Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officer Career

Job Description: 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.


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Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officer Career

What skills are required for Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers?

Importance Skills
  Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
  Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
  Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
  Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
  Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
  Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
  Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
  Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
  Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.

What knowledge is needed to be a Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officer?

Importance Knowledge
  Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
  Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
  Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
  Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
  Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
  Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
  Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
  Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
  Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
  Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

Work Styles

Importance Styles
  Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical.
  Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
  Self-Control - Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
  Stress Tolerance - Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.
  Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
  Leadership - Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
  Concern for Others - Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
  Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
  Initiative - Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.
  Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
  Adaptability/Flexibility - Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
  Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done.
  Achievement/Effort - Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
  Social Orientation - Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
  Analytical Thinking - Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
  Innovation - Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.