--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That is the great thing about policing…" description: "\"That is the great thing about policing, you do have a lot of responsibility very early and you have got to make decisions, sometimes life and death dec..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bc/cressida-dick-24607_death_that-is-the-great-thing-about-policing-y_1677932.jpg" --- # That is the great thing about policing, you do have a lot… ![“That is the great thing about policing, you do have a lot of responsibility very early and you have got to make decisions, sometimes life and death decisions, very quickly and there is something about putting a uniform on and thinking 'people are looking to me to make decisions and to look after…” quote by Cressida Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bc/cressida-dick-24607_death_that-is-the-great-thing-about-policing-y_1677932.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bc/cressida-dick-24607_death_that-is-the-great-thing-about-policing-y_1677932.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bc/cressida-dick-24607_death_that-is-the-great-thing-about-policing-y_1677932.jpg) > “That is the great thing about policing, you do have a lot of responsibility very early and you have got to make decisions, sometimes life and death decisions, very quickly and there is something about putting a uniform on and thinking 'people are looking to me to make decisions and to look after them' that makes you feel capable.” [Cressida Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-dick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Policing demands early, high‑stakes decision‑making that instills a sense of responsibility and capability. **In simple terms:** Police work requires quick, serious decisions. Key Takeaway Embrace responsibility to grow competence. Themes law enforcement leadership decision‑making Mood serious determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - emergency response - training drills - critical incidents - policy development Key Concepts ethical duty authority public trust Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance authority with humility? - What support systems aid swift decision‑making? A Different Perspective Rapid decisions can be fraught with moral ambiguity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life and death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-death/) [Look](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look/) [Policing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policing/) [Policing Lot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policing-lot-927250/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Responsibility Early](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility-early-927247/) [Thing Policing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-policing-927248/) [Uniform Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uniform-thinking-927249/) ## Related quotes > [I had to take on responsibility early in my life, was already in a kind of adult role as a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralf-rangnick/i-had-to-take-on-responsibility-early-in-my-life-was-already-in-a/) [Ralf Rangnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralf-rangnick/) > [I affiliated with Physicians for Social Responsibility early on, and actually, their major thrust wasn't nearly as much around community health centers, although that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/i-affiliated-with-physicians-for-social-responsibility-early-on-and/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [One practical point many experts will attest to is that if you want to develop someone as a leader, give them lots of responsibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kiechel/one-practical-point-many-experts-will-attest-to-is-that-if-you-want/) [Walter Kiechel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kiechel/) > [“All this responsibility at such an early age made her a bitchy flibbertigibbet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/all-this-responsibility-at-such-an-early-age-made-her-a-bitchy/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I want to see traditional policing with a modern flavour. I am completely committed to local, visible policing, but we have to modernise. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-dick/i-want-to-see-traditional-policing-with-a-modern-flavour-i-am/) [Cressida Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-dick/) > [The police should be focused on policing criminal activity, and that's sort of the beginning, the middle and the end of it for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-wheeler/the-police-should-be-focused-on-policing-criminal-activity-and-that-s/) [Ted Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-wheeler/) > [Invest more in policing, not less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-x-suarez/invest-more-in-policing-not-less/) [Francis X. Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-x-suarez/) > [We are not a country that subscribes to policing any part of the world. The areas we are comfortable with are capacity building, intelligence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-khurshid/we-are-not-a-country-that-subscribes-to-policing-any-part-of-the/) [Salman Khurshid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-khurshid/) > [Policing of the disabled and how many deaf people get shot by cops is sort of insane. And it's not talked about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyatt-cenac/policing-of-the-disabled-and-how-many-deaf-people-get-shot-by-cops-is/) [Wyatt Cenac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyatt-cenac/) > [I'm really looking for an agenda that looks at safety for our communities beyond policing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opal-tometi/i-m-really-looking-for-an-agenda-that-looks-at-safety-for-our/) [Opal Tometi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opal-tometi/) > [Without the U.K. contribution to policing and anti-terrorism, the whole of Europe would be less safe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/without-the-u-k-contribution-to-policing-and-anti-terrorism-the-whole/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [Regardless of the cultural system, social pressure to appear straight seems to be fairly intense cross-culturally. Indeed, one is inclined to wonder, if being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-dreger/regardless-of-the-cultural-system-social-pressure-to-appear-straight/) [Alice Dreger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-dreger/) > [Ferguson and St. Louis County are not the first places that we have become engaged to ensure fair and equitable policing, and they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-holder/ferguson-and-st-louis-county-are-not-the-first-places-that-we-have/) [Eric Holder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-holder/) > [As an early advocate for neighborhood policing, I've been heartened to see the tangible impact of police officers spending less time in their station…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-adams/as-an-early-advocate-for-neighborhood-policing-i-ve-been-heartened-to/) [Eric Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-adams/) > [“We