Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers
Maintain order and protect life and property by enforcing local, tribal, state, or federal laws and ordinances. Perform a combination of the following duties: patrol a specific area; direct traffic; issue traffic summonses; investigate accidents; apprehend and arrest suspects, or serve legal processes of courts. Includes police officers working at educational institutions.
Also known as: Accident Prevention Squad Police Officer, Alcohol Law Enforcement Agent (ALE Agent), Animal Cop, Border Guard, Border Patrol Agent, Border Patrol Officer, Campus Police Officer, Canine Deputy (K-9 Deputy), ...
Annual Salary
Median annual wage (May 2024)
Job Outlook
Projected growth, 2024–2034 (About average)
What You'd Do
- Identify, pursue, and arrest suspects and perpetrators of criminal acts.
- Provide for public safety by maintaining order, responding to emergencies, protecting people and property, enforcing motor vehicle and criminal laws, and promoting good community relations.
- Record facts to prepare reports that document incidents and activities.
- Render aid to accident survivors and other persons requiring first aid for physical injuries.
- Investigate illegal or suspicious activities.
- Review facts of incidents to determine if criminal act or statute violations were involved.
- Monitor, note, report, and investigate suspicious persons and situations, safety hazards, and unusual or illegal activity in patrol area.
- Testify in court to present evidence or act as witness in traffic and criminal cases.
- Drive vehicles or patrol specific areas to detect law violators, issue citations, and make arrests.
- Monitor traffic to ensure motorists observe traffic regulations and exhibit safe driving procedures.
- Relay complaint and emergency-request information to appropriate agency dispatchers.
- Verify that the proper legal charges have been made against law offenders.
- Photograph or draw diagrams of crime or accident scenes and interview principals and eyewitnesses.
- Evaluate complaint and emergency-request information to determine response requirements.
- Execute arrest warrants, locating and taking persons into custody.
- Patrol specific area on foot, horseback, or motorized conveyance, responding promptly to calls for assistance.
- Investigate traffic accidents and other accidents to determine causes and to determine if a crime has been committed.
- Direct traffic flow and reroute traffic in case of emergencies.
- Notify patrol units to take violators into custody or to provide needed assistance or medical aid.
- Serve statements of claims, subpoenas, summonses, jury summonses, orders to pay alimony, and other court orders.
Top Skills
Importance scale: 1 (low) – 5 (high)
Knowledge Areas
Importance scale: 1 (low) – 5 (high)
Education Level Distribution
Percentage of workers in this occupation by education level
Technology & Tools
Software and tools commonly used in this role
In-Demand Technologies
Other Tools
Work Styles
Personality traits and work styles important for this career
Key Abilities
Cognitive, physical, and sensory abilities important for this role
Importance scale: 1 (low) – 5 (high)
Work Activities
General types of job behaviors occurring on this job
Importance scale: 1 (low) – 5 (high)
Work Environment
Physical and social factors that influence the nature of work
Related Careers
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Salary data: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024. Outlook data: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–2034.
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.2 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license.