Gibo, might I suggest you create a blog here:

https://www.blogger.com/start

It won't happen TRTL. There's no incentive. Threads have to be approved. GY, or his team are saying it's OK!?

It's becoming bizarre.

Nice one, Graham Young, for approving this blog.

Gibo this is no attack on your writing or experiences, but why do blogs belong on an opinion forum?

Perhaps I should start writing a blog on here as well and title it

"The Past Nine Lives of my Mischievous cat."

I think from the similarity in prose, Gibo and BOAZ are the same person! Seriously. Read the writing style of both!

Dear Gibo,

I think that you are really lucky to have left the force.

Although, I suspect that you're still paying the price for it in so many ways, today.

For any person to be exposed to the ugliness of our society, at such an early age, could not have been easy.

It explains your turning to religion for answers.

Take care.

Part 5:
After the city came the suburbs and more alcohol, though not as prevalent as the inner city penalty stations. On and on I drank.
What I had gotten trapped in, was now beginning to effect my home life.
Every other day I was getting on the alcohol and the quality of my work was deteriorating. I was losing heart.
In the end I just quit the job. Too much stress and too much addiction.
A wonderful dream lost.
The drop out rate for constables in those days was about 70% in the first 7 years.
I became one of the 70%.
I was bitter for many years afterwards because I saw it as a departmental problem. They allowed the alcohol culture and even supported it...and it had claimed me.
It wasnt until about five years later; and in another part of the country, broken and in despair and contemplating suicide, that I finally got set free by The Lord when I read a prayer of repentence in a christian book, confessed my sin and invited Jesus Christ into my life as my Lord and Saviour.
What a wonderful day that was.
All of the bitterness just vanished.
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord jesus Christ will be saved"...Romans 10:13...is such a true scripture. HE's there when you need Him.
So what advice could I give to anyone wanting to join the police...
1. be sure you want to do it,
2. find out as much about the force you want to apply to as you can, including the status of random breath testing...random breath testing is there to protect you, as well as to keep an eye on your behaviour.
Advice to girls...
Think twice about joining police forces or the armed services.
The vast flood of pornography has created a culture of sexual harassment in both emergency services and in the military and there seems no end to the misery that young women can get caught up in, just by being there.