Law Enforcement Career Overview
The nation’s capital is home to a diverse array of law enforcement agencies, ranging from the largest federal organizations to smaller local offices. With national headquarters, more than 40 White House support staff and thousands of officers on active duty, The District of Columbia is a hub of law enforcement activity. Encompassing not only the Executive Office, but also the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Homeland Security — not to mention presidential protection — the nation’s capital is an extremely busy place to be a law enforcement professional .
In addition to major federal organizations, the Washington area is home to local law enforcement offices including the Metropolitan Police Department, regional correction facilities and public safety departments at Washington, D.C., universities and colleges. The city also offers opportunities with specialized organizations, including Maryland and Virginia law enforcement agencies. With so many opportunities and a wide variety of responsibilities, it’s easy to find a niche in one of the nation’s most important cities.
Opportunities in Federal Law Enforcement
The nation’s capital is also the headquarters to a number of federal law enforcement agencies. These include the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the United States Secret Service, the United States Department of State, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). While each of these law enforcement agencies also employ police officers, agents, and other law enforcement officials in their own cities across the country, they all have different missions, jurisdictions, and even hiring standards. These are a few of the federal law enforcement agencies that you can apply to from anywhere, including from Washington D.C.:
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is also known as the FBI. It is one of the most recognizable federal government law enforcement agencies, and is typically headquartered in Quantico, Virginia. The FBI employ criminal investigators, linguists, computer scientists, and more at headquarters.
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is one of the federal government’s most well known agencies. In addition to protecting U.S. officials and visiting foreign leaders, it also investigates financial crimes such as credit card fraud. Agents are trained in both criminal investigations and protective details.
Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security
The Bureau of Diplomatic Security is the U.S. State Department’s law enforcement branch. It has jurisdiction over diplomatic missions and embassies in Washington D.C. and worldwide, as well as counterterrorism and physical security.
Department of Homeland Security
The Department of Homeland Security has a number of agencies within it—including the Federal Air Marshal Service, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the U.S. Secret Service. It also manages the National Operations Center in Washington, D.C.
Drug Enforcement Administration
The DEA has its administrative offices in Arlington, Virginia, outside of Washington D.C. It employs special agents, linguists, secretaries, intelligence specialists, information technology specialists, and others in its headquarters.
Working for Local Law Enforcement Agencies
The Civilian Police Division (CPD) at the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPD) employs individuals in several civilian police-related roles, including Enforcement Support Officers and Public Records Specialists. Under a new pilot program, CPD will spend three years analyzing the effectiveness of combining civilian and sworn officers into a single enforcement unit. The three enlisted officers and eight civilian employees hired for this project will work in shifts to provide around-the-clock availability of personnel to respond to calls for service.
The Office of Police Complaints (OPC) is an independent agency in the District of Columbia government. The OPC investigates citizen complaints against licensed and certified law enforcement officers employed by D.C. law enforcement. The OPC also archives documents and records related to the investigations, as well as those of officers employed by other governmental agencies, such as the U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Park Police.
The U.S. Secret Service maintains the District of Columbia Police Academy, which results from the merger of the training academy for the Secret Service Uniformed Division, the Secret Service Uniformed Division Police Department, and the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department’s Third District. The Secret Service Uniformed Division administers and conducts daily law enforcement operations for the nations’ "nervous" executive mansion, its foreign embassies and missions, large events on international diplomatic grounds and D.C.’s mass transit system.
Education and Training for a Law Enforcement Career
Across all law enforcement agencies, the education and training requirements for officer positions vary. However, as the state capital of the United States, Washington, D.C. is one of the most selective places for aspiring law enforcement officers in the country. In general, all Washington, D.C. police departments and agencies require a minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent degree at the time of application. Some require at least an associate’s degree and others will incentivize those with bachelor’s degrees but do not strictly require them. Because the city is nationally recognized for its diversity and inclusion efforts, some departments are also known to extend employment opportunities to those with prior felony records and/or non-citizenship status. After hire, officers must complete a police academy which is sponsored by the Municipality and varies in length from six months to up to a full year of full-time study. During this period, which is typically as a full-time recruit, officers learn a variety of skills including: Traditional police academy training that develops necessary law enforcement skills is frequently coupled with additional training which includes (but is not limited to) anti-bias and racial sensitivity training, crisis intervention, human trafficking prevention and response, and "fair and impartial policing". Continuous on-the-job training and assessments are required of all new and existing officers, and additional certification is offered in areas such as special teams, emergency response, and emergency medical assistance.
Applying for Career Opportunities in Law Enforcement
The application process for law enforcement jobs in the Washington D.C. region may vary somewhat between different agencies, but in general candidates will begin by filling out an application form online, and then await a response. The Eagle Academy uses a two-step process that requires the completion of an initial interest form that asks for basic information, and then a more detailed, official application form. Once a form is submitted there is a processing period before applicants receive any other information from the agency, either requesting a visit to a processing center for fingerprinting or advising them of the status of their application.
