The safety of our Nation's cities, towns, and highways greatly depends on the work of police officers, detectives, and special agents, whose responsibilities range from controlling traffic to preventing and investigating crimes. In most jurisdictions, whether on or off duty, these officers are expected to exercise their authority whenever necessary.
As civilian police department employees and private security personnel increasingly assume routine police duties, police and detectives are able to spend more time fighting serious crime. Police and detectives are also becoming more involved in community relations increasing public confidence in the police and mobilizing the public to help the police fight crime.
Police officers and detectives who work in small communities and rural areas have many duties. In the course of a day's work, they may direct traffic at the scene of a fire, investigate a burglary, or give first aid to an accident victim. In a large police department, by contrast, officers usually are assigned to a specific type of duty. Most officers are detailed either to patrol or to traffic duty; smaller numbers are assigned to special work such as accident prevention. Others are experts in chemical and microscopic analysis, firearms identification, and handwriting and fingerprint identification. In very large cities, a few officers may work with special units such as mounted and motorcycle police, harbor patrols, helicopter patrols, canine corps, mobile rescue teams, and youth aid services.
Sheriffs and deputy sheriffs generally enforce the law in rural areas or those places where there is no local police department. Bailiffs are responsible for keeping order in the courtroom. U.S. marshals serve civil writs and criminal warrants issued by Federal judges and are responsible for the safety and transportation of jurors and prisoners.
Detectives and special agents are plainclothes investigators who gather facts and collect evidence for criminal cases. They conduct interviews, examine records, observe the activities of suspects, and participate in raids or arrests.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agents investigate violations of Federal laws in connection with bank robberies, theft of Government property, organized crime, espionage, sabotage, kidnapping, and terrorism. Agents with specialized training usually work on cases related to their background. For example, agents with an accounting background may investigate white-collar crimes such as bank embezzlements or fraudulent bankruptcies and land deals. Frequently, agents must testify in court about cases that they investigate.
Special agents employed by the U.S. Department of Treasury work for the U.S. Customs Service; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; the U.S. Secret Service; and the Internal Revenue Service. Customs agents enforce laws to prevent smuggling of goods across U.S. borders. Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents might investigate suspected illegal sales of guns or the underpayment of taxes by a liquor or cigarette manufacturer. U.S. Secret Service agents protect the President, Vice President, and their immediate families, Presidential candidates, ex-Presidents, and foreign dignitaries visiting the United States. Secret Service agents also investigate counterfeiting, the forgery of Government checks or bonds, and the fraudulent use of credit cards. Internal Revenue Service special agents collect evidence against individuals and companies that are evading the payment of Federal taxes.
Federal drug enforcement agents conduct criminal investigations of illicit drug activity. They compile evidence and arrest individuals who violate Federal drug laws. They may prepare reports that are used in criminal proceedings, give testimony in court, and develop evidence that justifies the seizure of financial assets gained from illegal activity.
State police officers (sometimes called State troopers or highway patrol officers) patrol highways and enforce laws and regulations that govern their use. They issue traffic citations to motorists who violate the law. At the scene of an accident, they direct traffic, give first aid, and call for emergency equipment including ambulances. They also write reports that may be used to determine the cause of the accident. In addition, State police officers provide services to motorists on the highways. For example, they may radio for road service for drivers with mechanical trouble, direct tourists to their destination, or give information about lodging, restaurants, and tourist attractions.
State police officers also provide traffic assistance and control during road repairs, fires, and other emergencies, as well as during special occurrences such as parades and sports events. They sometimes check the weight of commercial vehicles, conduct driver examinations, and give information on highway safety to the public.
In addition to highway responsibilities, State police in the majority of States also enforce criminal laws. In communities and counties that do not have a local police force or a large sheriff's department, the State police are the primary law enforcement agency, investigating crimes such as burglary or assault. They also may help city or county police catch lawbreakers and control civil disturbances.
Most new police recruits begin on patrol duty, riding in a police vehicle or walking on foot patrol. They work alone or with experienced officers in such varied areas as congested business districts or outlying residential neighborhoods. Officers attempt to become thoroughly familiar with conditions throughout their area and, while on patrol, remain alert for anything unusual. They note suspicious circumstances, such as open windows or lights in vacant buildings, as well as hazards to public safety such as burned-out street lights or fallen trees. Officers enforce traffic regulations and also watch for stolen vehicles. At regular intervals, officers report to police headquarters from call boxes, radios, or telephones.
