Municipal or City Police Officer Jobs
Officers working in municipal and city police officer jobs enforce the law within the municipality or city limits. New officers usually spend time with a training officer, often a sergeant, on the street patrolling their assigned area.After the required time spent on the job following hire, police officers are eligible for a promotion depending on personnel needs and budget. An exam for the promotion is usually administered by the department; factors such as overall job performance are extremely important when under consideration for promotion. Not all departments will have these sub-specialty police officer jobs, or they may be consolidated into just one or two divisions depending on the size and needs of the particular department.
Detectives use evidence, witnesses and other clues left at crimes scenes to solve crimes so the perpetrator can be identified and apprehended. They work with crime labs, ballistics experts and other specialists. Because they have to put many pieces of a crime ‘puzzle’ together, detectives must be focused, persistent and detail-oriented.
Polygraph operators administer polygraph (commonly if inaccurately referred to as ‘lie-detector’) tests for the department; they may also handle polygraph testing for several local departments.
Forensic crime scene specialists are very important police officer jobs. They collect physical evidence at a crime scene such as fingerprints, hair and fiber samples, check for drugs and toxicology, weapons and ammunition shells and other physical evidence that may help to solve a crime and work closely with the crime lab.
Computer and white collar crime specialists investigate criminal activities involving computers and related technology. This unit is often involved in so-called ‘white-collar crime’ involving computer technology, such as embezzling, tax evasion and sometimes online pornography. Computer crime specialists must be proficient with computers, the Internet, and related technologies. A background in accounting and finance is a very helpful preparation for this specialty.
Juvenile division is involved with crimes committed by youths as well as activities designed to prevent or intervene in criminal activity. These may include gang awareness and intervention, vandalism awareness and prevention and drug awareness education.
Sex crimes division police officer jobs investigate rapes, pornographic violations and prostitution and related sex crimes.
Neighborhood patrols may also involve area residents in their ‘beat’ neighborhood in organizing ‘community watch’ groups as well as work to develop trust and goodwill with residents in addition to their usual duties of enforcing laws and protecting the public.
Mounted (horseback) patrol units are usually found in larger cities. The officers and their horses are trained together, as with canine units, and work as partners in maintain order at events where there are large groups of people. These units are very effective for crowd control especially in the event of a disturbance or riot.
Canine (‘K-9’) unit police officer jobs use trained dogs to sniff out narcotics and other illegal drugs as well as possibly locate suspected bombs and explosive materials. They are also used to find and capture fugitive criminals who may be in hiding. The dogs train with their human partner and often live with him or her at their home. German shepherds are the most popular breed used as they’re smart, courageous and train easily.
Local and State Marshals
Some communities, especially in rural or less-populated areas, authorize a Town Marshal who oversees both criminal and civil law enforcement as well as performs more routine court duties. In other localities, marshals are solely court or civil officers especially in communities having both marshals and police.Marshals serve at the state, local or municipal court level as court bailiffs, serving process or even as full police officers. While some marshals may be sworn as peace officers their function is usually civil rather than criminal law enforcement.