Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

Law, Public Safety, Corrections and SecurityO*NET 33-3051.00United States

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.

COMING SOON See related ASU learning

Median annual earnings: $76,157
Projected change: +5.8%
Typical education: High school diploma or less
Employment: 728.46K jobs

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Build the skills

ASU learning related to this career

These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.

The work

What police and sheriff's patrol officers do

Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.

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

Pay and outlook

What the job pays and where it is heading

Annual earnings range

Reported earnings by percentile, United States

10th percentile: $47,394
25th percentile: $59,182
50th percentile: $76,157
75th percentile: $97,772
90th percentile: $115,620

The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $76,157 and half earn less.

Employment outlook

2025 to 2035 projection

+5.8%average or slower

2025728,459 jobs

2035 projected770,818 jobs

42,359 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.

Preparation

Education levels

What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.

High school diploma or less: 40.4%
Certificate: 21.3%
Associate degree: 17.1%
Some college: 14.7%
Bachelor's degree: 6.6%

Skills

Skills employers ask for

Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.

Law Enforcement
Crime Prevention
Visual Acuity
First Aid
Patrolling
Audiometer
Traffic Control
Good Driving Record
Law Enforcement Practices
Physical Fitness
Evidence Preservation
Community Policing
Law Enforcement Operations
Court Proceedings
Emergency Response
Contraband Detection And Control
Motor Vehicle Operation
Public Relations
Office Equipment
Evidence Collection

How the work gets done

Core competencies

Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.

Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Persuasion: Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Negotiation: Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Time Management: Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Instructing: Teaching others how to do something.
Management of Personnel Resources: Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Learning Strategies: Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Operations Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
Systems Analysis: Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.

In the market

Job titles and employers

Recent job postings in United States

Common job titles

01Police Officers6,585 postings
02Police Services Officers2,211 postings
03Lateral Police Officers998 postings
04Marine Interdiction Agents916 postings
05Certified Police Officers844 postings
06Law Enforcement Officers646 postings
07Police Recruits629 postings
08Patrol Officers523 postings
09Campus Police Officers480 postings
10Police Cadets418 postings
11Federal Police Officers403 postings
12Public Safety Officers303 postings
13Police Academy Instructors280 postings
14University Police Officers265 postings
15Transportation Officers262 postings
16School Resource Officers255 postings
17Off Duty Officers230 postings
18Special Police Officers225 postings
19Security Police Officers202 postings
20Patrol Deputies167 postings

Top employers

01Association Of Former Agents Of The United States Secret Service2,535 postings
02United States Department of Homeland Security909 postings
03Allied Universal312 postings
04Marcom Group232 postings
05State of South Carolina160 postings
06Andy Frain Services148 postings
07United States Department of Defense145 postings
08United States Department of Veterans Affairs128 postings
09Amentum109 postings
10GEO Group91 postings
11Herc91 postings
12Keloland Television86 postings
13City & County of San Francisco83 postings
14State of California76 postings
15State of Mississippi72 postings
16Indiana University-Bloomington70 postings
17State of Florida68 postings
18GardaWorld58 postings
19Kettering Health58 postings
20Chenega Corporation54 postings

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