fall into the fallacy of believing we can litigate the complicated story before us into a black-and-white binary of good guys and bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-lowery/we-fall-into-the-fallacy-of-believing-we-can-litigate-the-complicated/) [Wesley Lowery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-lowery/) ## More by Cressida Dick > [Being a firearms officer is incredibly highly scrutinised now, and I think it is one of the things that puts off quite a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-dick/being-a-firearms-officer-is-incredibly-highly-scrutinised-now-and-i/) [Cressida Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-dick/) > [I am all about teams. I think I have probably got a reasonably relaxed style as a senior leader, I am pretty demanding, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-dick/i-am-all-about-teams-i-think-i-have-probably-got-a-reasonably-relaxed/) [Cressida Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-dick/) > [One of the things we do not want is to become a complete fortress. This is not going to happen with military on every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-dick/one-of-the-things-we-do-not-want-is-to-become-a-complete-fortress/) [Cressida Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-dick/) > [One of the things that I feel very blessed about is that I was given a fair amount of confidence as a young person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-dick/one-of-the-things-that-i-feel-very-blessed-about-is-that-i-was-given/) [Cressida Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-dick/) > [There's definitely something about the impact of social media in terms of people being able to go from slightly angry with each other to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-dick/there-s-definitely-something-about-the-impact-of-social-media-in/) [Cressida Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-dick/) > [Women take much the biggest proportion of work in terms of home and childcare. Societally we need a culture change. It's still the case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-dick/women-take-much-the-biggest-proportion-of-work-in-terms-of-home-and/) [Cressida Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-dick/) > [When I joined there was probably one woman in the CID office and one in the crime squad and just two of us on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-dick/when-i-joined-there-was-probably-one-woman-in-the-cid-office-and-one/) [Cressida Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-dick/) > [It is not in my mind's eye that all officers will be carrying a Taser but we should have people able to deploy it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-dick/it-is-not-in-my-mind-s-eye-that-all-officers-will-be-carrying-a-taser/) [Cressida Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-dick/) > [I would like to see even more women coming in to all roles, particularly into the specialisms like firearms and public order, I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-dick/i-would-like-to-see-even-more-women-coming-in-to-all-roles/) [Cressida Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-dick/) > [Some male colleagues, just as in accountancy, had doubts about whether women could perform some roles. There was a sense that women needed more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-dick/some-male-colleagues-just-as-in-accountancy-had-doubts-about-whether/) [Cressida Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-dick/) > [I don't think the public want to see loads and loads of firearms officers everywhere, what they do want to know is that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-dick/i-don-t-think-the-public-want-to-see-loads-and-loads-of-firearms/) [Cressida Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-dick/) > [You have to intervene really, really strongly with people who are habitual knife-carriers, that includes stop and search definitely, you have to keep them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-dick/you-have-to-intervene-really-really-strongly-with-people-who-are/) [Cressida Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-dick/) > [I want to see traditional policing with a modern flavour. I am completely committed to local, visible policing, but we have to modernise. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-dick/i-want-to-see-traditional-policing-with-a-modern-flavour-i-am/) [Cressida Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-dick/) > [There is something about putting the uniform on. You've got a role to play, to be calm, to lead other people, to go forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-dick/there-is-something-about-putting-the-uniform-on-you-ve-got-a-role-to/) [Cressida Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-dick/) > [Looking back to when I joined, some areas of policing were barred for women. So you couldn't do full public order training, you couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-dick/looking-back-to-when-i-joined-some-areas-of-policing-were-barred-for/) [Cressida Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-dick/) [Explore all 24 Cressida Dick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-dick/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) [J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) [Alan W. 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You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That is the great thing about policing, you do have a lot of responsibility very early and you have got to make decisions, sometimes life and death decisions, very quickly and there is something about putting a uniform on and thinking 'people are looking to me to make decisions and to look after them' that makes you feel capable.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cressida Dick" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-dick/that-is-the-great-thing-about-policing-you-do-have-a-lot-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-dick/that-is-the-great-thing-about-policing-you-do-have-a-lot-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bc/cressida-dick-24607_death_that-is-the-great-thing-about-policing-y_1677932.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bc/cressida-dick-24607_death_that-is-the-great-thing-about-policing-y_1677932.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bc/cressida-dick-24607_death_that-is-the-great-thing-about-policing-y_1677932.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That is the great thing about policing, you do have a lot of responsibility very early and you have got to…” — Cressida Dick", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Cressida Dick", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cressida-dick/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That is the great thing about...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-dick/that-is-the-great-thing-about-policing-you-do-have-a-lot-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cressida-dick/that-is-the-great-thing-about-policing-you-do-have-a-lot-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```