First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives

People in this career often have these skills:

• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
• Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
• Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

• Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
• Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
• Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
• Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
• Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
• Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.

People in this career often know a lot about:

• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

People in this career often have talent in:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
• Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
• Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
• Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
• Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
• Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

People in this career often do these activities:

• Direct criminal investigations.
• Train employees in proper work procedures.
• Resolve interpersonal conflicts.
• Inform others about laws or regulations.
• Maintain operational records.

• Write operational reports.
• Collaborate with law enforcement or security agencies to share information.
• Testify at legal or legislative proceedings.
• Process forensic or legal evidence in accordance with procedures.
• Evaluate employee performance.
• Direct law enforcement activities.
• Review documents or materials for compliance with policies or regulations.
• Detain suspects or witnesses.
• Apprehend criminal suspects.
• Prepare activity or work schedules.
• Inspect facilities to ensure compliance with security or safety regulations.
• Inspect equipment to ensure safety or proper functioning.
• Collaborate with outside groups to develop programs or projects.
• Prepare investigation or incident reports.
• Maintain inventories of materials, equipment, or products.

• Detectives and Criminal Investigators

• Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers

• First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers

• Residential Advisors

• Emergency Management Directors

• Correctional Officers and Jailers

• Fire Inspectors and Investigators

• Government Property Inspectors and Investigators