License to enforce law
Obviously, the main license required by a police officer is to be one. To become a police officer, you first need a minimum of an associate’s degree or at least 2 years of college education. After this, you need to fill out an application form to get admitted into the long admission process.
This consists of physical, mental, emotional, psychological and medical tests. There are also other kinds of tests involved to see if you are fit for the job. You are then accepted into the police academy where you are taught a variety of skills required for the job. After graduating, you are a licensed law enforcer. However, you are put on a short lease called the probation period. To know more about how to become a police officer, please refer to the other articles on our website.
License to carry a firearm
As a police officer, you are allotted an on-duty weapon. This weapon you are free to carry almost anywhere except a few courthouses, prisons or federal establishments. When you are off-duty, the story changes a bit. Some states allow the officer to carry his or her own on-duty pistol, while off-duty. However, in other states, you are required to buy a gun of your own and earn a license for it. It is our understanding that it is relatively easy for police officers to get a gun license. You might also need additional licenses for guns of a higher caliber.
Certification for First Aid and CPR
As a part of your training in the police academy, you are taught how to provide first aid. However, they do not certify you. If you want, you could choose to complete a more comprehensive course of first aid and thus achieve a certification for it. This will be useful for other jobs as well later in your life. It also enables you to provide better care to someone in need. You could also try and get a certificate of CPR in the same way.
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Certification for Computer Analyst
For many investigation reasons, an officer may need to analyze a computer. If you are certified to analyze the computer on the spot as an officer, then you are a huge asset. This is because you will be able to speed up the investigation process. There are a lot of certifications that are available in this field related to both software and hardware.
Certification for K-9 Unit
Another certification out there is to be able to handle a K-9 Unit. These units are assisted by specially trained dogs. These dogs can be trained to track down the scent of the criminal, narcotics or even help the officer while on duty. There are different certifications for all these different types of dogs.
Certification of Specialization
A police officer can later specialize in several different fields too. These fields include Arson Investigator, Crime Scene Technician, Criminal Investigator, Narcotic Investigator, and many others. You can get more information about these specializations.
Certification for foreign languages
Often a city is filled with people from different countries. Thus, learning different languages can help you serve the citizens better. It can also be useful to get more information or clues out of key witnesses who do not speak English. A foreign language can also be used to interrogate a suspect thus increasing your chances of catching the perpetrator. In a country like the USA, it is important to know Spanish since a large part of the population might have immigrated from Mexico. Similarly, in Canada, it is important to know French.
As you can see, there a ton of different things to learn as a police officer. These skills will not only help you get better at investigating and serving the public, but they might also come with a few monetary benefits. Get cracking at these as soon as possible!