According to people in this career, the main tasks are...
| Task | Importance |
|---|---|
| Identify, pursue, and arrest suspects and perpetrators of criminal acts. | 93% |
| Provide for public safety by maintaining order, responding to emergencies, protecting people and property, enforcing motor vehicle and criminal laws, and promoting good community relations. | 93% |
| Record facts to prepare reports that document incidents and activities. | 90% |
| Render aid to accident victims and other persons requiring first aid for physical injuries. | 89% |
| Review facts of incidents to determine if criminal act or statute violations were involved. | 88% |
| Investigate illegal or suspicious activities. | 88% |
| Monitor, note, report, and investigate suspicious persons and situations, safety hazards, and unusual or illegal activity in patrol area. | 88% |
| Process prisoners, and prepare and maintain records of prisoner bookings and prisoner status during booking and pre-trial process. | 87% |
| Testify in court to present evidence or act as witness in traffic and criminal cases. | 87% |
| Monitor traffic to ensure motorists observe traffic regulations and exhibit safe driving procedures. | 86% |
| Relay complaint and emergency-request information to appropriate agency dispatchers. | 86% |
| Drive vehicles or patrol specific areas to detect law violators, issue citations, and make arrests. | 85% |
| Patrol and guard courthouses, grand jury rooms, or assigned areas to provide security, enforce laws, maintain order, and arrest violators. | 85% |
| Execute arrest warrants, locating and taking persons into custody. | 85% |
| Photograph or draw diagrams of crime or accident scenes and interview principals and eyewitnesses. | 84% |
| Evaluate complaint and emergency-request information to determine response requirements. | 84% |
| Patrol specific area on foot, horseback, or motorized conveyance, responding promptly to calls for assistance. | 84% |
| Investigate traffic accidents and other accidents to determine causes and to determine if a crime has been committed. | 83% |
| Verify that the proper legal charges have been made against law offenders. | 83% |
| Supervise law enforcement staff, such as jail staff, officers, and deputy sheriffs. | 83% |
| Transport or escort prisoners and defendants en route to courtrooms, prisons or jails, attorneys' offices, or medical facilities. | 82% |
| Direct traffic flow and reroute traffic in case of emergencies. | 81% |
| Question individuals entering secured areas to determine their business, directing and rerouting individuals as necessary. | 77% |
| Notify patrol units to take violators into custody or to provide needed assistance or medical aid. | 74% |
| Place people in protective custody. | 72% |
| Serve statements of claims, subpoenas, summonses, jury summonses, orders to pay alimony, and other court orders. | 72% |
| Inform citizens of community services and recommend options to facilitate longer-term problem resolution. | 71% |
| Locate and confiscate real or personal property, as directed by court order. | 68% |
| Provide road information to assist motorists. | 67% |
| Conduct community programs for all ages concerning topics such as drugs and violence. | 65% |
