Protective Service · Holland code RCE
Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers
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.
Also called: Deputy Sheriff, Patrol Officer, Police Officer, State Trooper, K-9 Handler (Canine Handler), Law Enforcement Officer, Peace Officer, Police Patrol Officer.
O*NET 33-3051.00
At a glance
- US median annual pay
- $76,210
- Middle half earn $59,290 to $97,600. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
- Preparation needed
- Job Zone 3 of 5
- Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
What the work involves
The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.
- Provide for public safety by maintaining order, responding to emergencies, protecting people and property, enforcing motor vehicle and criminal laws, and promoting good community relations.
- Identify, pursue, and arrest suspects and perpetrators of criminal acts.
- Verify that the proper legal charges have been made against law offenders.
- Render aid to accident survivors and other persons requiring first aid for physical injuries.
- Record facts to prepare reports that document incidents and activities.
- Review facts of incidents to determine if criminal act or statute violations were involved.
- Investigate illegal or suspicious activities.
- Drive vehicles or patrol specific areas to detect law violators, issue citations, and make arrests.
Skills and knowledge it leans on
Skills
- Active Listening4.1 / 5
- Speaking3.9 / 5
- Critical Thinking3.9 / 5
- Active Learning3.9 / 5
- Reading Comprehension3.8 / 5
- Monitoring3.3 / 5
Knowledge areas
- Public Safety and Security4.8 / 5
- Law and Government4.7 / 5
- Customer and Personal Service4.3 / 5
- English Language4.0 / 5
- Psychology4.0 / 5
- Education and Training3.7 / 5
Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.
Who tends to enjoy it
How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.
- Realistic73
- Investigative29
- Artistic1
- Social41
- Enterprising51
- Conventional56
The same work abroad
Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.
European occupation titles (ESCO)
- lieutenant · DE Leutnant/Leutnantin · FR lieutenant
- police commissioner · DE Polizeipräsident/Polizeipräsidentin · FR commissaire de police
- criminal investigator · DE Polizeibeamter im Ermittlungsdienst/Polizeibeamtin im Ermittlungsdienst · FR officier de police judiciaire/officière de police judiciaire
- police detective · DE Kriminalbeamter/Kriminalbeamtin · FR gardien de la paix/gardienne de la paix
- police inspector · DE Polizeikommissar/Polizeikommissarin · FR commissaire divisionnaire de police
- court bailiff · DE Justizwachtmeister/Justizwachtmeisterin · FR huissier audiencier/huissière audiencière
Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)
- Police community support officers (6311)11,800 employed
- Officers in armed forces (1161)33,700 employed
- Prison service officers (below principal officer) (3314)38,500 employed
Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.
Pay across Europe, for the whole group
Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.
| Country | Median pay |
|---|---|
| Belgium | €50,992 |
| Austria | €46,986 |
| Germany | €44,473 |
| Netherlands | €42,448 |
| Ireland | €41,613 |
| Sweden | €41,155 |
| Italy | €34,882 |
| France | €34,816 |
| Spain | €29,757 |
| Portugal | €18,080 |
| Poland | €12,108 |
Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.
Exposure to AI
This occupation sits in the lower third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of -0.67. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.
Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.
Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (33-3051).
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Is it a fit for you?
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