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What is a community services officer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
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Community service officers or CSOs are civilian employees who provide support to civilians and help to prevent crime. Your job requires you to assist police efforts, especially in cases that do not require the presence of a police officer, such as traffic direction. Also, you are to aid in locating and arresting suspected persons and escorting them to and from stations or interview rooms. As a community service officer, you will be tasked with receiving and responding to requests and emergencies, investigating crime scenes, and providing safety and security at schools and special events. You are also to fill out reports of crimes and endorse law and order.

To get a job as a community service officer, you must be knowledgeable in organizational and negotiation practices. More so, you need to possess excellent communication skills and must be able to work independently. You also need just a high school diploma to get this job, but a bachelor's degree is preferred. The average annual salary is $42,765 or $21 per hour.

ScoreCommunity Services OfficerUS Average
Salary
3.0

Avg. Salary $38,039

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level
10.0

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity
5.5
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.98%

Asian 2.92%

Black or African American 9.37%

Hispanic or Latino 22.37%

Unknown 4.60%

White 59.76%

Gender

female 43.92%

male 56.08%

Age - 39
Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39
Stress level
10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level
8.8

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance
6.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Community services officer career paths

Key steps to become a community services officer

  1. Explore community services officer education requirements

    Most common community services officer degrees

    Bachelor's

    56.6 %

    Associate

    23.1 %

    High School Diploma

    10.7 %
  2. Start to develop specific community services officer skills

    SkillsPercentages
    Patrol18.45%
    Public Safety13.63%
    Traffic Control10.25%
    Parking Enforcement4.30%
    Criminal Justice3.68%
  3. Complete relevant community services officer training and internships

    Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New community services officers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a community services officer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real community services officer resumes.
  4. Research community services officer duties and responsibilities

    • Develop and manage firearms training programs, including weapons selection and qualification standards.
    • Monitor alarms & CCTV, patrol campus, secure buildings, dorms and offer safety escorts to students & faculty.
    • Apply first aid and CPR.
    • Monitor and control CCTV's.
  5. Prepare your community services officer resume

    When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your community services officer resume.

    You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a community services officer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

    Choose from 10+ customizable community services officer resume templates

    Build a professional community services officer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your community services officer resume.
    Community Services Officer Resume
    Community Services Officer Resume
    Community Services Officer Resume
    Community Services Officer Resume
    Community Services Officer Resume
    Community Services Officer Resume
    Community Services Officer Resume
    Community Services Officer Resume
    Community Services Officer Resume
  6. Apply for community services officer jobs

    Now it's time to start searching for a community services officer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

    1. Browse job boards for relevant postings
    2. Consult your professional network
    3. Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
    4. Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first community services officer job

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Average community services officer salary

The average community services officer salary in the United States is $38,039 per year or $18 per hour. Community services officer salaries range between $27,000 and $53,000 per year.

Average community services officer salary
$38,039 Yearly
$18.29 hourly

What am I worth?

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How do community services officers rate their job?

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Community services officer reviews

profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2022
Cons

The pay is not worth what you have to do sometimes


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020
Pros

Yes because is a job that deal with helping people that your help and there's a wonderful happiness while working properly and helping people at the sometime.


profile
A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020
Pros

Talking to the college students helping to stay in school and listening to them when they need to


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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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