“Now, we just sit here until the end of the shift,” my very experienced partner told me as we both finished setting up our makeshift post. That instruction was easy enough to follow for a trained and armed cop like me. For the next few hours, that was what we did.
I started duty in a new area after receiving a transfer letter to a new district. Being in a new place and doing a new job meant learning new rules, adapting to a new system, observing new norms and making new friends. Most of all, I was looking forward to the new experiences the new posting had in store. I didn''t know anyone. All I knew was that I just had to report for duty, then pick it up as I went along.