Aftermath

In policing, especially reactive policing, you rarely get to see the end result of a job you've dealt with. Recently I did and it made me smile. I came across a man who I had come across a month ago when he was trying to end his life, I somehow managed to convince him not to and at that time I could see he was a broken man. When I saw him again now, he was at his job, sharing a joke with his colleagues and had a beaming glowing smile on his face - such a stark contrast from the broken man I had come across a month ago. He didn't notice me looking and I didn't walk up to him but from a distance, I felt like I had accomplished something big that day. His smile and laughter was living proof of that.

This is why we do policing - why we accept the abuse, the hurt, the pain and the stress, just for these small victories.