Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

Hello,
I'm not sure I'm in the right place, but I have a quick question about non-sworn police jobs. I plan on getting my Associates in Criminal Justice in the next few years, and I was in the Air Force for four years, and also worked with the cops on base for three months due to heavy deployments. Would any of this help me in getting non-sworn jobs such as records maintenance or front desk? I also have over two years of admin experience and worked with medical records for quite a while. We will be moving to Montana or Idaho soon (from Alaska) and I hope to find out what I need to get a job like this and what it may pay in the lower 48. I'm also curious if a person in one of these job positions would be required to wear a uniform or not. I would like to wear one, if that was the case :) Thank you very much for any possible information you can give me, and Thank You all for your service!

Kate Clark

Hello,
I'm not sure I'm in the right place, but I have a quick question about non-sworn police jobs. I plan on getting my Associates in Criminal Justice in the next few years, and I was in the Air Force for four years, and also worked with the cops on base for three months due to heavy deployments. Would any of this help me in getting non-sworn jobs such as records maintenance or front desk? I also have over two years of admin experience and worked with medical records for quite a while. We will be moving to Montana or Idaho soon (from Alaska) and I hope to find out what I need to get a job like this and what it may pay in the lower 48. I'm also curious if a person in one of these job positions would be required to wear a uniform or not. I would like to wear one, if that was the case :) Thank you very much for any possible information you can give me, and Thank You all for your service!

Kate Clark

Welcome, Kate, non-sworn jobs with police agencies are still related to employment within police agencies, so this is as good a forum as any for your question.

As far as your questions, so long as your background is clean (no criminal history, excessive debt, poor job references, etc.) you should be fine. Non-sworn jobs still typically undergo the same background process as sworn jobs, just FYI. As far as specific experience for non-sworn jobs, they vary depending on the specific job, but if you're looking for something clerical your prior work experience should do just fine.

As far as whether you'd wear a uniform or not, most non-sworn support staff do not wear a uniform, though some positions like code enforcement do. In my area, the local PD also has uniforms for "precinct operations officers," who do a lot of clerical work around the precinct, but this is not something I've seen common amongst other police agencies. Most I've seen that work in dispatch, clerical jobs and other non-sworn positions wear normal civilian attire to work.

Kimble,
Thank you very much for the information. I think I'd do good in that type of job, so here's hoping it works out.....thanks again!
Kate