INTJ Cops

[ghmn]

Just wondering if you think INTJs make good Police Officers / Detectives?

[Colette]

Just wondering if you think INTJs make good Police Officers / Detectives?

I think it would be a reasonably good fit (more for detective than bobby on the beat). However I doubt whether an INTJ would have the required attention to story, fact, and detail, that makes a top detective. In my mind the ideal detective type would be the ISTJ/P - they would be thorough, logical, meticulous in fact and detail, and tenacious in getting to an outcome.

[RoqueBear]

Personally, I don't think I could deal with all the mundane excuses, lies, and general misdirection that would spew from the mouths of the people I would deal with as a police officer. Being an investigator/detective I think could be a bit better, but even still I think that would be a very "S" intense area. You still have a lot of police responsibilities I would think.

As far as legal occupations go, I might go with a profiler. Seems like it would be more conceptual, but still bringing it to a reality.

[Santana28]

i'm currently in security pursuing a law enforcement career...

i actually went to a therapist to find out about myself a bit more, and career ambitions was a big part of that. he asked me to list everything that was important to me in a job - and basically, it was a complete job description of a police officer.

i, too, am drawn more towards the detective side than the patrol officer side. i'm thinking about getting my private investigator's license at some point...

but from my experience so far, it has been very rewarding.

[Uberfuhrer]

An INTJ detective: Detective Sommerset in Se7en.

Also Dutch Wagenbach in The Shield is an INTP.

And sometimes Sherlock Holmes is depicted as an INTJ, such as in the movie Young Sherlock Holmes. (But Arthur Conan Doyle's depiction is more in line with ISTP.)

[MintNut]

While it sounds like a good fit, I think detective/police work involves the detailed study of objects and situations too much. Forensic psychology or criminal profiling might be a better fit because it'd allow for mind exploration/analyzing a person and their motivations - something an INTJ might find more interesting.

[Santana28]

While it sounds like a good fit, I think detective/police work involves the detailed study of objects and situations too much. Forensic psychology or criminal profiling might be a better fit because it'd allow for mind exploration/analyzing a person and their motivations - something an INTJ might find more interesting.

you know, in general i'm more interested in psychology and motivation and getting inside of peoples' heads. but on a day to day basis, the people you meet really aren't all that interesting or multi-dimensional, sad enough to say.

its really fun outthinking someone in the process of committing a crime... and fortunately for me most shoplifters aren't exactly the sharpest tools in the shed... haha :)

[Wapiti]

I've thought about about a career in detective work. I think the best fit for me would be in cold case files where all of the normal solutions have already been exhausted.

[LordHawk]

I dispatched at a police department for several years while getting a BS in Criminal Justice. Ultimately I went to a security company because the PD wasn't giving me enough hours and thought that I would be a better fit for the private sector. I am not sure I could put enough time in at the bottom to get to detective which is where I would have to be. Sometimes my patience with the world is really short.

[the natural]

And sometimes Sherlock Holmes is depicted as an INTJ, such as in the movie Young Sherlock Holmes. (But Arthur Conan Doyle's depiction is more in line with ISTP.)

I've gotten into arguments over whether Sherlock Holmes is an INTJ or ISTJ. I can understand how he looks like a P, with his professorial knowledge in many different areas, however I think he is a J because he is only interested in accumulating knowledge that is useful. He admits as much when he likens his brain to an attic that only has a finite storage space, and so he has to clean it out (discard useless information) to save room for what is useful - this sounds like a J (dismissing ideas that are unlikely to be useful after using his intuitive and thinking process to evaluate the idea and determine it is not useful).

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

You should consider your brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skilled workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these he has a large assortment and all in the most perfect order. It is a mistake to think that that a little room has elastic walls and can distend to any extent. Depend upon it there comes a time when for every addition of knowledge you forgot something that you knew before. It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have useless facts elbowing out the useful ones.

On topic: I think a successful police detective could be either ISTJ or INTJ (non-detective police seem more appropriate for the INFP social worker type). I would imagine the INTJ detective becomes the most brilliant and accomplished detective of all, as they are able to delegate tasks to others and ultimately have the best problem solving abilities.

[Santana28]

I dispatched at a police department for several years while getting a BS in Criminal Justice. Ultimately I went to a security company because the PD wasn't giving me enough hours and thought that I would be a better fit for the private sector. I am not sure I could put enough time in at the bottom to get to detective which is where I would have to be. Sometimes my patience with the world is really short.

what did you think of the job, if you dont mind me asking? did it suit your abilities? how did your interactions with your coworkers play into it all?

i'm just wondering because as an INTJ, i'm not the most sociable person... i get along with coworkers, but i'm just not one to seek out conversations with others for the heck of it. also, as far as the demands of dispatching are concerned - i'm ultra-organized and can keep track of many things accurately and not lose my cool... the more stressful the situation, the better i respond... which is why i think i'd make an excellent dispatcher. feel free to PM if you have any suggestions... i'd love to hear what your experience was like.

