Feel free to skip over this if you’d like. I’m trying to work out my thoughts for what I should put down as my goals essay for my very first background investigation.

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I am pursuing a career as an officer because I believe in the laws that govern the order of our society. I believe in the criminal justice system. To protect citizens and serve a community, I wish to pursue justice without passing judgment.

I look forward to the chance to present testimony in court. Throughout all of high school, I was a lawyer on my school’s mock trial team. We competed with other local high schools in presenting fictitious cases before actual district and circuit court judges. For quite some time, I strongly considered pursuing a career in law, but I cannot see myself graduating from a 4-year program only to dive head first into years of further schooling. A bonus to a career in law enforcement would be the afforded opportunity to find myself back in a courtroom without a full law degree.

My education at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County is drawing to a close with an expected graduation date of May 2011. I am pursuing a major in sociology with an extended minor in professional writing. While neither of these fields seems to directly relate to a career in law enforcement, my background in sociology has provided me several opportunities the examine the structure of society, with a specific focus upon causes of crime and deviance. Further, my extended minor, coupled with my 2.5 years’ experience as a research assistant, has acclimated me greatly to the process of writing and filing reports of various types. I am no stranger to paperwork.

Inevitably, my goal with law enforcement is to be assigned to criminal investigations. I believe I have the potential to do good work as a detective. However, I fully recognize the need to pay my dues first as an officer, and I would greatly appreciate the chance to prove myself capable in such a capacity.

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Damn, that’s rough. I definitely need to go over this again and hammer out a few of my rougher ideas. But it’ll have to do for tonight. The more I look at this essay, the more I find myself repeating the same ideas over and over. I will start anew tomorrow.