Law enforcement professions are some of the most important professions in the public sector. Law enforcement officers have the crucial duty of controlling crime and public and individual safety and their work is indispensable for a community. Without law enforcement, we would not feel secure anywhere, and we would have extremely good reasons for it - the crime rate would increase uncontrollably and all sorts of injustices would take place without restraint. People that want to follow a career in the law enforcement field have to undergo extensive professional training in order to be prepared to face crime under any circumstances. They have to be extremely responsible people, with a high ethical conduct and strong physical and mental state.
Law Enforcement Career Options
The field of law enforcement offers a number of professional options. The most common and well known one is that of police officer, or the uniformed officer. The police officer is the public guardian of a society. They are responsible with making sure that crime doesn't occur in their area and, in case it does, they intervene in a timely manner in order to enforce the law. As all the other law enforcement professions, they can work at a federal, state or local level. There are more and more available positions as police officers, since the crime rate has been rising and the society has become more security-conscious. It is a well-paid job, with attractive benefits, but the competition is substantial and the training is very selective.
Investigators are detectives assigned with studying different crimes in order to collect evidence and facts for criminal cases. They aren't involved in community minor criminality, but in important or serious cases, and they have to take interviews, oversee the activity of suspects, construct cases and participate in arrests. Investigators are usually specialized in one type of criminal offense, such as homicide. The job requires special skills and knowledge and not every person that thinks is right for this can actually succeed. Investigators are also called special agents. Agencies that specialize in crime investigations are the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration or Regional Bureaus of Investigation. The Secret Services is a uniformed division of such agencies.
Another career opportunity in the law enforcement field is that of support positions. Different experts with different skills and knowledge can find a place in law enforcement support positions, such as evidence technician, intelligence analyst, crime lab technician or ballistics examiner. These are professionals in charge of investigating a crime scene alongside the special agents and detectives. They take care of technical details, such as fingerprinting, crime weapon examination, hand writing examination and so on. These are jobs that can be done by officers or agents that have advanced in time and specialized in a certain investigative aspect of a crime. More complex aspects are analyzed by forensic scientists. They work with different scientific techniques in order to examine evidence and their job requires extensive expertise.
Law enforcement jobs are very rewarding and offer real career and promotion opportunities, but they also come with specific risks and high standards.
Law Enforcement Jobs Related Pages