – Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1918)
• 1983 – Terence Cooke, American cardinal archbishop (b. 1921)
• 1985 – Nelson Riddle, American bandleader (b. 1921)
• 1986 – Alexander Kronrod, Russian mathematician (b. 1921)
• 1989 – Bette Davis, American actress (b. 1908)
• 1991 – Igor Talkov, Russian musician (b. 1956)
• 1992 – Denholm Elliott, English actor (b. 1922)
• 1992 – Bill O'Reilly, Australian cricketer (b. 1902)
• 1993 – Larry Walters, American "lawn chair" pilot (b. 1949)
• 1995 – Benoît Chamoux, French climber (b. 1961)
• 1997 – Johnny Vander Meer, American baseball player (b. 1914)
• 1998 – Mark Belanger, American baseball player (b. 1944)
• 1999 – Amalia Rodrigues, Portuguese singer and actress (b. 1920)
• 1999 – Gorilla Monsoon, American professional wrestler/commentator (b. 1937)
• 2000 – Richard Farnsworth, American actor (b. 1920)
• 2001 – Arne Harris, American television sports director (b. 1934)
• 2002 – Claus van Amsberg, German born Prince Consort of the Netherlands (b. 1926)
• 2004 – Marvin Santiago. Puerto Rican salsa singer (b. 1947)
• 2006 – Bertha Brouwer, Dutch athlete (b. 1930)
• 2006 – Eduardo Mignogna, Argentinian film director (b. 1940)
• 2006 – Buck O'Neil, American baseball player (b. 1911)
• 2006 – Wilson Tucker, American writer (b. 1914)
• 2007 – Bud Ekins, American stuntman (b. 1930)
• 2007 – L. M. Singhvi, Indian jurist and writer (b. 1931)
• 2007 – Babasaheb Bhosale, Indian politician (d. 1921)
• 2008 – Kim Ji-hoo, South Korean actor and model (b. 1985)
• 2008 – Peter Cox, Australian politician (b. 1925)
• 2009 – Douglas Campbell, Scottish born Canadian actor (b. 1922)
• 2010 – Antonie Kamerling, Dutch actor and singer (b. 1966)
• 2010 – Colette Renard, French actress and singer (b. 1924)

Holidays and observances[link]

• Armed Forces Day (Montenegro)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher
  • Bruno of Cologne
  • Faith
  • Mary Frances of the Five Wounds of Jesus
  • Pardulphus
  • Sagar of Laodicea
  • October 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Day of Commemoration and National Mourning (Turkmenistan)
• Dukla Pass Victims Day (Slovakia)
• German-American Day (United States)
• Teacher's Day (Sri Lanka)
• Yom Kippur War commemoration, and its related observance:
  • Armed Forces Day (Egypt)
  • Tishreen Liberation Day (Syria)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: October 6

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

Motorcycle cop redirects here.

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German state police officer in Hamburg

A Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer in the force's distinctive dress uniform.

Mounted Tourist-Police officers in Petra, Jordan.

A group of Garda officers in the Republic of Ireland.

A motor officer patrolling in Arizona on a motorcycle.

A police officer (also known as a policeman or policewoman, and constable in some forces, particularly in the United Kingdom^[1][2] and other Commonwealth nations) is a warranted employee of a police force. In the United States, "officer" is the formal name of the lowest police rank; in many other countries "officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank, and the lowest rank is often "constable". Police officers are generally charged with the apprehension of criminals and the prevention and detection of crime, and the maintenance of public order. Police officers may be sworn to an oath, and have the power to arrest people and detain them for a limited time, along with other duties and powers.

Some police officers may also be trained in special duties, such as counter-terrorism, surveillance, child protection, VIP protection, and investigation techniques into major crime, including fraud, rape, murder and drug trafficking.

Duties and functions[link]

Responsibilities of a police officer are varied, and may differ greatly from within one political context to another. Typical duties relate to keeping the peace, law enforcement, protection of people and property, and the investigation of crimes. Officers are expected to respond to a variety of situations that may arise while they are on duty. Rules and guidelines dictate how an officer should behave within the community, and in many contexts restrictions are placed on what the uniformed officer wears. In some countries, rules and procedures dictate that a police officer is obliged to intervene in a criminal incident, even if they are off-duty. Police officers in nearly all countries retain their lawful powers, while off duty.^[3]

In the community[link]

In the majority of Western legal systems, the major role of the police is to maintain order, keeping the peace through surveillance of the public, and the subsequent reporting and apprehension of suspected violators of the law. They also function to discourage crimes through high-visibility policing, and most police forces have an investigative capability. Police have the legal authority to arrest, usually granted by magistrates. Police officers also respond to emergency calls, along with routine community policing.

