What does a special police do?
Special police responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real special police resumes:
- Manage litigation and bankruptcy matters.
- Monitor and investigate suspicious persons and situations, safety hazards, and unusual or illegal activity in patrol area.
- Maintain annual qualifications and training standards for firearm and CPR certifications.
- Participate in annual CPR, firearm training, arrest, MEB and handcuff procedures.
- Evaluate and protect information, facilities and personnel through CCTV monitoring and remote camera surveillance.
- Check identification for all visitors entering the shelter, monitor CCTV equipment for suspicious activity.
- Observe and report any harmful or potentially dangerous situations within patrol area and report findings to the necessary authority/emergency response teams.
- Maintain a standard of punctuality and dependability of attendance and retain myself cleanliness, tidiness, neatness and appropriately attire.
Special police skills and personality traits
We calculated that 22% of Special Polices are proficient in Patrol, Public Safety, and Emergency Situations. They’re also known for soft skills such as Empathy, Leadership skills, and Physical strength.
We break down the percentage of Special Polices that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patrol, 22%
Observed and reported any harmful or potentially dangerous situations within patrol area and report findings to the necessary authority/emergency response teams.
- Public Safety, 14%
Prepared reports and presentations to present to the Director of Public Safety, which included security recommendations and initiatives.
- Emergency Situations, 9%
Provide aid for College employees and citizens in emergency situations and responds to emergency situations reported in assigned facilities district-wide.
- Incident Reports, 5%
Conducted criminal and civil investigations; collected and maintained evidence, wrote criminal and civil incident reports as required.
- CCTV, 5%
Evaluated and protected information, facilities and personnel through CCTV monitoring and remote camera surveillance.
- Property Damage, 4%
Reported property damage, theft, presence of unauthorized persons and unusual occurrences in formal reports for executive management.
Common skills that a special police uses to do their job include "patrol," "public safety," and "emergency situations." You can find details on the most important special police responsibilities below.
Empathy. One of the key soft skills for a special police to have is empathy. You can see how this relates to what special polices do because "police officers need to understand the perspectives of a variety of people in their jurisdiction and be willing to help the public." Additionally, a special police resume shows how special polices use empathy: "maintained understanding and maintenance of the six unique security systems on campus. "
Leadership skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling special police duties is leadership skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "police officers must be comfortable with being a highly visible member of their community, as the public looks to them for help in emergencies." According to a special police resume, here's how special polices can utilize leadership skills in their job responsibilities: "key accomplishments: prepared daily activity and incident reports to facilitate monitoring and decision making by senior leadership. "
Physical strength. This is an important skill for special polices to perform their duties. For an example of how special police responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "police officers must be strong enough to physically apprehend suspects and to assist people in precarious situations." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a special police: "provided physical security at a privately owned office building housing several federal agencies - conducted visitor screening using magnetometer and x-ray".
Communication skills. For certain special police responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "communication skills." The day-to-day duties of a special police rely on this skill, as "police and detectives must be able to speak with people and to express details in writing about an incident." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what special polices do: "conduct all emergency response through radio communications, emergency messaging, (paging system), all delegations throughout the plant. "
Good judgment. Another crucial skill for a special police to carry out their responsibilities is "good judgment." A big part of what special polices relies on this skill, since "police and detectives must be able to determine the best way to solve an array of problems." How this skill relates to special police duties can be seen in an example from a special police resume snippet: "file daily activity logs and incident reports.skills usedobservation, judgment of individuals behavior and communication, customer service. "
The three companies that hire the most special polices are:
- Children's National Medical Center3 special polices jobs
- Allied Universal
2 special polices jobs
- Preeminent Protective Services
2 special polices jobs
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Compare different special polices
Special police vs. Armed guard
The primary responsibility of an unarmed security guard is to monitor and protect properties against damage or criminal attack. They must be alert, patrol the premises, and respond to emergencies. They also monitor alarm systems and video surveillance cameras. In cases of security breaches, they are expected to bring in law enforcement agents.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a special police are more likely to require skills like "public safety," "motor vehicle," "law enforcement agencies," and "emergency calls." On the other hand, a job as an armed guard requires skills like "cash management," "national security," "law enforcement," and "atm." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Armed guards really shine in the non profits industry with an average salary of $40,152. Comparatively, special polices tend to make the most money in the transportation industry with an average salary of $42,265.On average, armed guards reach similar levels of education than special polices. Armed guards are 2.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Special police vs. Unarmed security guard
Public relations assistants are professionals who are responsible for creating and distributing promotional materials to help clients increase their public image and awareness of their products and services. These assistants are required to help develop and distribute public relations materials such as brochures, pamphlets, newsletters, and sell sheets. They must handle all the communications of their clients to the public by supervising social media content, press releases, and emails. Public relations assistants must also gather materials to be used in trade shows or client presentations.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, special police responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "public safety," "motor vehicle," "law enforcement agencies," and "emergency response." Meanwhile, an unarmed security guard has duties that require skills in areas such as "unarmed security," "english language," "law enforcement," and "unarmed guard." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, unarmed security guards earn a lower salary than special polices. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, unarmed security guards earn the most pay in the utilities industry with an average salary of $31,285. Whereas special polices have higher pay in the transportation industry, with an average salary of $42,265.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Unarmed security guards tend to reach similar levels of education than special polices. In fact, they're 2.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Special police vs. Public safety officer
The enforcement officer is someone who promotes and enforces policies, instructions, and obligations of tenants. An enforcement officer aims to resolve two parties' issues that may arise from orders given by the admin or management. Among the enforcement officers' tasks is to assist in evictions, render payments, and inform them of new ordinances and instructions for tenants to abide by. An enforcement officer may also be tasked to ensure that a judgment or resolution is enforced and observed.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from special police resumes include skills like "emergency calls," "x-ray machines," "criminal law," and "oc," whereas a public safety officer is more likely to list skills in "patients," "customer service," "criminal justice," and "restraints. "
Public safety officers make a very good living in the health care industry with an average annual salary of $38,645. On the other hand, special polices are paid the highest salary in the transportation industry, with average annual pay of $42,265.When it comes to education, public safety officers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to special polices. In fact, they're 0.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Special police vs. Enforcement officer
Types of special police
Updated January 8, 2025
