Variety is the reason Scott Jones, 25, decided on a career in law enforcement. Geography is the reason he chose the Emporia Police Department.
Jones, who is from Reading, went to school here and the Emporia Police Department was a job close by.
“I also like the town,” Jones said.
Jones said he went into law enforcement because of the variety of activities he gets to participate in.
“There’s so much stuff to do, plus you get to help people,” Jones said. “It gets you out and about every day. You don’t sit in an office.”
To get ready for his job at the Emporia Police Department, Jones trained 14 weeks at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center in Hutchinson.
“Everybody has to do that,” he said.
Jones has some advice for people out there.
“Be truthful,” he said. “It’s much easier to be truthful. Even if you are going to get in trouble, just tell the truth.”
Jones said a lesson he’s learned is to get everybody’s complete information. This saves him from having to track down the person later — it’s a lot easier to get the information when a person is right there.
Paperwork is what Jones likes least about his job. He said 65 percent is the average time an officer is working on paperwork.
“When you see us sitting on the side of the road, most of us are doing paperwork,” he said. “You can run radar while you’re doing paperwork.”
Jones’ goals for the future include moving to a higher level. First state and eventually federal.
“If not, I want to just move up to detective or sergeant,” Jones said.