How To Become A Police Supervisor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a police supervisor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted Expert

Dr. Durmus Alper CAMLIBEL Ph.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a police supervisor. For example, did you know that they make an average of $28.21 an hour? That's $58,676 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 20,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Police Supervisor?

Dr. Durmus Alper CAMLIBEL Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh

They need to avoid being overzealous officers. They should not put their career at the center of their life. They need to spend quality time with their family. In law enforcement, good relations with the public and colleagues are essential. They need to develop good relationships with the people and their colleagues and expand their professional network. They always try to be a "problem solver officer" rather than a "problem creator officer." If someone asks for help from them, they should treat this person with dignity and respect. They should avoid being arrogant in their interaction with the public. Because arrogance is the worst plague, and Humility is the greatest virtue.

ScorePolice SupervisorUS Average

Salary

4.6

Avg. Salary $58,676

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

10.0

Growth Rate 3%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.36%

Asian 1.74%

Black or African American 12.42%

Hispanic or Latino 13.74%

Unknown 3.90%

White 66.84%

Gender

female 13.11%

male 86.89%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress Level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.3

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.6

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a police supervisor

Explore police supervisor education requirements

Most common police supervisor degrees

Bachelor's

46.3 %

Associate

27.8 %

Master's

13.0 %

Start to develop specific police supervisor skills

Skills	Percentages
Patrol	18.91%
Public Safety	13.37%
Law Enforcement Agencies	11.25%
Emergency Calls	11.07%
Evidence Collection	4.25%

Complete relevant police supervisor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New police supervisors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a police supervisor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real police supervisor resumes.

Research police supervisor duties and responsibilities

Orchestrate the day to day demands, managing deficiencies/opportunities and prioritization of unit operations throughout specific target areas within NYC.
Assign officer patrol areas and coordinate awareness of potential security problem areas.
Supervise and monitor security staff, including scheduling, training and supervisory patrol.
Provide operational and administrative oversight of staff responsible for executing law enforcement services for Missouri's state parks and historic sites.

Prepare your police supervisor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your police supervisor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a police supervisor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Police Supervisor Resume templates

Build a professional Police Supervisor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Police Supervisor resume.

Apply for police supervisor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a police supervisor job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do police supervisors rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

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1 Star

Police Supervisor reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2020

Pros

I enjoy the freedom I’m allowed.

Cons

How political the job has become. There isn’t a correct way to do your job. Almost everyone wants to get you fired. It’s annoying.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020