Competition is expected to remain keen for the higher paying jobs with state and federal agencies and police departments in more affluent areas. Persons having college training in police science, military experience, or both should have the best opportunities. Opportunities will be best in those urban communities whose departments offer relatively low salaries and where the crime rate is relatively high. Such departments are having difficulty attracting an adequate supply of high quality police officer candidates.
Competition is extremely keen for special agent positions with the Justice and Treasury Departments and other federal law enforcement agencies. Positions with these prestigious agencies tend to attract a far greater number of applicants than the number of job openings. Consequently, only the most highly qualified candidates obtain jobs.
Employment of police officers, detectives, and special agents is expected to increase faster than average for all occupations through the coming years. A more security-conscious society and growing concern about drug-related crimes should contribute to the increasing demand for police services. At the local and state levels, growth is likely to continue as long as crime remains a serious concern. However, employment growth at the federal level will be tempered by continuing budgetary constraints faced by law enforcement agencies. Turnover in police, detective, and special agent positions is among the lowest of all occupations; nevertheless, the need to replace workers who retire, transfer to other occupations, or stop working for other reasons will be the source of most job openings.
The level of government spending determines the level of employment for police officers, detectives, and special agents. The number of job opportunities, therefore, can vary from year to year and from place to place. Layoffs, on the other hand, are rare because retirements enable most staffing cuts to be handled through attrition. Trained law enforcement officers who lose their jobs because of budget cuts usually have little difficulty finding jobs with other agencies.
Earnings
Total earnings for local, state, and special police detectives frequently exceed the stated salary due to payments for overtime, which can be significant. In addition to the common benefits- paid vacation, sick leave, and medical and life insurance-most police and sheriffs' departments provide officers with special allowances for uniforms and furnish weapons, handcuffs, and other required equipment. In addition, because police officers generally are covered by liberal pension plans, many retire at half-pay after 20 or 25 years of service.
Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement
Civil service regulations govern the appointment of police and detectives in practically all state and large city agencies and in many smaller ones. Candidates must be U.S. citizens, usual at least 20 years of age, and must meet rigorous physical and personal qualifications. Eligibility for appointment general depends on performance in competitive written examinations well as on education and experience. Physical examinations often include tests of vision, hearing, strength, and agility.
Because personal characteristics such as honesty, judgment, integrity, and a sense of responsibility are especially important law enforcement work, candidates are interviewed by senior officers, and their character traits and background are investigate In some agencies, candidates are interviewed by a psychiatrist, a psychologist, or given a personality test. Most applicants are subjected to lie detector examinations and drug testing. Son agencies subject sworn personnel to random drug testing as condition of continuing employment. Although police, detective and special agents work independently, they must perform the duties in accordance with the law and departmental rules. They should enjoy working with people and meeting the public.
In larger police departments, where the majority of law enforcement jobs are found, applicants usually must have at least a high school education. A small but growing proportion of local, special, and state departments require some college training. Some agencies hire police science or criminal justice students as police interns or cadets; some police departments and virtually all federal agencies require a college degree. A few police departments accept applicants as recruits who have less than a high school education, but the number is declining.
The federal agency with the largest number of special agent is the FBI. To be considered for appointment as an FBI special agent, an applicant must be a graduate of an accredited school; be a college graduate with a major in accounting; or be college graduate with either fluency in a foreign language or three years of full-time work experience. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, possess a valid driver's license, be between 23 and 37 year of age at the time of appointment, and be willing to accept an assignment anywhere in the United States.
Applicants for special agent jobs with the U.S. Department of Treasury's Secret Service and BATF must have a bachelor's degree, or a minimum of three years' work experience which demonstrates the ability to deal effectively with individuals or groups, collect and assemble pertinent facts, and prepare clear and concise reports.
More and more, police departments are encouraging applicants to take post-secondary school training in law enforcement. Many entry-level applicants to police jobs have completed some post-secondary education and a significant number are college graduates. Many junior colleges, colleges, and universities offer programs in law enforcement or administration of justice. Other courses helpful in preparing for a career in law enforcement include accounting, finance, electrical engineering or computer science, and foreign languages. Knowledge of a foreign language is an asset in many agencies.
Some large cities hire high school graduates who are still in their teens as police cadets or trainees. They do clerical work and attend classes, and can be appointed to the regular force at the conclusion of their training, usually in one to two years, upon reaching the minimum age requirement.
Before their first assignments, officers usually go through period of training. In small agencies, recruits often get on the job training with more experienced officers, rather than formal training. In state and large local departments, they get training at police academy for 12 to 14 weeks, as mandated by the state. This training includes classroom instruction in constitutional law and civil rights, state laws and local ordinances, and accident investigation. Recruits also receive training and supervised experience in patrol, traffic control, self-defense, use of firearms and handling emergencies.
Police officers usually become eligible for promotion after the probationary period ranging from six months to three years. In large department, promotion may enable an officer to become a detective or specialize in one type of police work such as laboratory analysis of evidence, traffic control, or communications. Promotions to sergeant, lieutenant, and captain usually are made according to a candidate's position on a promotion list, as determined by scores on a written examination, on-the-job performance, and are very competitive.
Continuing training helps police officers, detectives, and special agents improve their job performance. Through police department academies, regional centers for public safety employees established by the states, and federal agency training centers, instructors provide annual training in defensive tactics, firearms, use-of-force policies, sensitivity and communications skills, crowd-control techniques, legal developments that affect their work, and advances in law enforcement equipment. Many agencies pay all or part of the tuition for officers to work toward degrees in law enforcement, police science, administration of justice, or public administration, and pay higher salaries to those who earn such a degree.
