Prison guard vs police officer

The differences between prison guards and police 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 $41,596 average annual salary of a prison guard.

The top three skills for a prison guard include security procedures, emergency situations and incident reports. The most important skills for a police officer are patrol, public safety, and law enforcement agencies.

Prison guard vs police officer overview

	Prison Guard	Police Officer
Yearly salary	$41,596	$52,638
Hourly rate	$20.00	$25.31
Growth rate	-10%	3%
Number of jobs	16,205	116,287
Job satisfaction	-	2
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Prison guard vs police officer salary

Prison guards and police officers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Prison Guard	Police Officer
Average salary	$41,596	$52,638
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $56,000	Between $38,000 And $71,000
Highest paying City	-	Anchorage, AK
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	Icma-rc
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between prison guard and police officer education

There are a few differences between a prison guard and a police officer in terms of educational background:

	Prison Guard	Police Officer
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	Pennsylvania State University

Prison guard vs police officer demographics

Here are the differences between prison guards' and police officers' demographics:

	Prison Guard	Police Officer
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 73.0% Female, 27.0%	Male, 83.2% Female, 16.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 15.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 2.0% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	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%
LGBT Percentage	6%	7%

Differences between prison guard and police officer duties and responsibilities

Prison guard example responsibilities.

Carry and operate various types of firearms as necessary and under authorization outside the facility.
Perform basic first aid procedures and cardiopulmonary resuscitation which involves kneeling and bending.

Police officer example responsibilities.

Apprehend violators and log evidence, complete require USAF and DoD forms, and accomplish report.
Train in CPR and first aid, radar speed enforcement, domestic violence intervention, pepper spray, and basic anti-terrorism.
Gather preliminary investigation information as a first responder to crime scenes.
Perform basic patrol functions including criminal and traffic law enforcement, incident reporting and community relations.
Complete numerous testimonies at criminal hearings and traffic violations, serve summons, subpoenas and other official documentation.
Patrol MARTA trains and bus lines.

Prison guard vs police officer skills

Common prison guard skills

Security Procedures, 28%
Emergency Situations, 18%
Incident Reports, 9%
Security Checks, 9%
Correctional Facility, 7%
CPR, 6%

Common police officer skills

Patrol, 27%
Public Safety, 6%
Law Enforcement Agencies, 5%
Emergency Situations, 5%
Field Training, 4%
CPR, 3%