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What does a police lieutenant do?

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read

A Police Lieutenant plans, oversees, and coordinates the daily activities of a designated operational entity of the Police Department. They manage a specific division of the police department, such as crime prevention, operations, or administration.

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Police lieutenant responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real police lieutenant resumes:

  • Orchestrate the day to day demands, managing deficiencies/opportunities and prioritization of unit operations throughout specific target areas within NYC.
  • Direct members of firefighting crews in the care and maintenance of firefighting apparatus and equipment, assign and review their work.
  • Supervise assigned uniform personnel through coordination of roll calls, schedules and daily patrol assignments.
  • Supervise shift and departmental operations; monitor and evaluate subordinates work, review reports and direct patrol and investigative operations.
  • Orchestrate the day to day demands, managing deficiencies/opportunities and prioritization of unit operations throughout specific target areas within NYC.
  • Arrange quarterly Compstat, take complaint reports (CRs), handle special attentions and conduct roll call training.

Police lieutenant skills and personality traits

We calculated that 31% of Police Lieutenants are proficient in Patrol, Public Safety, and Law Enforcement Agencies.

We break down the percentage of Police Lieutenants that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patrol, 31%

    Supervised shift and departmental operations; monitored and evaluated subordinates work, reviewed reports and directed patrol and investigative operations.

  • Public Safety, 10%

    Instructed critical incident management classes at the Oregon Public Safety Training Academy.

  • Law Enforcement Agencies, 8%

    Maintain effective relationships with inter-divisional management, department employees, law enforcement agencies, and other public and private representatives.

  • Criminal Justice, 5%

    Conducted professional standards and internal affairs investigations, including testimony before the Florida Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission.

  • Direct Supervision, 5%

    Reviewed and evaluated reports, as well as evaluated the performance of those departmental employees under my direct supervision.

  • Emergency Situations, 5%

    Conducted high-speed vehicle chases in serious and emergency situations Responded to and investigated security and burglar alarms.

"patrol," "public safety," and "law enforcement agencies" are among the most common skills that police lieutenants use at work. You can find even more police lieutenant responsibilities below, including:

Most common police lieutenant skills

The three companies that hire the most police lieutenants are:

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Compare different police lieutenants

Police lieutenant vs. Co-captain

The annual salary of co-captains is $20,855 lower than the average salary of police lieutenants.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a police lieutenant are more likely to require skills like "patrol," "public safety," "law enforcement agencies," and "criminal justice." On the other hand, a job as a co-captain requires skills like "championship," "scholarship," "all-conference," and "soccer." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

On average, co-captains reach lower levels of education than police lieutenants. Co-captains are 10.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Police lieutenant vs. Commanding officer

A career as a commanding officer brings a lower average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a police lieutenant. In fact, commanding officers salary is $30,162 lower than the salary of police lieutenants per year.A few skills overlap for police lieutenants and commanding officers. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "law enforcement agencies," "emergency situations," and "training programs. "

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that police lieutenant responsibilities requires skills like "patrol," "public safety," "criminal justice," and "direct supervision." But a commanding officer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "logistical support," "combat," "direct oversight," and "coast guard."

In general, commanding officers achieve higher levels of education than police lieutenants. They're 5.5% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Police lieutenant vs. Sergeant and team leader

On average, sergeant and team leaders earn higher salaries than police lieutenants, with a $22,565 difference per year.Using the responsibilities included on police lieutenants and sergeant and team leaders resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "training programs," "incident reports," and "federal agencies.rdquo;

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a police lieutenant is likely to be skilled in "patrol," "public safety," "law enforcement agencies," and "criminal justice," while a typical sergeant and team leader is skilled in "combat," "non," "weapons systems," and "law enforcement."

When it comes to education, sergeant and team leaders tend to earn lower degree levels compared to police lieutenants. In fact, they're 9.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Police lieutenant vs. Sergeant first class

Sergeant first classes tend to earn a higher pay than police lieutenants by an average of $29,159 per year.According to resumes from police lieutenants and sergeant first classes, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "training programs," "performance evaluations," and "administrative functions. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A police lieutenant uses "patrol," "public safety," "law enforcement agencies," and "criminal justice." Sergeant first classes are more likely to have duties that require skills in "us army," "combat," "platoon," and "logistical support. "In general, sergeant first classes hold lower degree levels compared to police lieutenants. Sergeant first classes are 6.3% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 1.9% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of police lieutenant

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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