Regardless of where they work, police, detectives, and special agents must write reports and maintain police records. They may be called to testify in court when their arrests result in legal action. Some officers, such as division or bureau chiefs, are responsible for training or certain kinds of criminal investigations, and those who command police operations in an assigned area have administrative and supervisory duties.
Responsibilities of police officers range from controlling traffic and preventing and investigating crimes.
Police, detectives, and special agents usually work 40 hours a week, but paid overtime work is common. Because police protection must be provided around the clock in all but the smallest communities, some officers work weekends, holidays, and nights. Police officers, detectives, and special agents are subject to call any time their services are needed and may work overtime, particularly during criminal investigations.
The jobs of some special agents such as U.S. Secret Service agents require extensive travel.
Police, detectives, and special agents may have to work outdoors for long periods in all kinds of weather. The injury rate among these law officers is higher than in many occupations and reflects the risks taken in pursuing speeding motorists, apprehending criminals, and dealing with public disorders. Police work can be very dangerous, and this can be very stressful for the officer as well as for his or her family.
Police, detectives, and special agents held about 700,000 jobs in 1992. Most were employed by local governments, primarily in cities with more than 25,000 inhabitants. Some cities have very large police forces, while hundreds of small communities employ fewer than 25 officers each. State police agencies employed about 12 percent of all police, detectives, and special agents; various Federal agencies, particularly the Treasury Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, employed an additional 5 percent. There are about 17,000 State and local police departments in the Nation.
Civil service regulations govern the appointment of police and detectives in practically all States and large cities and in many small ones. Candidates must be U.S. citizens, usually at least 20 years of age, and must meet rigorous physical and personal qualifications. Eligibility for appointment depends on performance in competitive written examinations as well as on education and experience. Physical examinations often include tests of vision, strength, and agility.
Because personal characteristics such as honesty, good judgment, and a sense of responsibility are especially important in police and detective work, candidates are interviewed by a senior officer at police headquarters, and their character traits and background are investigated. In some police departments, candidates also may be interviewed by a psychiatrist or a psychologist, or be given a personality test. Most applicants are subjected to lie detector examinations and drug testing. Some police departments subject police officers in sensitive positions to drug testing as a condition of continuing employment. Although police and detectives often work independently, they must perform their duties in accordance with laws and departmental rules. They should enjoy working with people and serving the public.
In large police departments, where most jobs are found, applicants usually must have a high school education. An increasing number of cities and States require some college training, and some hire law enforcement students as police interns; some departments require a college degree. A few police departments accept applicants as recruits who have less than a high school education, particularly if they have worked in a field related to law enforcement.
To be considered for appointment as an FBI special agent, an applicant either must be a graduate of an accredited law school; be a college graduate with a major in either accounting, engineering, or computer science; or be a college graduate with either fluency in a foreign language or 3 years of full-time work experience. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, between 23 and 35 years of age at the time of appointment, and willing to accept an assignment anywhere in the United States. They also must be in excellent physical condition with at least 20/200 vision corrected to 20/40 in one eye and 20/20 in the other eye. All new agents undergo 15 weeks of training at the FBI academy at the U.S. Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia.
Applicants for special agent jobs with the U.S. Department of Treasury must have a bachelor's degree, or a minimum of 3 years' work experience of which at least 2 are in criminal investigation. Candidates must be in excellent physical condition and be less than 35 years of age at the time they enter duty. Treasury agents undergo 8 weeks of training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Georgia, and another 8 weeks of specialized training with their particular bureau.
Applicants for special agent jobs with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration must have a college degree in any field and either 1 year of experience conducting criminal investigations or have achieved a record of scholastic excellence while in college. The minimum age for entry is 21 and the maximum age is 36. Drug enforcement agents undergo 14 weeks of specialized training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
More and more, police departments are encouraging applicants to take post-high school training in law enforcement. Many entrants to police and detective jobs have completed some formal postsecondary 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 police career include psychology, counseling, English, American history, public administration, public relations, sociology, business law, chemistry, and physics. Participation in physical education and sports is especially helpful in developing the stamina and agility needed for police work. Knowledge of a foreign language is an asset in areas that have concentrations of ethnic populations.
Some large cities hire high school graduates who are still in their teens as civilian police cadets or trainees. They do clerical work and attend classes and are appointed to the regular force at age 21 if qualified.