Police are often used as an emergency service and may provide a public safety function at large gatherings, as well as in emergencies, disasters, search and rescue situations, and Road Traffic Collisions. To provide a prompt response in emergencies, the police often coordinate their operations with fire and emergency medical services. In some countries, individuals serve jointly as police officers as well as firefighters (creating the role of Fire Police) or paramedics. In many countries, there is a common emergency service number that allows the police, firefighters, or medical services to be summoned to an emergency. Some countries, such as the United Kingdom have outlined command procedures, for the use in major emergencies or disorder. The Gold Silver Bronze command structure is a system set up to improve communications between ground based officers and the control room, typically, Bronze Commander would be a senior officer on the ground, coordinating the efforts in the center of the emergency, Silver Commanders would be positioned in an 'Incident Control Room' erected to improve better communications at the scene, and a Gold Commander who would be in the Control Room.

Police are also responsible for reprimanding minor offenders by issuing citations which typically may result in the imposition of fines, particularly for violations of traffic law. Traffic enforcement is often and effectively accomplished by police officers on motorcycles—called motor officers, these officers refer to the motorcycles they ride on duty as simply motors. Police are also trained to assist persons in distress, such as motorists whose car has broken down and people experiencing a medical emergency. Police are typically trained in basic first aid such as CPR.

In addition, some park rangers are commissioned as law enforcement officers and carry out a law-enforcement role within national parks and other back-country wilderness and recreational areas, whereas Military police perform law enforcement functions within the military.

Entry and promotion qualifications[link]

In most countries, candidates for the police force must have completed some formal education.^{[citation needed]} Increasing numbers of people are joining the police force who possess tertiary education^{[citation needed]} and in response to this many police forces have developed a "fast-track" scheme whereby those with university degrees spend two to three years as a Constable before receiving promotion to higher ranks, such as Sergeants or Inspectors. (Officers who work within investigative divisions or plainclothes are not necessarily of a higher rank but merely have different duties.)^{[citation needed]} Police officers are also recruited from those with experience in the military or security services. In the United States state laws may codify state-wide qualification standards regarding age, education, criminal record, and training but in other places requirements are set by local police agencies. Each local Police agency has different requirements.

Officers of the Polizia Municipale from Piacenza, Italy

Promotion is not automatic and usually requires the candidate to pass some kind of examination, interview board or other selection procedure. Although promotion normally includes an increase in salary, it also brings with it an increase in responsibility and for most, an increase in administrative paperwork. There is no stigma attached to this, as experienced line patrol officers are highly regarded.

Dependent upon each agency, but generally after completing two years of service, officers may also apply for specialist positions, such as detective, police dog handler, mounted police officer, motorcycle officer, water police officer, or firearms officer (in countries where police are not routinely armed).

In some countries such as in Singapore, police ranks may also be supplemented through conscription, similar to national service in the military. Qualifications may thus be relaxed or enhanced depending on the target mix of conscripts. In Singapore, for example, conscripts face tougher physical requirements in areas such as eyesight, but are less stringent with minimum academic qualification requirements. Some police officers join as volunteers, who again may do so via differing qualification requirements.

Police pay[link]

This section requires expansion.

In some societies, police officers are paid relatively well compared to other occupations; their pay depends on what rank they are within their police force and how many years they've served.^[4]

Occupational hazards[link]

Line of duty deaths[link]

Memorial to a fallen police officer at the Texas Department of Public Safety Houston Webster Office in Houston^[5]

Line of duty deaths are deaths which occur while an officer is conducting his or her appointed duties. Despite the increased risk of being a victim of a homicide, automobile accidents are the most common cause of officer deaths. Officers are more likely to be involved in traffic accidents because of their large amount of time spent conducting vehicle patrols, or directing traffic, as well as their work outside their vehicles alongside or on the roadway, or in dangerous pursuits. Officers killed by suspects make up a smaller proportion of deaths. In the U.S. in 2005, 156 line of duty deaths were recorded of which 44% were from assaults on officers, 35% vehicle related (only 3% during vehicular pursuits) and the rest from other causes: heart attacks during arrests/foot pursuits, diseases contracted either from suspects' body fluids or, more rarely, from emergency blood transfusions received after being in motor vehicle accidents, shot or stabbed, accidental gun discharges, falls, and drownings.^[6]

Police officers who die in the line of duty, especially those who die from the actions of suspects or in accidents or heart attacks, are often given elaborate funerals, attended by large numbers of fellow officers. Their families may also be entitled to special pensions. Fallen officers are often remembered in public memorials, such as the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in the U.S., the National Police Memorial in the U.K. and the Scottish Police Memorial, at the Scottish Police College.

