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What is a law enforcement officer and how to become one
Law enforcement officers include police officers, customs officers, border patrol and immigration officers, arson investigators, sheriffs, and constables. Though there are different types of law enforcement officer positions, your ultimate responsibility is to protect the lives of civilians. As a law enforcement officer, you will conduct street patrols and attend to calls for help. You are expected to carry out your role of community protection even when you are off duty. Furthermore, it is your responsibility to not only fight crime but also to prevent crime in the community to ensure that it is safe for civilians.
Due to the high demands of this position, you can expect to work long and irregular hours. As a law enforcement officer, you need to be empathetic and have compassion for the people you serve. You need to be an excellent listener and pay attention to detail. Furthermore, you need to be vigilant and quick, and tactful to act. You also need to have strong conflict resolution skills and be able to bring peace in violent situations. To become a law enforcement officer, you may need to attend a training academy and couple this with tertiary education.
What general advice would you give to a law enforcement officer?
Dr. Durmus Alper CAMLIBEL Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh
Avg. Salary $39,219
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 3%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.03%
Asian 3.09%
Black or African American 13.31%
Hispanic or Latino 18.22%
Unknown 4.75%
White 59.60%
Genderfemale 19.73%
male 80.27%
Age - 39American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 39Stress level is very high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is advanced
7 - challenging
Work life balance is fair
6.4 - fair
Law enforcement officer career paths
Key steps to become a law enforcement officer
Explore law enforcement officer education requirements
Start to develop specific law enforcement officer skills
Skills Percentages Patrol 25.95% Public Safety 9.78% Emergency Situations 6.84% Criminal Justice 5.94% CPR 2.97% Complete relevant law enforcement officer training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New law enforcement 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 law enforcement officer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real law enforcement officer resumes.Research law enforcement officer duties and responsibilities
- Attend NCO leadership school and receive training on how to properly, and effectively manage personnel.
- Accomplish scheduled and random security checks of control and classify areas to ensure compliance with DOD resource protection guidelines.
- Develop and manage firearms training programs, including weapons selection and qualification standards.
- Operate QRV solo, backing up BLS ambulances.
Prepare your law enforcement officer resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your law enforcement 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 law enforcement 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 law enforcement officer resume templates
Build a professional law enforcement 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 law enforcement officer resume.
Apply for law enforcement officer jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a law enforcement officer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first law enforcement officer job
Are you a law enforcement officer?
Share your story for a free salary report.
Average law enforcement officer salary
The average law enforcement officer salary in the United States is $39,219 per year or $19 per hour. Law enforcement officer salaries range between $30,000 and $50,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do law enforcement officers rate their job?
Law enforcement officer reviews
The pay is not worth what you have to do sometimes
Meeting a lot of different people have helped people in this job
I enjoy the freedom I’m allowed.
How political the job has become. There isn’t a correct way to do your job. Almost everyone wants to get you fired. It’s annoying.
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.
One sometimes people will not like you but they need a help from you but to me a don't call it anything now because I know the status of the job even in a building I have work in that area as a security guard department with my license from United Arab Emirates.
Updated January 8, 2025
