And, indeed, the task of serving the community can take many different forms.
In the case of two Los Angeles police officers, their duty on Thursday last week was to help a kid tie a tie before his first day of high school.
KNBC 4 in Los Angeles reported that a mother flagged down two LAPD officers in the Boyle Heights neighborhood.
"I saw the kid waving at me, and the mother asked if I could help with his tie," Officer Jonathan Maldonado told the TV station.
Maldonado said the mother, who was rushing her 14-year-old son to orientation at Bishop Mora Salesian High School, "was almost embarrassed and said she had been looking at YouTube videos to learn how to tie a tie."
Maldonado and his partner, Officer Alberto Ledesma, pulled over and helped the kid out. Maldonado called the exchange a "blessing," saying "we're here to help the community we serve ... sometimes people are just scared to ask."
Fellow officers were quick to applaud their colleagues for the act of good will:
A kind gesture goes a long way! Officers' Maldonado & Ledesma help this young man w/ his tie before going to school pic.twitter.com/LOUU4W9dfU
- LAPD Hollenbeck (@LAPDHollenbeck) August 17, 2015