Before their first assignments, officers usually go through a period of training. In small communities, recruits work for a short time with experienced officers. In State and large city police departments, they get more formal training that may last a number of weeks or months. 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, use of firearms, self-defense, first aid, and handling emergencies.
Police officers usually become eligible for promotion after a probationary period ranging from 6 months to 3 years. In a 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, communications, or working with juveniles. 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 and on-the-job performance.
Many types of training help police officers and detectives improve their job performance. Through training given at police department academies required annually in many States and colleges, officers keep abreast of crowd-control techniques, civil defense, legal developments that affect their work, and advances in law enforcement equipment. Many police departments pay all or part of the tuition for officers to work toward associate and bachelor's degrees in law enforcement, police science, administration of justice, or public administration, and pay higher salaries to those who earn a degree.
Employment of police officers, detectives, and special agents is expected to increase more slowly than the average for all occupations through the year 2005. A more security-conscious society and growing concern about drug-related crimes should contribute to the increasing demand for police services. However, employment growth will be tempered somewhat by continuing budgetary constraints faced by law enforcement agencies. In addition, private security firms may increasingly assume some routine police duties such as crowd surveillance at airports and other public places. Although turnover in police, detective, and special agent jobs is among the lowest of all occupations, 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 opportunity for public service through police work is attractive to many. The job frequently is challenging and involves much responsibility. Furthermore, in many communities, police officers may retire with a pension to pursue a second career while still in their 40's. Because of attractive salaries and benefits, the number of qualified candidates generally exceeds the number of job openings in many Federal agencies and some State and local police departments resulting in increased hiring standards and selectivity by employers. Competition is expected to remain keen for higher paying jobs in larger police departments. Persons having college training in law enforcement should have the best opportunities. Opportunities will be best in those communities whose departments are expanding and are having difficulty attracting an adequate supply of police officers. Competition is expected to be extremely keen for special agent positions with the FBI, Treasury Department, and Drug Enforcement Administration as these prestigious jobs tend to attract a far greater number of applicants than the number of job openings. Consequently, only the most highly qualified candidates will obtain jobs.
The level of government spending influences the employment of 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 early retirements enable most staffing cuts to be handled through attrition. Police officers who lose their jobs from budget cuts usually have little difficulty finding jobs with other police departments.
In 1992, the median salary of nonsupervisory police officers and detectives was about $32,000 a year. The middle 50 percent earned between about $24,500 and $41,200; the lowest paid 10 percent were paid less than $18,400, while the highest paid 10 percent earned over $51,200 a year. Generally, salaries tend to be higher in larger, more urban jurisdictions that usually have bigger police departments.
Police officers and detectives in supervisory positions had a median salary of about $38,100 a year, also in 1992. The middle 50 percent earned between about $28,300 and $49,800; the lowest paid 10 percent were paid less than $23,200, while the highest paid 10 percent earned over $58,400 annually.
Sheriffs, bailiffs, and other law enforcement officers had a median annual salary of about $25,800 in 1992. The middle 50 percent earned between about $20,500 and $30,900; the lowest paid 10 percent were paid less than $15,600, while the highest paid 10 percent earned over $38,800.
In 1993, FBI agents started at about $30,600 a year, while Treasury Department agents started at about $18,300 or $22,700 a year, and DEA agents at either $22,700 or $27,800 a year, depending on their qualifications. Salaries of experienced FBI agents started at around $47,900, while supervisory agents started at around $56,600 a year. Salaries of experienced Treasury Department and DEA agents started at $40,200, while supervisory agents started at $47,900. Federal agents may, however, be eligible for a special law enforcement compensation and retirement plan; applicants should ask their recruiter for more information.
Total earnings frequently exceed the stated salary due to payments for overtime, which can be significant, especially during criminal investigations or when police are needed for crowd control during sporting events or political rallies. In addition to the common fringe benefits paid vacation, sick leave, and medical and life insurance most police departments and Federal agencies provide officers with special allowances for uniforms and furnish revolvers, nightsticks, 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.
Police officers maintain law and order in the Nation's cities, towns, and rural areas. Workers in related law enforcement occupations include guards, bailiffs, correction officers, deputy sheriffs, fire marshals, fish and game wardens, and U.S. marshals.
Return to Beginning of Page 
Return to Protective Services Page
Reprinted with Permission of U. S. Department of Labor