In the United Kingdom, in the 10 years from April 2000 there were 143 line of duty deaths: 54 in road accidents travelling to or from duty, 46 in road accidents on duty, 23 from natural causes on duty, 15 from criminal acts, and 5 in other accidents.^[7] (In the United Kingdom, police do not normally carry firearms.)

The Singapore Police Force registered just over 100 deaths in a century up to the year 2000. There have been 28 New Zealand police officers killed by criminal act since 1890.^[8] Despite perceived dangers, policing has never been listed above number ten as one of the most dangerous jobs in the U.S. In terms of deaths per capita, driver-sales work such as food delivery is a more dangerous profession than being a police officer^[9].

Work stress[link]

Indicators[link]

The actual presence of stress in police work is well documented and evidenced by certain statistics. Researchers typically use suicide, divorce and alcoholism rates as three key indexes of stress in a group of people.^[10] These factors paint a compelling picture of police officers demonstrating signs of significant stress, for example:

• A study in the United States, by National Surveillance of Police Suicide Study (NSOPS), showed 141 suicides in 2008 and 143 in 2009. This yields a suicide rate of 17/100,000, a figure that holds up under scrutiny and is consistent with CDC/NOMS data.^[11] The overall suicide rate in the United States was 11.3 suicide deaths per 100,000 people.^[12] There is some speculation or controversy that this official rate may understate the actual rate as it is often other police officers that report facts that lead to a cause of death determination, and death benefits, institutional image, and other factors may be incentives to misreport incident facts. It is speculated that some suicides are reported by fellow officers as accidents or as deaths in the line of duty perpetrated by unknown assailants. Also, many jurisdictions simply don't keep suicide statistics. Even though the information is incomplete, the available statistics suggest that police officers are more likely to commit suicide than the general population. However there is still controversy in the interpretation of these statistics. When comparisons are made within age, gender, and racial cohorts, the differences are much less dramatic.^[13][14] Although suicides may be notably more prevalent among police, it is not clear whether police suicides are the result of work stress or the consequence of other variables, such as the influence of a subculture of violence^[15]
• Police officers are much more likely to experience interpersonal relationship problems. Relationship problems are most dramatically demonstrated by the divorce rate among police officers, which is usually reported as being the second highest of all occupations. However in a 2009 study, the divorce rates of law enforcement personnel were compared with the rates for other occupations, where data was analyzed from the 2000 U.S. Census. The results of the analysis indicate that the divorce rate for law enforcement personnel is lower than that of the general population, even after controlling for demographic and other job-related variables.^[16] The propensity to domestic violence is also thought to be higher for police officers than the general population, though the statistics are very fuzzy and controversial. Police officers also seem to have relationship problems at work, typically with superiors or with political oversight, though the evidence is largely anecdotal and controversial.
• Alcoholism is considered another aberrant statistic for police officers. Although the statistics are fuzzy, clinically treated alcohol addiction rates are usually calculated to be about twice as high for police officers than for the general population in the United States. In contrast, statistics documenting alcohol abuse are less precise. Rates for arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol, or DUI or DWI, are somewhat higher for police officers than for other drivers, but the statistics are not widely trusted outside of the insurance industry since it is other police officers that make DUI arrests. Some departments and even some individual officers tend to hold police officers to a higher behavioral and ethical standard while others will recognize a 'blue line' behind which those within the 'brotherhood' are not held to the same standards as the rest of society. Despite the controversies in the interpretation of the statistics, it is generally considered evident that police officers are more susceptible to alcohol abuse than other occupations. The same conclusions are usually made regarding the police abuse of other substances, though the statistics are even less accurate, and even though the higher rates of substance abuse may be due in part to the more ready access to drugs and the more permissive atmosphere 'behind the blue line' rather than to occupational stresses.

Hans Selye, the foremost researcher in stress in the world, said that police work is "the most stressful occupation in America even surpassing the formidable stresses of air traffic control."^[10]

Other researchers, though, claim that police officers are more psychologically healthy than the general population. Police officers are increasingly more educated, more likely to engage in a regular program of exercise and to consume less alcohol and tobacco, and increasingly family-oriented. Healthy behavior patterns typically observed at entry training usually continue throughout the career of an officer. Even though the presence of occupation related stress seems to be well documented, it is highly controversial. Many within the law enforcement industry claim the propagation of incorrect suicide, divorce, and substance abuse statistics comes from people or organizations with political or social agendas, and that the presence of these beliefs within the industry makes it hard for health workers to help police officers in need of treatment to deal with the fear of negative consequences from police work which is necessary to enable police officers to develop a healthy expectancy of success in treatment.^[17]

Sources[link]

Even though the presence of occupational stresses appear to be well documented, though not without controversy, the causes of workplace stress are comparatively unclear or even a matter of conjecture.

