Many police departments offer higher salaries and pay all or part of the tuition for officers to work toward college associate and bachelor's degrees in law enforcement, police science, administration of justice, or public administration. Job Outlook Employment of police officers and detectives is expected to increase about as fast as the average for all occupations through the year 2000 due to the increase in the Nation's population and police protection needs. However, employment growth will be tempered by increased use of civilian police department employee's in parking enforcement and various clerical, administrative, and technical support positions. In addition, private security firms will increasingly assume some routine police duties such as crowd surveillance at airports and other public places. Although turnover of police and detective jobs is among the lowest of all occupations, 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.
Police work is attractive to many.
The job frequently is challenging and involves much responsibility. Furthermore, in some communities, police officers may retire with a pension to pursue a second career before the age 50. Although written examinations and strict physical requirements always eliminate many applicants, competition is expected to remain keen for job openings through the year 2000. Most State and local police departments have long lists of qualified candidates. The outlook should be best for persons having some college training in law enforcement.