
Police Officer
Career Highlights
- Police officers will always be needed
- Protect, serve, enforce
- Many duties and responsibilities of a police officer
- Former military personnel are attracted to this field

Career Summary
Police officers and other criminal justice professionals investigate crimes, collect evidence, act as negotiators during public disturbances, and provide public services toward the cause of preventing crime.
Police work in a variety of areas, such as:
- In cars patrolling neighborhoods
- On motorcycles on the highways
- On bicycles cruising tourist areas
- On horseback patrolling parks
There are several types of police officer. Patrol officers investigate city crime, write traffic tickets, or direct traffic. Game wardens use boats for lake, river and harbor patrol. Detectives and special agents work in specialized units such as organized crime, forensics or electronic crime.
Most police and detectives work a minimum of 40 hours a week, and report writing is a necessary daily occurrence. Because police work is a round-the-clock job, some police have to work nights and weekends.
Police Training
Police officer training requires you to be in an academy for 12 to 14 weeks, and post secondary education is sometimes required before being accepted into the academy.
Some college subjects that may be helpful in police work are:
- Law
- Security
- Electronic security
- Social services
- Criminology
- Psychology
- Sociology
Many people are attracted to police work because it is challenging, especially those with military experience. There will always be the need for police officers in the future, whether patrolling the street or the frontier of electronic crime.
More information is available...
See Additional Information links below
Salary
$40000*
Education
Requires a degree in:
-
Law
- Homeland Security
- Information Technology
- Social Services
- Criminology
- Psychology
Career Skills
- Attending and giving evidence in court
- Attending road related
- Completing administrative reports
- Conducting initial investigations
- Conducting patrol duties
- Delivering messages to families
- Developing and maintaining community relations
- Interviewing suspects, victims and witnesses
- Keeping the peace at public events
Additional Information
FIND CRIMINAL JUSTICE SCHOOLS NEAR YOU <<
How Computer Attacks are Changing Data Security Needs
Criminal Searches: Useful Information, or Unnecessary Worry?
Police Officer Job Description
Types of Law Enforcement Officer
New Crime Detection and Prevention Technology
Comments
There are no comments on this post.