CIS 101 Research Report
David Kappman
Todd Leusink
Law Enforcement Science
4/16/2010
Have u ever wanted to be in Law Enforcement?
There are many types of Law Enforcement that one could get into. Many believe it just
means you’re a cop but a law enforcement degree can help you get a lot of job like DIA, ATF,
DCI, highway patrol. Law enforcement is a growing need and is in demand right now. It is also
very rewarding, giving back to your community and keeping the streets clean. As an officer on
the beat can be very exciting and a rewarding job, with a growing need for officers in the future
with good pay and benefits.
Responsibilities/ Skills
Many people just think of cops and being fat and lazy, but being a cop takes a lot of
physical abilities. Being in shape is very important as law enforcement is a high stress job; stress
is very hard on a body and takes a person in good physical and mental shape. Some skills that
will help you are strong report writing, good observation of things going on around you, good
awareness of your surroundings, and good communication skills. Part of the job is talking with
citizens that are looking to you for help. Some of the Responsibilities are serving and protecting
the public, patrolling city streets for traffic violation responding to citizen’s calls serve eviction
notices, protection orders and serve warrants.
Training
Being in law enforcement bring many opportunities to get job training on many different
areas of law enforcement.
Before their first assignments, officers usually go through a period of training. In
State and large local police departments, recruits get training in their agency's police
academy, often for 12 to 14 weeks. In small agencies, recruits often attend a regional
Todd Leusink
Page 2
or State academy. 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, and use of
firearms, self-defense, first aid, and emergency response. Police departments in 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, usually for 1 to 2 years, until they
reach the minimum age requirement and can be appointed to the regular force.
(Occupational outlook handbook 2010-2011)
Many agencies offer secondary courses that they offer to officers, they are
specialized in certain area of law enforcement. Like a D.R.E. is a Drug Recognition
Expert is an officer that was sent to school to be in expert on detecting if someone is
using drug like during a traffic stop, a D.R.E. can tell if someone is using drugs by
just having a quick conversation with them. Some other training is accident
investigation; although every officer goes though an accident investigation class but
this is an advanced class for complicated accidents such as air bourne and multiple
car crashes.
Salary
Law enforcement can be a very good paying job if you work for the federal government
but just being in the local or state law enforcement is still a reasonable wage.
Police and sheriff's patrol officers had median annual wages of $51,410 in May
2008. The middle 50 percent earned between $38,850 and $64,940. The lowest
10 percent earned less than $30,070, and the highest 10 percent earned more
than $79,680. Median annual wages were $46,620 in Federal Government,
$57,270 in State government, $51,020 in local government and $43,350 in
educational services. (Occupational outlook handbook 2010-2011)
Many police and sheriff department give the common benefits such as – paid vacation,
sick leave, medical and life insurance, and in some cases wash and clean uniforms. Many law
enforcement officers take early retirement at half pay.
REFERENCES
U.S. government “Occupational Information Included in the Handbook” . U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics , 17 Dec. 2009.
Google . Web. 20 Apr. 2010. <http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco2001.htm#earnings>.
police or sheriff patrol 46679 Salary by Job
first line supervisor 71161
criminal investigator 53724
FBI agent 87847 $90,000
correctional officer 36027 $80,000
police detective 68123 $70,000
probation officer 41842 $60,000
average wage =AVERAGE(B2:B8) $50,000
$40,000
$30,000
$20,000
$10,000
$0
police or sheriff first line supervisor criminal FBI agent correctional officer police detective probation officer
patrol investigator
Police and detevtives 883600 968400
first line superviors 97300 105200
criminal investigators 112200 130900
police officers 665700 723300
sheriff's patrol officers 661500 718800
totally employees =SUM(B22:B26) =SUM(C22:C26)
Projected National Employment
1,000,000
900,000
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0
1 2
Police and detevtives 883,600 968,400
first line superviors 97,300 105,200
criminal investigators 112,200 130,900
police officers 665,700 723,300
sheriff's patrol officers 661,500 718,800
police or sheriff patrol $46,679 Salary by Job
first line supervisor $71,161
criminal investigator $53,724 $90,000
FBI agent $87,847 $80,000
correctional officer $36,027 $70,000
$60,000
police detective $68,123 $50,000
probation officer $41,842 $40,000
average wage $57,915 $30,000
$20,000
$10,000
$0
Police and detevtives 883,600 968,400
first line superviors 97,300 105,200
criminal investigators 112,200 130,900
police officers 665,700 723,300
sheriff's patrol officers 661,500 718,800
totally employees 2,420,300 2,646,600
Projected National Employment
1,000,000
900,000
800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0
1 2
Police and detevtives 883,600 968,400
first line superviors 97,300 105,200
criminal investigators 112,200 130,900
police officers 665,700 723,300
sheriff's patrol officers 661,500 718,800
