How To Become A Police Clerk: What It Is and Career Path

What is a police clerk and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a police clerk. For example, did you know that they make an average of $15.62 an hour? That's $32,488 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -5% and produce -130,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePolice ClerkUS Average

Salary

2.5

Avg. Salary $32,488

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.6

Growth rate -5%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.98%

Asian 6.47%

Black or African American 9.50%

Hispanic or Latino 17.89%

Unknown 4.46%

White 60.71%

Gender

female 90.32%

male 9.68%

Age - 50

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 - 50

Stress level

6.6

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.3

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.1

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a police clerk

Explore police clerk education requirements

Most common police clerk degrees

Bachelor's

46.4 %

Associate

23.6 %

High School Diploma

16.4 %

Start to develop specific police clerk skills

Skills	Percentages
Police Reports	13.15%
Customer Service	12.74%
Data Entry	11.14%
Law Enforcement Agencies	8.55%
Background Checks	7.78%

Complete relevant police clerk training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New police clerks 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 police clerk based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real police clerk resumes.

Research police clerk duties and responsibilities

Demonstrate strong math skills in managing inmate s accounts and calmly and effectively deescalating outbursts of belligerent inmates.
Process warrants, subpoenas, bail and restraining orders.
Maintain jail docket, review all traffic citations and arrest reports for accuracy, process warrants, affidavits, and subpoenas.
Maintain cleanliness of the company warehouse, operate warehouse machinery and organize the warehouse to ensure proper product placement.

Prepare your police clerk resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your police clerk 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 police clerk resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable police clerk resume templates

Build a professional police clerk 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 police clerk resume.

Apply for police clerk jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a police clerk 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 do police clerks rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Police clerk reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020

Pros

It is an inside job so you are always comfortable. Some of what you deal with is entertaining. I'm about to retire so it is a good way to wind down my working career. There is little to no stress.

Cons

It is very, very, boring and repetitive. I hate sitting for hours on end, sometimes with nothing to do if the officers are not doing anything. This is no chance or advancement.