Officer vs public safety officer

The differences between officers and public safety officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an officer has an average salary of $52,506, which is higher than the $36,596 average annual salary of a public safety officer.

The top three skills for an officer include patrol, customer service and public safety. The most important skills for a public safety officer are patrol, patients, and public safety.

Officer vs public safety officer overview

	Officer	Public Safety Officer
Yearly salary	$52,506	$36,596
Hourly rate	$25.24	$17.59
Growth rate	3%	3%
Number of jobs	114,267	122,048
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Average age	43	40
Years of experience	-	-

What does an officer do?

An officer is responsible for managing the daily operations of the assigned area, ensuring its peace and security by monitoring and reporting unusual and suspicious activities. Officers are the ones enforcing strict safety protocols and procedures to maintain the order within the premises. They also coordinate with law enforcement agencies in conducting appropriate investigations for any violating cases. An officer must be highly-knowledgeable of the law policies, as well as possessing excellent leadership skills to manage the members under the officer's patrol.

What does a public safety officer do?

Public relations assistants are professionals who are responsible for creating and distributing promotional materials to help clients increase their public image and awareness of their products and services. These assistants are required to help develop and distribute public relations materials such as brochures, pamphlets, newsletters, and sell sheets. They must handle all the communications of their clients to the public by supervising social media content, press releases, and emails. Public relations assistants must also gather materials to be used in trade shows or client presentations.

Officer vs public safety officer salary

Officers and public safety officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Officer	Public Safety Officer
Average salary	$52,506	$36,596
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $103,000	Between $29,000 And $46,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	New Britain, CT
Highest paying state	New York	North Dakota
Best paying company	Meta	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	-	Health Care

Differences between officer and public safety officer education

There are a few differences between an officer and a public safety officer in terms of educational background:

	Officer	Public Safety Officer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 38%
Most common major	Business	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	California State University - Bakersfield

Officer vs public safety officer demographics

Here are the differences between officers' and public safety officers' demographics:

	Officer	Public Safety Officer
Average age	43	40
Gender ratio	Male, 63.9% Female, 36.1%	Male, 76.7% Female, 23.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 15.2% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.6% White, 51.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.9%	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 3.4% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	6%	7%

Differences between officer and public safety officer duties and responsibilities

Officer example responsibilities.

Lead 50 2nd lieutenants, manage schedules, and ensure timely completion of missions.
Achieve highest ranking of Lt.
Manage social media (Facebook): upload pictures, post announcements/news, update information.
Manage base active duty populations' compliance with USAF instructions regarding proper balance of fitness level and body fat percentage.
Manage training for CBRN response operations including detection and decontamination equipment.
Manage environmental safety occupational health compliance program, full spectrum threat response and anti terrorism programs.

Public safety officer example responsibilities.

Manage litigation and bankruptcy matters.
Apply hand cuffs, restraints and calm combative irate people, handling emergency situations, report writing, CPR, a.
Patrol campus, answer calls: fire, police, ems.
Engage in assistance for medical staff in dangerous situations, patient restraints, heavy lifting, and area access.
Monitor campus radio and cameras, dispatch emergency calls, issue summonses and utilize the NYSPIN computer communication network.
Involve in patient restraints and aggressive patient/visitor confrontations.

Officer vs public safety officer skills

Common officer skills

Patrol, 19%
Customer Service, 18%
Public Safety, 10%
Emergency Situations, 6%
PowerPoint, 3%
CPR, 3%

Common public safety officer skills

Patrol, 18%
Patients, 17%
Public Safety, 12%
Customer Service, 7%
CPR, 5%
Emergency Situations, 5%

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Officer vs Public Safety Officer

Updated January 8, 2025

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