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Sergeant vs police officer

The differences between sergeants 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 $48,557 average annual salary of a sergeant.

The top three skills for a sergeant include safety procedures, patrol and direct supervision. The most important skills for a police officer are patrol, public safety, and law enforcement agencies.

Sergeant vs police officer overview

SergeantPolice Officer
Yearly salary$48,557$52,638
Hourly rate$23.34$25.31
Growth rate-10%3%
Number of jobs79,335116,287
Job satisfaction-2
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 44%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Average age4640
Years of experience--

What does a sergeant do?

A Sergeant is responsible for supervising a group of five or more Soldiers. Sergeants must oversee their daily activities, ensuring they are in proper disposition and are living under the conditions that adhere to the laws and regulations and training them according to the standards of the military. Furthermore, it is a Sergeant's responsibility to serve the public and report to the higher-ups, instill discipline to oneself, and serve as a role model to lower-ranked soldiers.

What does a police officer do?

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.

Sergeant vs police officer salary

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

SergeantPolice Officer
Average salary$48,557$52,638
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $66,000Between $38,000 And $71,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYAnchorage, AK
Highest paying stateNew YorkAlaska
Best paying companyColumbia University in the City of New YorkIcma-rc
Best paying industryGovernmentGovernment

Differences between sergeant and police officer education

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

SergeantPolice Officer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 44%Bachelor's Degree, 49%
Most common majorCriminal JusticeCriminal Justice
Most common collegePennsylvania State UniversityPennsylvania State University

Sergeant vs police officer demographics

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

SergeantPolice Officer
Average age4640
Gender ratioMale, 85.0% Female, 15.0%Male, 83.2% Female, 16.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 1.8% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4%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 Percentage11%7%

Differences between sergeant and police officer duties and responsibilities

Sergeant example responsibilities.

  • Manage critical incidents including barricade gunmen, VIP visits, homicides, shootings and in-progress crimes.
  • Manage and submit all schedules for maximum security unit, and all non security staff assign to that unit.
  • Monitor and manage enlisted promotion boards and actions; publish promotion orders for soldiers being promote to SGT and SSG.
  • Assist in establishing overall S3 objectives and accomplishing assign missions.
  • Manage training for CBRN response operations including detection and decontamination equipment.
  • Implement USAF, DoD and MAJCOM security policies while balancing operational needs with security requirements for the protection of classify information.
  • Show more

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.
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Sergeant vs police officer skills

Common sergeant skills
  • Safety Procedures, 16%
  • Patrol, 14%
  • Direct Supervision, 9%
  • Emergency Situations, 7%
  • Combat, 6%
  • CPR, 5%
Common police officer skills
  • Patrol, 27%
  • Public Safety, 6%
  • Law Enforcement Agencies, 5%
  • Emergency Situations, 5%
  • Field Training, 4%
  • CPR, 3%

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