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Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Maintain order and protect life and property by enforcing local, tribal, state, or federal laws and ordinances. Perform a combination of the following duties: patrol a specific area; direct traffic; issue traffic summonses; investigate accidents; apprehend and arrest suspects, or serve legal processes of courts. Includes police officers working at educational institutions.

Related: Bailiffs Detectives & Criminal Investigators First-Line Supervisors of Police & Detectives Private Detectives & Investigators Transit & Railroad Police

Industries: Government

Summary
Details

Execute arrest warrants, locating and taking persons into custody.
Question individuals entering secured areas to determine their business, directing and rerouting individuals as necessary.
Notify patrol units to take violators into custody or to provide needed assistance or medical aid.
Inform citizens of community services and recommend options to facilitate longer-term problem resolution.
Drive vehicles or patrol specific areas to detect law violators, issue citations, and make arrests.
Inform citizens of community services and recommend options to facilitate longer-term problem resolution.
Patrol and guard courthouses, grand jury rooms, or assigned areas to provide security, enforce laws, maintain order, and arrest violators.
Patrol and guard courthouses, grand jury rooms, or assigned areas to provide security, enforce laws, maintain order, and arrest violators.
Locate and confiscate real or personal property, as directed by court order.
Locate and confiscate real or personal property, as directed by court order.
Monitor traffic to ensure motorists observe traffic regulations and exhibit safe driving procedures.
Photograph or draw diagrams of crime or accident scenes and interview principals and eyewitnesses.
Identify, pursue, and arrest suspects and perpetrators of criminal acts.
Investigate illegal or suspicious activities.
Render aid to accident survivors and other persons requiring first aid for physical injuries.
Patrol specific area on foot, horseback, or motorized conveyance, responding promptly to calls for assistance.
Place people in protective custody.
Serve statements of claims, subpoenas, summonses, jury summonses, orders to pay alimony, and other court orders.
Evaluate complaint and emergency-request information to determine response requirements.
Relay complaint and emergency-request information to appropriate agency dispatchers.
Photograph or draw diagrams of crime or accident scenes and interview principals and eyewitnesses.
Testify in court to present evidence or act as witness in traffic and criminal cases.
Supervise law enforcement staff, such as jail staff, officers, and deputy sheriffs.
Provide for public safety by maintaining order, responding to emergencies, protecting people and property, enforcing motor vehicle and criminal laws, and promoting good community relations.
Monitor, note, report, and investigate suspicious persons and situations, safety hazards, and unusual or illegal activity in patrol area.
Review facts of incidents to determine if criminal act or statute violations were involved.
Provide road information to assist motorists.
Conduct community programs for all ages concerning topics such as drugs and violence.
Conduct community programs for all ages concerning topics such as drugs and violence.
Monitor, note, report, and investigate suspicious persons and situations, safety hazards, and unusual or illegal activity in patrol area.
Provide for public safety by maintaining order, responding to emergencies, protecting people and property, enforcing motor vehicle and criminal laws, and promoting good community relations.
Monitor, note, report, and investigate suspicious persons and situations, safety hazards, and unusual or illegal activity in patrol area.
Direct traffic flow and reroute traffic in case of emergencies.
Investigate traffic accidents and other accidents to determine causes and to determine if a crime has been committed.
Patrol specific area on foot, horseback, or motorized conveyance, responding promptly to calls for assistance.
Process prisoners, and prepare and maintain records of prisoner bookings and prisoner status during booking and pre-trial process.
Transport or escort prisoners and defendants en route to courtrooms, prisons or jails, attorneys' offices, or medical facilities.
Question individuals entering secured areas to determine their business, directing and rerouting individuals as necessary.
Verify that the proper legal charges have been made against law offenders.
Process prisoners, and prepare and maintain records of prisoner bookings and prisoner status during booking and pre-trial process.
Record facts to prepare reports that document incidents and activities.

Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

102640/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

49.34/hr

Currently Employed

11,100

Yearly Projected Openings

1020

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Self-Confidence
Adaptability
Perseverance
Stress Tolerance
Self-Control
Cautiousness

Acoustic ear muffs or defenders
Alcohol analyzers
All terrain vehicles tracked or wheeled
Binoculars
Biological evidence collection kits
Biometric identification equipment
Body armour
Bullet proof vests
Desktop computers
Digital camcorders or video cameras
Digital cameras
Diving instruments or accessories
Fingerprint equipment
Fingerprint latent print kits
Fire extinguishers
Flares
Flatbed trailers
Footprint lifters
Global positioning system GPS receiver
Goggles
Hand sprayers
Handcuffs
Handguns
Hazardous material protective apparel
Lasers
Masks or accessories
Measuring wheels for distance
Metal detectors
Military rifles
Mobile medical services automated external defibrillators AED or hard paddles
Mobile medical services first aid kits
Mobile resuscitator or aspirator kits
Narcotic test kits
Night sticks
Notebook computers
Personal computers
Personal motorized watercraft
Police or security shotguns
Police vehicles
Protective gloves
Radarbased surveillance systems
Rescue ships or boats
Riot batons
Riot helmets
Riot shields
Rulers
Safety glasses
Snowmobiles or snow scooter
Sound measuring apparatus or decibel meter
Speed stoppers
Still cameras
Surveillance video or audio recorders
Tape measures
Teletype input devices
Traffic signals
Two way radios
Ultraviolet UV lamps
Weapon or explosives detectors and supplies
X ray radiography examination equipment

Data base user interface and query software
Electronic mail software
Geographic information system
Graphics or photo imaging software
Helpdesk or call center software
Internet browser software
Map creation software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Presentation software
Process mapping and design software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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