Applicants for law enforcement jobs in Washington D.C. can expect to undergo a series of assessments at various stages during the process. When they arrive at a processing center for fingerprinting, in some cases they are also given the opportunity to take the Physical Abilities Test . This is an effort to move applicants through the system more quickly, rather than directing them to their scheduled appointment. In addition to the Physical Abilities test, applicants may have to complete a reading comprehension test as well as a personality test. Each agency has its own specific assessments, so what is required for one department may not be applicable to another.
In preparing for the interview with law enforcement agencies in Washington D.C. it is important to take the time to understand the important issues facing the department and attempt to develop a vision of where you would fit in. Applicants should do their research and find out as much as they can about the department they are applying to, as well as informing themselves on important current events. In addition, applicants can expect to be asked scenario-based questions about issues such as ethics or dangerous situations. Familiarize yourself with the testing and interview process as much as possible ahead of time, so that you will be as prepared as possible for the interview.
Compensation and Benefits in a Washington DC Law Enforcement Career
Salary Levels and Benefits of Washington D.C. Law Enforcement Positions
Pay for our nation’s police officers is generally competitive, and Washington D.C. is no different. In 2012, the Metropolitan Police Department offered new recruits an annual salary of $49,788. Even that entry-level amount compares favorably with salaries in some other mid- to high-cost cities, and was further bolstered by a raise to $53,315 the following year. MPD officers receive annual cost-of-living adjustments, and these increased salaries by approximately 2% annually for the years from 2012 through 2014. By contrast, the D.C. Housing Authority has offered even less – a starting salary of around $40,000 annually – but it also raised that pay approximately 2% per year over the same period. The District government also offers two types of paid sick leave, one for uses related directly to job performance and another for other types of doctor’s appointments. Officers who join the force are eligible for health insurance which includes substantial subsidies, and they are eligible to participate in government pension funds and the federally-approved Thrift Credit Savings Program. MPD law enforcement professionals typically have a variety of additional benefits on which they can draw as well. These include federal employee life insurance, insurance for their own family members and access to various discounts and other offers through their police department. According to the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual salary paid to police officers in the greater Washington D.C. metropolitan area was approximately $72,000. That figure was slightly higher than in some of the surrounding states like Maryland and Virginia, and it was very high compared to the national average of $60,000 per year. According to Glassdoor, police officers working for the D.C. police department reported a much wider range of pay, from $48,000 to more than $118,000 per year across 80 individual salaries. These numbers are even affected by factors like geographical location, area cost of living, department of employment and work experience. While the pay reported by Metropolitan police officers seems to echo the BLS numbers relatively closely, the situation at the D.C. Housing Authority seemed to be vastly different. The salaries at D.C. housing are likely a little lower than at many of their counterparts, with the agency noting that salaries are still higher than the national average for comparable positions. Any interested parties should verify pay scale and other factors directly with the agency with which they are most interested in pursuing employment.
Rewards and Challenges of a Career in Law Enforcement
The road to a law enforcement career in Washington D.C. is not always easy. Washington D.C. and its surrounding metropolitan area have some of the highest crime rates in the country, tending to attract not only more criminals but those seeking to commit crimes against law enforcement professionals. Daily, police officers and deputies are forced to confront individuals who hold no regard for the rule of law and are willing to do a great amount of harm to get their way; this includes members of the Mexican Mafia, the Russian Mafia and Asian street gangs whose territories may overlap with each other and lawful neighborhoods, citizens, and most importantly, law enforcement officers.
Additionally, the day-to-day stress of a law enforcement job can take its toll on a person. Whether it’s interviewing victims and witnesses of violent crime or witnessing crime scenes firsthand, or including victims of isolation who might be under the influence or going through withdrawal, or confronting enemies of the state such as in working terrorist-related cases, it all can be too much for many officers, and excessive force can end up being applied with sometimes unforeseen consequences . Long hours, short sleep cycles, loss of potential relationships, and other distractions can make work in the field very difficult.
Despite the day-to-day issues that arise in law enforcement jobs, the career is also very rewarding. Almost all people who choose to work in this field put others before themselves, and the sense of brotherhood and community across the world is legendary. Many people from different locations and backgrounds team up to form a unified force – a force offering protection to the victims of crime and working to bring perpetrators to justice.
There is great respect for one another in the law enforcement community, and an understanding that the sacrifices they make are in the best interests of the residents that they protect. The camaraderie extends to the general population, and people often are grateful for the service provided by officers, and never more than in times of great emergency or disaster. Officers have a truly vital role in the communities of Washington D.C. and surrounding areas, and the public appreciates their efforts in keeping everyone safe.