Police sergeant resume examples from 2026
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How to write a police sergeant resume
Craft a resume summary statement
A resume summary is your opening statement that highlights your strongest skills and top accomplishments. It is your chance to quickly let recruiters know who you are professionally - and why they should hire you for the police sergeant role.
Step 1: Mention your current job title or the role you're pursuing.
Step 2: Include your years of experience in police sergeant-related roles. Consider adding relevant company and industry experience as relevant to the job listing.
Step 3: Highlight your greatest accomplishments. Here is your chance to make sure your biggest wins aren't buried in your resume.
Step 4: Again, keep it short. Your goal is to summarize your experience and highlight your accomplishments, not write a paragraph.
These four steps should give you a strong elevator pitch and land you some police sergeant interviews.Please upload your resume so Zippia’s job hunt AI can draft a summary statement for you.
List the right project manager skills
Many resumes are filtered out by hiring software before a human eye ever sees them. A robust Skills section can let recruiters (and bots) know you have the skills to do the job. Here is how to make the most of your skills section:
- Look at the job listing and skills listed. You need to include the exact keywords from the job description to get your resume in front of an actual human. Do you have those skills? Fantastic! Be sure to list them.
- Include as many relevant hard or technical police sergeant skills as possible for each job you apply to.
- Be specific with the skills you have and be sure you are using the most up to date and accurate terms.
Here are example skills to include in your “Area of Expertise” on a police sergeant resume:
- Patrol
- Public Safety
- Emergency Situations
- Law Enforcement Agencies
- Field Training
- CPR
- Crime Scenes
- Firearms
- State Laws
- Incident Reports
- Crime Prevention
- Traffic Control
- Community Relations
- Federal Laws
- Performance Evaluations
- Disciplinary Actions
- Emergency Calls
- Police Academy
- Critical Incidents
- Police Reports
- Citizen Complaints
- Police Services
- Incident Command
- Domestic Violence
- Security Operations
- In-Service Training
- Criminal Investigations
- Criminal Cases
- Police Operations
- Traffic Enforcement
Zippia’s AI can customize your resume for you.
How to structure your work experience
Your work experience should be structured:
- With your most recent roles first, followed by earlier roles in reverse chronological order.
- Job title, along with company name and location on the left.
- Put the corresponding dates of employment on the left side.
- Keep only relevant jobs on your work experience.
How to write police sergeant experience bullet points
Your resume is your chance to show your biggest accomplishments. Don't just list your job responsibilities, instead take the opportunity to show why you're really good at what you do. Here is how you do that:
- Start with strong action verbs like managed, spearheaded, created, etc. Your goal is to show what you did and verbs will help demonstrate your contributions.
- Use numbers to quantify your achievements. Did you save time with a new report? Increase revenue? How large was the team you managed?
- Keep it concise. You're highlighting your achievements. Consider if all details you are sharing are relevant, or can be written more efficiently.
Here are great bullet points from police sergeant resumes:
Work history example #1
Police Sergeant
Fountain Valley
- Completed the Wisconsin regulated Firearms Course in 2002.
- Received Army Commendation Medal presented in combat zone during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
- Trained in Anti-terrorism level 1 (according to DoD standards).
- Investigated theft related crimes including residential, commercial, auto-theft, vandalism, fraud/forgeries and identity theft.
- Certified in firearms, restraints, ASP expandable baton, defensive tactics and CPR/First Aid.
Work history example #2
Police Sergeant
Phoenix Police Department
- Investigated gang related shootings/assaults/homicides while assigned to the gang investigations unit.
- Supervised investigations, including homicide, robbery, sexual battery, violent crime, organized crime, narcotics trafficking, etc.
- Coordinated with city and county departments on polices and procedures.
- Provided in-depth investigative work on burglary cases and identified and minimized burglary in precinct.
Work history example #3
Police Officer
Los Angeles Police Department
- Streamlined outdated staffing procedures increasing efficiency; reduced costs by conducting inventories and prioritizing mission essential items.
- assigned to Homicide and Bunco Forgery.
- Executed field sobriety tests, traffic stops, warrant arrests, orders of protection, and subpoenas.
- Maintained Adult and Child CPR and AED certification, Exp.
- Performed CPR and first aid when responding to multiple medical emergencies, some involving major trauma, and death.
Work history example #4
Correctional Officer Lieutenant
Management and Training
- Assisted the building Lieutenants' as needed.
- Inspected officers' and sergeants' assigned zones and posts, holding staff up to the highest standards.
- Served as an armory officer by securing, accounting for disbursements, and maintaining all institutional firearms.
- Co-managed desk-top publishing office for facility.
Zippia’s AI can customize your resume for you.
Add an education section to your resume
Here is the best way to format your education section:
- Display your highest degree first.
- If you graduated over 5 years ago, put this section at the bottom of your resume. If you lack relevant work experience, the education section should go to the top.
- If you have a bachelor's or master's degree, do not list your high school education.
- If your graduation year is more than 15-20 years ago, it's better not to include dates in this section.
Here are some examples of good education entries from police sergeant resumes:
Some College Courses in law enforcement
Metropolitan State University, Saint Paul, MN
2004 - 2004
Highlight your police sergeant certifications on your resume
Certifications are a great way to showcase special expertise or niche skills. Some jobs even require certifications to be hired.
Start simple. Include the full name of the certification. It's also good to mention the organization that issued the certification. Next, specify when you obtained the certification.
Here are some of the best certifications to have on police sergeant resumes:
- Certified Security Supervision & Management (CSS)
- Board Certification in Criminal Trial Law
- Certified Criminal Investigator
- First Aid, CPR and AED Instructor
- Apple Certified Trainer (ACT)
- Communications Training Officer (CTO)