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The differences between patrol officers and community services officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a community services officer has an average salary of $38,039, which is higher than the $35,621 average annual salary of a patrol officer.
The top three skills for a patrol officer include patrol, customer service and public safety. The most important skills for a community services officer are patrol, public safety, and traffic control.
| Patrol Officer | Community Services Officer | |
| Yearly salary | $35,621 | $38,039 |
| Hourly rate | $17.13 | $18.29 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 123,265 | 181,257 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
The job of patrol officers is to enforce ordinances, laws, prevent crime, control crowds, arrest violators, and regulate traffic. They also perform other duties that may include monitoring an assigned area for unauthorized or suspicious activity, responding to reports of emergencies and possible crime such as robberies, and building good relationships with community members. To be a successful patrol officer, you should have solid judgment, excellent communication skills, and decision-making skills in stressful situations.
Community service offers or CSO support in crime response, investigation, and prevention where police powers are not necessary. The community service officers assist the police officers in terms of upholding order and law in the community. They provide citizens with customer service, community outreach, and patrol. It is their job to implement city codes and other non-criminal police associated duties. They provide non-EMS in-home and on-site assistance to the citizens. Also, they respond to non-criminal complaints, building checks, and more.
Patrol officers and community services officers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Patrol Officer | Community Services Officer | |
| Average salary | $35,621 | $38,039 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $46,000 | Between $27,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | North Dakota | Washington |
| Best paying company | Mount St. Mary's University | City of Los Angeles |
| Best paying industry | Government | Education |
There are a few differences between a patrol officer and a community services officer in terms of educational background:
| Patrol Officer | Community Services Officer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Criminal Justice |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Here are the differences between patrol officers' and community services officers' demographics:
| Patrol Officer | Community Services Officer | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 82.9% Female, 17.1% | Male, 56.1% Female, 43.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.5% Asian, 3.5% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% | Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 22.4% Asian, 2.9% White, 59.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |