I have Asperger's and I want to go into law enforcement.

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when I was kid, always wanted to be a cop. now I'm in school and I know I want to do something in law enforcement. I'm thing I want to be a K9 unit because I like dog. good Idea?

Well, I'm a corrections officer, so I can hopefully give some advice. First, you have to be good with people. Every day you'll meet people, mostly in negative situations, and you'll often have to either persuade or order them to do something they do not want to do. It takes good people skills to do this.

Next, you have to be able to work under stress. You'll get your first taste of this in the academy, where the instructors will literally scream in your face if you do something wrong, or even if you didn't. They need to find out who can and can not deal with working under pressure, and that's a good first step in weeding people out.

Third, you have to have a thick skin. A significant chunk of people out there will hate you only for the uniform you put on, and will tell you to your face that you're a Nazi Pig High school dropout who became a cop because you're too dumb to do anything else but bully people around. And no, you don't get to tazer them.

If you're serious about pursuing it, now's the time, while you're young. If you do well on the entrance exam, are in good physical shape (get started now if you're not) and have a clean criminal record, you should have no problem.

One more thing: If you want a badge, you can NOT tell them about your Asperger's. It's not something they'd think to ask, but they WILL ask if you've ever seen a psychologist or psychiatrist for any reason. I hate to say this, but you're going to have to lie if you want this job. At least about that.

cops have to be really good with people, as do doctors, which i gradually failed at. i'm back working with people, but i've had over 50 years to figure out how to deal with my low social intelligence and some of the lessons cost me a lot. you might try talking to a canine cop (take him out for lunch) to see how he actually spends his day. if you're still interested after that, read everything you can get your hands on about communication, assertiveness, body language, etc. and start to practice with friends what you've read. the reason i couldn't be a cop is that, in a conversation, my answers come slowly. in that pause, i could get shot. i think you're picking a difficult road, but i never say never.

the typical neuropsychological tests (MMPI, for example) don't pick up asperger's. i took the MMPI twice (and hours of other tests). it came out once with low empathy, but that's the only clue it gave. never got diagnosed. figured out i had asperger's on researching it when my nephew was diagnosed a few months ago. made sense of my life.

with all that psychological testing, how do they let folks who will beat an unarmed homeless man to death onto the force?

thanks for all the help. I know I want to go into law enforcement and its not like something I know nothing about. I have volunteer at police stations for a few years before I got into college.

Your extactly like me, at home I pretend with my bb guns that I am bounty hunter or police. I always dreamed of becoming a bounty hunter, being in the army, or any carrer with guns and authority

Tomorrow marks my 20th anniversary as a police officer, meaning that I am now eligible to start collecting my pension anytime I choose. Retirement currently scheduled for June 20, 2012.

I have found that police work is actually very well-suited to my Aspie traits. For starters, there is a lot of solo time while on patrol in between calls. Also, the interactions with the public aren't social interactions and they typically follow a fairly easy script. Domestic dispute? Find out what happened by interviewing the parties involved, look for independent evidence of a crime, assess whether EMS response is needed, fill out necessary reports, arrest when appropriate. Traffic stop? This is the law you violated, do a DMV check, check for alcohol/drug impairment, write necessary ticket. All very simple and logical once you have it down. Plus you get all sorts of training in reading body language and interview techniques. I have also learned that I really have no fear so don't get excited in situations that most would find stressful. It's actually a great line of work for an Aspie.

But like others have said, I'd keep the Aspergers thing to yourself. No need to lie. Just don't volunteer the information. When I joined the force, Aspergers wasn't a diagnosis yet and I didn't realize I had any sort of disorder ... so it was easy for me. During the polygraph, they told me I was unusually honest, which is kind of funny and makes perfect sense in retrospect. I'm actually pondering getting an official diagnosis pre-retirement and informing my agency on my way out the door as a way of demonstrating that the job is perfectly within the capabilities of an Aspie.

Good luck!

I have thought about going into Law Enforcement, as it is somewhat of a family tradition. I would like to pose a question:

Should the approach to Law Enforcement be proactive or reactive?

I agree with Catamount. I have over 20 years in law enforcement and have been very sucessful.

What about some of the non-patrol positions available. Remote surveillance, forensics, record keeping. Being on the force goes beyond being a cop. Doesn't it?