Well, let's face it...the boys in blue do a hard, thankless job, and sometimes are quite heroic...but for what they pay local cops, you're not likely to be able to hire the sharpest knife in the drawer.
By and large, the job is not that hard. Most simply ride around in a car all day. They are probably the most "thanked" profession on the planet. They are basically above the law both on and off duty.