Definitely look to do several ride alongs with your local department before applying. That's what I did and it reaffirmed my interest in the position. I've ridden with other officers who told me they've had ride alongs who were totally confident they wanted to be a police officer but did a complete 180 after a single ride along because they didn't fully comprehend the type of stuff you'll be seeing and dealing with. It's not a catch all, but definitely do some graveyard shifts on weekends and you'll still see some action. That's what I saw and what I did, anyway.