When you work for Concord PD, every day is a new opportunity

CONCORD, CA (Sept. 16, 2021) — Make a difference while earning a living. These words are not an empty promise, but an invite to anyone who wants to rise to the challenge and serve their community.

The Concord Police Department is looking for people who are passionate about serving their community.

I am often asked why anyone would want to be a police officer in the current environment. Well, let me tell you why.

Locally, the residents overwhelmingly support their police department and go out of their way daily to let us know. I personally appreciate all of you who have stopped me in coffee shops and restaurants and told me that my staff, your officers, are doing an outstanding job.

You also let me know when we fall short in our response. Frankly, I appreciate hearing all of it. To me it means you are engaged with your police department and care enough to reach out and give me feedback – whether positive or negative.

If you opt for a career in law enforcement, I promise that no two days will be alike – ever. Each day brings different challenges, whether you are in patrol or in investigations. You will be asked to think critically, react to stimuli around you, and make split second decisions based upon your training and experience.

You will not work banker’s hours, with weekends off. You’ll have to work nights at some point. You will interact with the entire cross section of the population, which means you will interact with some people who don’t like what law enforcement represents and some people who are afraid of you because of the uniform you wear. But that’s OK; we serve everyone.

You will just as likely interact with people who come to you for help and solutions to problems that they cannot fix themselves. You are a mobile problem-solver.

For those of us in the business, the satisfaction comes from solving other people’s problems in an equitable and kind fashion. That might mean taking a traffic report where you console the person who just totaled their only car. It might mean getting county services to a family or individual that has no idea there are agencies that support various social needs.

Of course, it also means you might make an arrest of someone terrorizing a shopping center or neighborhood. It could also mean you solve a burglary or robbery and bring resolution to crime victims.

There is no greater feeling than being able to help someone find solutions to seemingly intractable problems, or to help people when they are quite possibly having the worst day of their lives and you are there to help bring calmness to the storm.

If you want to do the same job every day, don’t go into law enforcement. However, if you want to be challenged mentally, physically and emotionally while serving the Concord community, then give our recruitment sergeant, Ollie Sansen, a call at 925-671-5000 or email him at Ollie.Sansen@cityofconcord.org.

Contact Chief Bustillos at mark.bustillos@cityofconcord.org