Despite the fact that I’ve always loved reading crime novels and obsessed over television shows like “CHIPs” and “Law & Order,” I have never really considered a career in law enforcement.

My father is a retired New York City Police Officer, and at various points in my life has tried to urge me in that direction. While I’ve always had the utmost respect for men and women who choose to protect and serve, I’ve just never seen myself in uniform.

Until yesterday. When I found myself zooming down the road in a police vehicle, lights and sirens blaring, in hot pursuit of a pick up truck with a suspended registration. It was then that I realized perhaps I had missed my calling. What an adrenaline rush!

I do love my current job, don’t get me wrong. After all, it’s why I got the chance to ride shotgun with the Oxford Police Department in the first place. Yesterday was the second half of a two part ride-a-long with the department’s esteemed leader, Chief Rich Nolan.

The first half took place on Nov. 14, when I joined the chief in the wee hours of the morn to write a few parking tickets. To allow for snow removal and the like, the Village of Oxford has parking ordinances that go into effect from Nov.1 to April 30 prohibiting on-street parking between the hours of 3 and 6 a.m.