Occupational Outlook for Law Enforcement Jobs @ Criminal Justice Careers | Schools


Occupational Outlook for Law Enforcement Jobs Department of Labor

The opportunity for public service through law enforcement work is attractive to many. The job is challenging and involves much personal responsibility. Furthermore, in many agencies, law enforcement officers may retire with a pension after 20 or 25 years of service, allowing them to pursue a second career while still in their 40s. Because of relatively attractive salaries and benefits, the number of qualified candidates exceeds the number of job openings in Federal law enforcement agencies and in most State, local, and special police departmentsââ¬âresulting in increased hiring standards and selectivity by employers.

Competition is expected to remain keen for the higher paying jobs with State and Federal agencies and police departments in more affluent areas. Persons having college training in police science, military experience, or both should have the best opportunities. Opportunities will be best in those urban communities whose departments offer relatively low salaries and where the crime rate is relatively high. Such departments are having difficulty attracting an adequate supply of high quality police officer candidates. Competition is extremely keen for special agent positions with the Justice and Treasury Departments and other Federal law enforcement agencies. Positions with these prestigious agencies tend to attract a far greater number of applicants than the number of job openings. Consequently, only the most highly qualified candidates obtain jobs.

Employment of police officers, detectives, and special agents is expected to increase faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2010. A more security-conscious society and growing concern about drug-related crimes should contribute to the increasing demand for police services. At the local and State levels, growth is likely to continue as long as crime remains a serious concern. However, employment growth at the Federal level will be tempered by continuing budgetary constraints faced by law enforcement agencies. Turnover in police, detective, and special agent positions is among the lowest of all occupations; nevertheless, the need to replace workers who retire, transfer to other occupations, or stop working for other reasons will be the source of most job openings.

The level of government spending determines the level of employment for police officers, detectives, and special agents. The number of job opportunities, therefore, can vary from year to year and from place to place. Layoffs, on the other hand, are rare because retirements enable most staffing cuts to be handled through attrition. Trained law enforcement officers who lose their jobs because of budget cuts usually have little difficulty finding jobs with other agencies.
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