Prison officer vs police officer

The differences between prison officers 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 $43,925 average annual salary of a prison officer.

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

Prison officer vs police officer overview

	Prison Officer	Police Officer
Yearly salary	$43,925	$52,638
Hourly rate	$21.12	$25.31
Growth rate	-10%	3%
Number of jobs	57,229	116,287
Job satisfaction	-	2
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age	40	40
Years of experience	-	-

Prison officer vs police officer salary

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

	Prison Officer	Police Officer
Average salary	$43,925	$52,638
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $58,000	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 officer and police officer education

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

	Prison Officer	Police Officer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 33%	Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Criminal Justice
Most common college	-	Pennsylvania State University

Prison officer vs police officer demographics

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

	Prison Officer	Police Officer
Average age	40	40
Gender ratio	Male, 82.1% Female, 17.9%	Male, 83.2% Female, 16.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 17.4% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 13.1% Asian, 2.3% White, 61.1% 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 officer and police officer duties and responsibilities

Prison officer example responsibilities.

Complete fire safety, CPR, self-defense and investigation/observation training, along with behavioral awareness/management training.
Serve as loader of special ammunition weapon; prepare ammunition while exercising safety precautions.

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 officer vs police officer skills

Common prison officer skills

Security Checks, 58%
Incident Reports, 42%

Common police officer skills

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