Although individual policemen and institutional public relations typically cite the risks of being killed in the line of duty as the predominant source of stress for individual policemen, there is significant controversy regarding the causes of personal workplace stress due to the fact that the actual risk of being killed is so small relative to other occupations.

It is charged that the myth of the high risks of occupational mortality connected with police work is often propagated by the law enforcement community as part of its institutional advancement and a central element in its public relations. Actual homicides of police are comparatively rare, but the reports of such incidents are typically reported in the press along with quotes by police officials or police officer family members stressing the notion that police officers 'put their lives on the line for the public' or 'risk their lives everyday', making it look like individual policemen routinely place themselves in mortal danger for low pay and little recognition, and that the view of police work as 'combat' is the source of police occupational stress indications.

Another explanation often advanced is the idea that police officers will undergo some traumatic experience in their police work that they never recover from, leading to suicide, divorce, etc. However, since the effects of such traumatic stresses is readily recognized, there are usually proactive programs in place to help individual police officers deal with the psychological effects of a traumatic event. Unfortunately, there is some evidence that such programs are actually ineffective, especially group therapies, may re-traumatize the participant, weaken coping mechanisms, and contribute to the development of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).^[18][19][20]

Observations where police officers and other emergency workers, such as firemen, experience the same traumatic event, it is more likely that the police officer will have difficulty dealing with the long term emotional effects of the traumatic event. On this observation, some of the academic literature suggests that along these lines the causes of occupational stress is more complex for police officers. Stress in police work is often present in other occupations, but not in an ongoing capacity. One line of thinking is that the individual stresses of police work produce a condition of chronic stress. Police officers encounter stressors in call after call which sap their emotional strength. Debilitation from this daily stress accumulates making officers more vulnerable to traumatic incidents and normal pressures of life. The weakening process is often too slow to see; neither a person nor his friends are aware of the damage being done. The effects of chronic stresses is two-fold:

• First, prolonged stress causes people to regress. Their psychological growth reverses, and they become more immature. They rapidly become more childish and primitive, much like a person being sick for several days becoming more irritable and childish in its demands on other people.
• Second, chronic stress numbs people's sensitivity. They can't stand to continually see human misery. They must stop feeling or they won't survive. The mind has this defense mechanism so people can continue working in horrible situations. If they kept their normal sensitivity, they would fall apart. As they become insensitive to their own suffering, they become insensitive to the suffering of others. When treated with indignity, they lose not only a sense of their own dignity but also the dignity of others. The pain of others stops bothering them, and they are no longer bothered when they hurt others.

The daily work of a police officer involves certain paradoxes and conflicts which may be difficult to deal with, the predominant examples are^[10]

• Any interaction with a member of the public, whether socially or officially, such as in a traffic stop, involves a non-trivial risk of verbal abuse or physical harm. Treating a person with common respect or normal social graces requires the officer to be off guard and unprepared for an attack. Being on guard for an attack and treating every interpersonal situation with safety procedures and affirmative commands makes the police officer appear cynical, brutal, and detached, and limits his actual effectiveness with the public. Considering someone a friend or an enemy produces opposite mental states, an unnatural no-win situation engendering chronic stress.
• A police department is both a professional and military organization, and these two aspects oppose each other. As a professional, he is considered to be an expert in his field and is expected to use his expertise for the good of his public. He has much discretion in how he serves the people who call upon him. However, the dangers and complexities of the work require a military structure of the organization and a military leaning in the training. Although some are actually educated, all police officers are well trained. Policies, regulations, and procedures cover every facet of police work. Everything is expected to be done by the book with substantial repercussions, including civil and criminal liability, for varying from the expectations of operating procedures. Often the facts of a situation require a course of action that does not follow procedures. If he follows procedures exactly, he knows he won't fully help the public, and the public will think he is shirking his responsibility. If the officer follows his own judgment, he is taking a risk. The community and department expect officers to use judgment, but when they do, there is a danger they will be disciplined; another unnatural no-win situation engendering chronic stress.
• Police officers tend to become socially isolated. The reasons given for this isolation are varied and mostly anecdotal. One theory is that police work is not balanced. Most occupations involve a combination of good and bad results. In police work, almost everything is bad, and everybody you deal with is perceived either inherently bad or at least foolish. Another is that police officers develop a 'street wisdom' and by fiat possess a degree of authority that tends to make them perceive themselves as being morally superior to the rest of society. Whatever the reason, the public that the police deal with clearly perceive it and tend to reinforce the divide. Classically when a group of people are isolated, they become disoriented and confused. Their behavior changes drastically. Ironically an isolated class are usually the ones who are losing real world wisdom and tend to judge the world incorrectly from a very limited perspective, leading to interpersonal mistakes and more chronic stress.^{[citation needed]}

