Officer Justin Kitts has worked as a police officer here in Mackinaw for 3 years, having worked part-time on the force before then and overall has been a Police Officer for 13 years. His friends in the department spoke highly of Chief Kemp and Officer Edwards, so he took the opportunity to join in and serve the community. When the position opened up, he took a job as our school resource officer here at the high school, which he had been qualified for due to extensive training with the force.
Law Enforcement is a career that takes a lot of training and knowledge. Once a person is hired at a department, that department will send the trainee to the Police Academy. Officer Kitts went for 12 weeks, 8-12 hours a day, 5 days a week. After completion of the academy, the trainee is an official officer and returns to the department to start getting to know the community and learning the basics of routine and expectations.
He decided to become a police officer because he wasn’t looking for the typical 9-5 desk job. He wanted something with a little more excitement which led him to Law Enforcement. In Law Enforcement there is no “typical day” like most jobs. Officer Kitts starts his day at the High School greeting students as they come in and visiting with staff. After students arrive he walks the halls and locks doors to ensure the safety of the student and staff. He then goes to the Junior High and does the same thing. While this is the general routine, he’s also on call and responds to any calls during the day. He usually does traffic control during parts of the day as well.
Officer Kitts was asked during his interview what his favorite part of his day was. He replied that he enjoyed interacting with students and staff and being at the High School. His favorite experience as a police officer isn’t really anything specific, but being there for people and helping them is really the best thing that comes with the job. His favorite “type” of call is always one that ends with a happy ending, which he mentions that if they are getting calls it usually means it’s someone’s bad day so a call that ends on a good note is always a great thing.
A few facts that aren’t work related about Officer Kitts is that he has two pugs that are twins and 11 years old, named Benny and Rollo. In his free time he likes to spend time at home, with his girlfriend, family and watching sports.
Officer Kitts is currently a School Resource Officer and Day Shift Patrol Officer. His goal for where he wants to end up one day is the Chief Position. He mentions that Chief Kemp will be retiring in roughly four years and that means the job position will open which holds hopes in him to then get the job, which would open up another way to aid the community.