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.
Whether on foot, wheels, or horseback, detectives and police officers are alert for any threat to public safety, ready to respond at a moment’s notice when a need occurs. Police and sheriff’s officers protect lives and property. They respond to emergencies and patrol their assigned area for signs of criminal activity. They wear recognizable uniforms, and may conduct searches and arrest suspected criminals. Some officers specialize in one type of crime, such as narcotics. Detectives and criminal investigators, or agents, gather facts and evidence of possible crimes. They conduct interviews, observe the activities of suspects, and participate in raids and arrests. Detectives often wear plain clothes, and usually specialize in investigating one type of crime, such as homicide or fraud. Transit and railroad police patrol railroad yards and transit stations to prevent thefts and protect property. Police and detective work requires patience, and paperwork; officers document every incident in detail, and must be ready to testify in court. Most officers carry law enforcement tools, such as radios, handcuffs, and firearms. Police and detective work can be physically demanding, stressful, and dangerous; injuries are common. Despite working shifts around the clock and dealing with life-threatening situations, officers must stay calm, think clearly, and use good judgment at all times. Most positions require graduation from a law enforcement agency’s training academy and extensive on-the-job training. Police officers and detectives need a license to carry firearms and enforce the law. Typically, candidates must be U.S. citizens, at least 21 years old, and in excellent physical and mental health, with no felony convictions.
If a career as a Police Officer seems interesting to you Monroe Career and Technical Institute offer Criminal Justice. The Criminal Justice Program is an instructional program that prepares individuals to apply technical knowledge and skills that relate to performing entry-level duties as a patrolman, corrections officer, juvenile officer, security officer, and probation officer. The course stresses patrol and related duties such as traffic and crowd control, the American legal system, techniques used in the police laboratory, and training in emergency and disaster situations. Also stressed is physical development with a strong emphasis on self-defense and the building of self-confidence. Investigatory techniques such as interviewing and evidence gathering, report writing, a study of juvenile law and procedure, the techniques of crime prevention, the criminal process from arrest through conviction and procedural matters affecting law enforcement such as arrest, search and seizure, and legal principles developed in information lessons are utilized in supervised simulated situations. The Program consists of a list of PDE-required tasks and additional local or value-added tasks.
For more information on MCTI’s Criminal Justice Program check out: https://www.monroecti.org/Domain/126
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