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The differences between police officers and community services officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a police officer has an average salary of $52,638, which is higher than the $38,039 average annual salary of a community services officer.
The top three skills for a police officer include patrol, public safety and law enforcement agencies. The most important skills for a community services officer are patrol, public safety, and traffic control.
| Police Officer | Community Services Officer | |
| Yearly salary | $52,638 | $38,039 |
| Hourly rate | $25.31 | $18.29 |
| Growth rate | 3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 116,287 | 181,257 |
| Job satisfaction | 2 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Police officers are responsible for keeping peace and security in a community. They uphold and enforce the law. They ensure that people in their assigned community follow the law. They also ensure that proper sanctions are given out to anyone who does not follow. Some police officers are assigned in the field, meaning they work outside of police stations. Those assigned to police stations are responsible for maintaining administrative matters as well, aside from maintaining peace and order. Police officers are expected to be trustworthy, to work with honor, and to keep their integrity intact.
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.
Police officers and community services officers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Police Officer | Community Services Officer | |
| Average salary | $52,638 | $38,039 |
| Salary range | Between $38,000 And $71,000 | Between $27,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | Anchorage, AK | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Washington |
| Best paying company | Icma-rc | City of Los Angeles |
| Best paying industry | Government | Education |
There are a few differences between a police officer and a community services officer in terms of educational background:
| Police Officer | Community Services Officer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 57% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Criminal Justice |
| Most common college | Pennsylvania State University | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Here are the differences between police officers' and community services officers' demographics:
| Police Officer | Community Services Officer | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 83.2% Female, 16.8% | Male, 56.1% Female, 43.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.9% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 3.3% White, 60.0% 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% |