[ghmn]

I dispatched at a police department for several years while getting a BS in Criminal Justice. Ultimately I went to a security company because the PD wasn't giving me enough hours and thought that I would be a better fit for the private sector. I am not sure I could put enough time in at the bottom to get to detective which is where I would have to be. Sometimes my patience with the world is really short.
I hear you there. That's one of my big concerns getting back into LE. I'm trying to get into Digital Evidence, mainly Computer Forensics, but that requires some probationary street time. I already have street time, just not at that particular department. So I guess my dilema is, do I want to put up with that BS again and work my way up, or take an alternate route.

[BadMojo]

I wouldn't be a good cop. I'll just end up shooting one of those idiots throwing rocks or molotov cocktails.

[Tsuru]

I think that being a run-of-the-mill cop is probably one of the worst possible jobs INTJs could have.

[Santana28]

I think that being a run-of-the-mill cop is probably one of the worst possible jobs INTJs could have.

yeah... its amazing. i could see myself in any variety of law enforcement positions, other than patrol cop. i would be a decent officer, however i dont think i could do that for the rest of my life. i would have to move on into something with more mental stimulation after a while..

[LordHawk]

It was in a small country town and for most of the town we only had one officer on a shift. Most of the time they were out and I had the place to myself since there was only the one dispatcher as well. The work wasn't bad when it was actually there. There was long periods of boredom and fighting to stay awake. When I left there, I joined a security company who had the contract for a automobile manufacturing plant and we were basically the police and fire for that plant. They put me in the dispatch where there was at least one other person (the supervisor) and sometimes a person at the front window to deal with the people coming in. We had about ten officers to deal with; dispatching calls, logging everything, emergency calls. As long as it was busy it's pretty good, depending on what they allow you. Some places allow television and books others don't.

[Santana28]

It was in a small country town and for most of the town we only had one officer on a shift. Most of the time they were out and I had the place to myself since there was only the one dispatcher as well. The work wasn't bad when it was actually there. There was long periods of boredom and fighting to stay awake. When I left there, I joined a security company who had the contract for a automobile manufacturing plant and we were basically the police and fire for that plant. They put me in the dispatch where there was at least one other person (the supervisor) and sometimes a person at the front window to deal with the people coming in. We had about ten officers to deal with; dispatching calls, logging everything, emergency calls. As long as it was busy it's pretty good, depending on what they allow you. Some places allow television and books others don't.

this is a good sized department... i think they have 5 or 6 on at a time. this is a tourist area with an amusement park and lots of crap destinations, so its pretty busy most of the day.

why did you leave? just too bored with it all?

[LordHawk]

I was only getting 3 days (24 hours) of work and the occasional extra shift when someone wanted off. It was getting to the point that when my father took a day off for my grandmothers funeral someone couldn't think out that I wouldn't want off and tried asking me to cover them. I really didn't like some of the people there.
So, needing a full time job, I applied at a security job and that day they basically hired me. Sent me to dispatch at the manufacturing plant. Seems as much as I dislike phones, I can't get away from the damn things.

[Santana28]

I was only getting 3 days (24 hours) of work and the occasional extra shift when someone wanted off. It was getting to the point that when my father took a day off for my grandmothers funeral someone couldn't think out that I wouldn't want off and tried asking me to cover them. I really didn't like some of the people there.
So, needing a full time job, I applied at a security job and that day they basically hired me. Sent me to dispatch at the manufacturing plant. Seems as much as I dislike phones, I can't get away from the damn things.

thats funny. some of my coworkers have had a similar experience as you.

i love the security field - theres so many options available to you, such a variety of work locations, and yes... they seem to hire anyone with a security license.... haha. as they say, there will always be stupid people so we will always have a job... ;)

[colmdubh]

I doubt it...I think all the paperwork would get boring as well as having to enforce rules you may not agree with...a profiler or psycologist would be a better fit

I have worked security before, not a bad job but you don't have much authority

[mashwoo]

I thought about a career in the police but have decided against it for the following reasons:

1. I found myself thinking of enforcement as a poor prescription for many of the problems in society (eg. drug enforcement), where other more beneficial approaches are often under resourced (eg. drug education, user support programs). I am not saying that enforcement is not important, just that it is not the final solution that politicians endorse before elections. I could see myself getting very frustrated with feelings of not actually making a difference and in some cases exacerbating social problems, for example our Queensland police are currently engaged in an 'intervention' in aboriginal communities which I see as potentially destructive to police-indigenous relationships.

2. Boredom. I know that the physical and mental challenge of training would have been great. However the years required as a cop on the beat to get anywhere where that you can make a difference would have driven me crazy.

3. Many other government jobs are more suitable to my political outlook. If I ever join the police it will be in a crime prevention role as a civilian when I finish my degree in sociology.

Good luck with your personal decision.

[E148]

From what I know INTJs would make better criminals than cops. Professor James Moriarty comes to mind. However, lawyers is a different matter.