Police Officer
Police officers are sworn enforcers of the law. It is a profession devoted to catching criminals, investigating crime and preserving the peace. Police officers are government employees. They are paid from taxpayer funds, and they pledge to uphold the public good. Police officers are given special powers to arrest and detain suspects with good cause. They also have additional responsibilities to uphold the law and come to the aid of those in need.
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Significance
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Police officers serve a vital function in society. They preserve law and order so that everyone in a society can live in peace. Without police officers, criminals would prey on victims without fear of consequences. Societies with strong police forces tend to have lower crime rates, but this is not always the case. Sometimes strong police forces fight a losing battle in high crime areas due to lack of resources or corruption from within. Police officers patrol their jurisdictions looking for crime and criminals. They also carry out programs to prevent crime through education and deterrence. Police officers have the power to detain and arrest crime suspects. They investigate crimes and gather evidence for trial. They also testify at trial to tell what they know about the investigation.
Types
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There are many types of police officers. They range from officers who patrol the streets to detectives who investigate crimes to the sergeants and commanders who supervise them. There are also many kinds of specialty police officers. These can be federal agents combating terrorism and organized crime, border patrol officers preventing illegal immigration and drug trafficking, or security officers assigned to protecting public officials. Different types of police officers carry out their duties in different ways. For example, an FBI agent can spend all his time gathering intelligence through wiretaps and surveillance while a police officer assigned to a park can ride around on a horse all day looking for illegal camp fires. Regardless of their duties, all police officers have the responsibility of upholding the law and preserving the peace.
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Features
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To become a police officer, a candidate must have a clean criminal record, be in good physical condition and have at least a high school diploma. Some police departments require candidates to have some college education, military training or practical work experience before being selected for a police academy. At the academy, candidates go through training in law, public relations, self defense, and firearms. Police cadets who graduate from a police academy are commissioned as police officers. To become certain types of police officers, candidates must have higher training. Advancement to higher ranks within a police department requires years of experience, additional training and the passing of tests. Federal police officers are required to have college degrees.
Size
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that there were about 861,000 police officers in the United States in 2006. 79 percent of them are in local police departments while 21 percent belong to state and federal police agencies. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says annual pay for patrol officers ranges from about $27,000 to $73,000. Detective pay ranges from about $34,000 to $93,000 per year. Police supervisor pay ranges from about $41,000 to $105,000 per year.
Misconceptions
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It is commonly believed that being a police officer is extremely dangerous because of the risk of being shot. However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says the position of a police officer is not on the top ten list of the most dangerous jobs. Fatalities are far behind those of timber cutters, fishers, pilots, metal workers, and roofers. Risk for police officers come from other factors. They are at a far greater risk of being in a traffic accident because of the great amount of time they spend on the road. Police officers are also exposed to a lot deal of stress on the job. They are at greater risk of depression, alcoholism and suicide than the public at large.
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Comments
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good service
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straightforward
Dec 24, 2009
Hi..so glad and thankful for this article.My question is ..if any honest police officer is exicsting in jersey city as myself has some illegal harrasment from police department itself as well as soooooooo many so called greedy corrupt vollunteers.Who are a team with white collar organized criminals.Like judge's team and politicians and my criminal ex.husband and his dirty family who have destroyed my life and abondened my children.I am not getting any kind of help..on the contrary being blocked for not working anywhere.,My doubt is they have illegal arrest warrent against me and they have threatened me through radio, emails etc.As I have a solid guess that they have situated hidden cameras in my apartment.If some one can help me to get rid of all these problems.
