Law enforcement careers entail public service/protection on a daily basis with often long hours.
These careers are highly tasking and require great communication skills and tolerance of unpleasant
situations / encounters. Officers are required to speak clearly to communicate with members of the
public and listen thoroughly as well. Officers need to be able to explain concepts/rules clearly to
individuals. Along with social skills officers require dexterous skills such as ability to manipulate
restraints, equipment, firearms, and even individuals whom are being detained. Officers must be
able to operate motor vehicles adeptly as most officers drive themselves and others daily, and on
occasion moving at high speeds may be necessary and as such vehicle operation safety & skills are
crucial. As an overarching theme Officers must be highly aware of their actions, the situations they
enter, personal decision making, and the manner in which they interact with the public must be the
utmost excellent.
"Police officers protect lives and property." (Bureau)
The above summary from WOIS career info may sound very technical, and it is, but Law Enforcement
These careers are highly tasking and require great communication skills and tolerance of unpleasant
situations / encounters. Officers are required to speak clearly to communicate with members of the
public and listen thoroughly as well. Officers need to be able to explain concepts/rules clearly to
individuals. Along with social skills officers require dexterous skills such as ability to manipulate
restraints, equipment, firearms, and even individuals whom are being detained. Officers must be
able to operate motor vehicles adeptly as most officers drive themselves and others daily, and on
occasion moving at high speeds may be necessary and as such vehicle operation safety & skills are
crucial. As an overarching theme Officers must be highly aware of their actions, the situations they
enter, personal decision making, and the manner in which they interact with the public must be the
utmost excellent.
"Police officers protect lives and property." (Bureau)
The above summary from WOIS career info may sound very technical, and it is, but Law Enforcement
careers are essentially exactly what you expect AND exactly what you don’t! Everyone thinks about
traffic stops, ticketing, arresting out-of-line individuals but what many don’t think of is paperwork,
A LOT of paperwork. Police officers make vast usage of their language arts skills. Paper trails are
essential to chain of command, arrests, tickets, and everything. From my past experience in my
job shadow with Officer Adrian Diaz & presentations from Police recruiter and Detective Carrie
Mcnally as well as my research for this post I can tell you that policing requires paperwork and fluency
in written communication.At any time an officer may be required to write anything from email
responses, tickets, reports, memos, you name it. This side of the job is lesser mentioned.
traffic stops, ticketing, arresting out-of-line individuals but what many don’t think of is paperwork,
A LOT of paperwork. Police officers make vast usage of their language arts skills. Paper trails are
essential to chain of command, arrests, tickets, and everything. From my past experience in my
job shadow with Officer Adrian Diaz & presentations from Police recruiter and Detective Carrie
Mcnally as well as my research for this post I can tell you that policing requires paperwork and fluency
in written communication.At any time an officer may be required to write anything from email
responses, tickets, reports, memos, you name it. This side of the job is lesser mentioned.
Another lesser known part of Law Enforcement Careers is the magnitude of options for career
progression within the field. While you may think with ease of titles like Sheriff, Chief, swat the
depth beyond those are substantial. Specific Jobs within police can include Bomb Squad, Community
relations, Recruitment, Police Detectives, K9 Units, and much more totaling 40 distinct career paths.
And the astounding part to me is each of those I’ve listed have their own sub branches and chains
of command, where promotion and career progression is attainable! My personal experience has
astounded me with just how specialized Law Enforcement careers can become! Related careers
outside of Police are things such as forest Rangers, Security guards, Border patrol, Corrections
Officers, Firefighters, Emergency Medical Technicians, and many more. Careers where an
individual is given power in management of relations with members of the public are typically
similar to law enforcement.
progression within the field. While you may think with ease of titles like Sheriff, Chief, swat the
depth beyond those are substantial. Specific Jobs within police can include Bomb Squad, Community
relations, Recruitment, Police Detectives, K9 Units, and much more totaling 40 distinct career paths.
And the astounding part to me is each of those I’ve listed have their own sub branches and chains
of command, where promotion and career progression is attainable! My personal experience has
astounded me with just how specialized Law Enforcement careers can become! Related careers
outside of Police are things such as forest Rangers, Security guards, Border patrol, Corrections
Officers, Firefighters, Emergency Medical Technicians, and many more. Careers where an
individual is given power in management of relations with members of the public are typically
similar to law enforcement.
WOIS Carrer Information, “WOIS - Patrol Officers.”, Created by IntoCAREERS, a Unit of the University of Oregon.,
www.wois.org/use/careers/viewer.cfm?occnum. (Visited January 30th, 2018)
www.wois.org/use/careers/viewer.cfm?occnum. (Visited January 30th, 2018)
In person Informational interviews/Job Shadows conducted by myself, Duncan Weigel, various dates.
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