When working the night shift, the term “graveyard” comes to mind. Even though the term seems morbid, according to the battery of officers I spoke with, it wasn’t so bad.

In law enforcement, the night shift is usually between the hours of 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. This shift deals with a whole different sub-culture than that of the day shift. Not only is the clientele different, so are the crimes that they commit. Most crime escalates during the night, and when you add a full moon, it is even more of a circus. Medical personnel also agree that a full moon contributes to busier shifts.

Some people prefer the night shift, especially those with children. What other shift can one work where they see their children off to school, pick them up, be there for dinner, and leave around bedtime.

One of the negative aspects to working the night shift is the sleeping. You can line your windows with foil, turn the white noise on, wear an eye cover and turn off the telephone; but it takes some getting used to. One officer I spoke with said that he used to put a mattress in his closet so that it would be dark enough to sleep. Another said that he hung a blanket and made a tent around his bed every morning.

Officer Donald Schumacher has worked the night shift for five years. He says that the graveyard shift is the best shift to work as an officer. There is less traffic, tighter team camaraderie cooler nights, and a good balance of calls for service versus time to do other things like traffic stops.

Officer Schumacher says, “Graves has its own variety of crime. There are different types of crimes that occur on the night shift.” He then said that night shift is difficult on everything including weight loss, sleep deprivation, and hard on the significant other. He then added, “ I belong to a very exclusive group of people who get to end their day with the sun coming up, and I have always been very proud of that.”

Sergeant Chris Taylor worked the night shift for three years. When asked what helped him sleep during the day, Sergeant Taylor said that working out helped. “I’d work out really hard after my shift. I’d then drive home and fall into bed.” Sergeant Taylor added, “ As a police officer, there was a lot to do on graveyard. The hard thing about the night shift is never seeing the sun.”

Sergeant Patrick Kohles works the night shift in the east area. He says, “I think it (nightshift) is the best work in the department if you have to work patrol. The work is fun. I also think the teams are a lot closer with one another because we don’t have access to many of the other resources that are available on other watches. The officers and supervisors develop a stronger bond with one another, which often carries over into their personal lives.”

Sergeant Kohles said that he personally doesn’t have any issues with the sleeping itself, but says that sleeping during the day during the work week, then resuming “normal” sleep schedules on his days off, is hard on sleep patterns. He adds, “Overall police work is a wonderful and gratifying career. It allows you to help people who are sometimes less fortunate and might be down on their luck.”

The overall consensus with most officers I spoke with agreed that what you lose in sleep, you gain in job satisfaction.