One of the most sought out careers within the criminal justice field is the Law Enforcement specialization. Several military occupations can arise from law enforcement and criminal justice training, both as a military servicemember and as a civilian.
There are different areas of specialty within this occupation, but the most common area of interest is the police officer.
There are generally two types of law enforcement officers; State and County. County officers, or deputies, patrol and enforce the law in a county. State officers, better known as police officers, arrest statewide and usually patrol the highways for motor vehicle laws and regulations.
Most commonly, police officers patrol the streets for motorist citations, reckless driving, and criminal activity. They respond to radio calls, show up to crime scenes, aid in emergencies, disturbances, and investigates complaints.
In order to maintain your role as a police or law enforcement officer, you must maintain an ongoing number of responsibilities and must be able to act under harmful and dangerous situations. Skills that one must acquire and maintain are:
- proficient knowledge of firearms and how to use them properly
- understand ordinances, policies, rules and regulations of the law
- ability to write up descriptive reports
- proficient skills in verbal communication and reasoning
Education and Training
Education requirements will usually range from a high school diploma to a college degree or higher. Most of a police officer’s training will be learning >i>on the job, but not before learning the basics at a training academy which typically lasts about -14 weeks.
Salary and Earnings
You can expect a police or law enforcement officers salary to start around $30k a year, and can range up to $79k depending on rank, years of experience, and training specialty. In addition to salaries, the federal government allots special benefits such as vacations, sick leave, medical and life insurance, and special retirement benefits.
Being a law enforcement officer is a very dangerous job, but it has it’s benefits and as an officer, you help keep the streets safe, put criminals behind bars, and gain the public’s trust. While dangerous, it can be a very rewarding career to have.
Additional specialties within the Criminal Justice field that you can look into as a career:
- Criminal Investigations
- Crime Scene Investigator
- FBI Special Agent
- Homeland Security
- Corrections Officer
- Forensics
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