Patrol commander vs detective sergeant

The differences between patrol commanders and detective sergeants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a patrol commander has an average salary of $84,074, which is higher than the $52,546 average annual salary of a detective sergeant.

The top three skills for a patrol commander include patrol, emergency situations and public safety. The most important skills for a detective sergeant are patrol, evidence collection, and law enforcement agencies.

Patrol commander vs detective sergeant overview

	Patrol Commander	Detective Sergeant
Yearly salary	$84,074	$52,546
Hourly rate	$40.42	$25.26
Growth rate	-	3%
Number of jobs	21,014	938
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	-	-

Patrol commander vs detective sergeant salary

Patrol commanders and detective sergeants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Patrol Commander	Detective Sergeant
Average salary	$84,074	$52,546
Salary range	Between $54,000 And $128,000	Between $40,000 And $67,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between patrol commander and detective sergeant education

There are a few differences between a patrol commander and a detective sergeant in terms of educational background:

	Patrol Commander	Detective Sergeant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 55%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	Pennsylvania State University	Pennsylvania State University

Patrol commander vs detective sergeant demographics

Here are the differences between patrol commanders' and detective sergeants' demographics:

	Patrol Commander	Detective Sergeant
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 96.7% Female, 3.3%	Male, 93.7% Female, 6.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 1.8% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%	Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian, 1.8% White, 67.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between patrol commander and detective sergeant duties and responsibilities

Patrol commander example responsibilities.

Manage overall daily operations of patrol division / communications.
Supervise the patrol division, including support personnel and code enforcement operations.
Receive and implement combat orders and direct deployment of personnel in offensive, defensive and retrograde operations.
Arrange quarterly Compstat, take complaint reports (CRs), handle special attentions and conduct roll call training.

Detective sergeant example responsibilities.

Receive multiple letters of commendation for effective investigations that lead to successful prosecutions.
Assist in writing standards for certification for the firearms unit.
Supervise detective squad, identify monthly investigation outcomes, create staffing schedules, perform stake-outs, monitor wire taps ,
Establish probable cause to obtain warrants, leading to arrests and the seizure of narcotics, firearms and other contraband.
Deliver subpoenas and other documents as requested by attorneys.
Supervise detectives attaining search warrants, subpoenas and financial/phone/computer records.

Patrol commander vs detective sergeant skills

Common patrol commander skills

Patrol, 48%
Emergency Situations, 10%
Public Safety, 7%
Security Operations, 5%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 5%
Citizen Complaints, 3%

Common detective sergeant skills

Patrol, 20%
Evidence Collection, 10%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 10%
Homicide, 6%
Burglary, 4%
Criminal Cases, 4%

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Patrol Commander
Patrol Commander vs Detective Sergeant

Updated January 8, 2025

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