A more colloquial view looks at specific sources of stress in police work.^[21] The sources of stress most often actually cited are:

• The fear of killing someone in the line of duty.
• Having your partner or somebody else that you feel at least partly responsible for killed in the line of duty.
• Lack of support by the department or superiors.
• The scheduling of work and irregular work demands resulting in a disruption of family time or family events or rituals.
• The daily grind of dealing with the stupidity of the public, or the "asshole factor".

Other more academic studies have produced similar lists, but may include items that the more colloquial surveys do not reveal, such as 'exposure to neglected, battered, or dead children'^[22]

Again, the actual fear of occupational death or physical harm is not high on the list of stress sources.

There have been numerous academic studies on the specific sources of police stress, and most conclude organizational culture and workload as the key issues in officer stress.^[23] Traumatic events are usually concluded to not be of sufficient scope or prevalence to account for prevalence of suicide, divorce, and substance abuse abnormalities.

Personality theories[link]

Some of the more esoteric, least documented or cited, and more longstanding theories for police stress symptoms involves the interaction of the specifics of police work with the personalities of individual police officers. There has been a raging debate on the fringes of psychiatry as to whether there is something about police work that causes psychiatric symptomology and personality disorders or whether there are certain personalities susceptible to disorders that are attracted to police work. Theory holds that there are four general possibilities:

• There is something about police work, the social structure, the work atmosphere, etc., which causes stresses or presents traumas that cause personality or psychiatric disorders resulting in symptoms such as suicide, divorce, violence, substance abuse, etc. (the foundations of this possibility are outlined above)
• There is one or more personality types or people with certain tendencies or proclivities who are susceptible of developing personality or psychiatric disorders, regardless of their occupation, who because of their personality or preferences are attracted to police work, and then display symptoms of stress or disorders.
• There is a combination of the two.
• Or there is a combination and synergistic interaction of the two.

Some studies have tried to use personality traits to determine police applicant desirability,^[24]. These have generally looked at psychology's Big Five personality traits of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness and neuroticism. These studies have suggested that age, cynicism and institutional culture affect performance.

There are other personality traits that are specifically not desired for police work that are equally well documented. However, there has been relatively little academic work cited regarding the personality traits attracted to police work. The nature of personality traits of people attracted to police work tends to be a matter of conjecture and anecdotal observations. The personalities of people who are actually in police work tends to be different from that which is purported to be desired by police departments. Police officers tend to be isolated and suspicious, view expression of emotions as a weakness, and find it hard to trust and confide in others.^[25] For example, police officers are often viewed by the public to be domineering, narcissistic, authoritarian, physically oppressive, and basically the opposite of the personality traits most often cited as being desirable in a police officer. There are studies that suggest that people who take risks are attracted to police work.^[26] There is a corresponding theory that police officers actually tend to be people seeking security and stability and are attracted to the job for the steady government paycheck and government pension and adverse to the risks of business, sales, or other occupations. There is ample evidence that there is something in police work that alters personality.

The theory that there is an interaction between the personality attracted to the work and the work itself is mostly conjecture. For example, people attracted to police work are thought to crave the respect and authority that they expect with a badge, gun, uniform, and commission, but most of the people that police officers come in contact with do not respect them, and their authority is strongly regulated and limited by law, policies, and procedures, setting up a conflict resulting in chronic stress.

Abuse of power[link]

Police officers have considerable powers and are often supported by authorities who oversee them if accused of wrongdoing.^[27]

Systematic cases[link]

In dictatorial, corrupt, or weak states, police officers may carry out many criminal acts for the ruling regime with impunity. Examples are the Gestapo secret police in Nazi Germany, and the role of the police in the military dictatorship in Argentina in the 1970s.^[28] Institutional racism has been found in modern police forces.^[29]

Individual cases[link]

Individual officers, or sometimes whole units, can be corrupt or carry out various other forms of misconduct; this occasionally happens in many forces, but is particularly problematic where police pay is very low unless supplemented by bribes.^[30] Police sometimes act with unwarranted brutality when they overreact to confrontational situations,^[31] to extract a confession from a person they may or may not genuinely suspect of being guilty,^[32] or in other circumstances. Instances of racism occur, even when the police force as a whole is not found to be racist.^[33]