A police officer (also known as a policeman or policewoman) is a warranted employee of a police force. Police officers are generally responsible for apprehending criminals, maintaining public order, and preventing and detecting crimes. Police officers are sworn to an oath, and are granted the power to arrest and imprison suspects, along with other practices.

Some police officers may also be trained in special duties such as; counter-terrorism, surveillance, child protection, VIP protection, and investigation techniques into major crime, such as fraud, rape, murder or drug trafficking.

Work as a police officer

Responsibilities of a police officer are broad, changing from country to country. Common responsibilities include keeping of the peace, enforcement of the law, protection of the public and property, and the investigation of crimes. Officers are expected to be able to respond to a variety of situations that may arise while they are on duty. Rules and guidelines dictate how an officer should act towards the public and in the community, and some countries have restrictions placed on what the uniform officer wears. In some countries, rules and procedures dictate that a police officer is obliged to intervene in a criminal incident, even if they are off-duty. Police officers in most countries retain their lawful powers, while off duty.Fact: date=January 2008

Function in the community

In the majority of Western legal systems, the major role of the police is to maintain order, keeping the peace through the enforcement of the law. They also function to discourage crimes through high-visibility policing, and most police forces have an investigative capability. Police have the legal authority of arrest, usually granted to them by magistrates. Police officers also respond to emergency calls, along with routine community policing.

Police are often used as an emergency service and may provide a public safety function at large gatherings, as well as in emergencies, disasters, search and rescue situations, and Road Traffic Collisions. To provide a prompt response in emergencies, the police often coordinate their operations with fire and emergency medical services. In some countries, individuals serve jointly as police officers as well as firefighters (creating the role of Fire Police) or paramedics. In many countries there is a common emergency service number that allows the police, firefighters, or medical services to be summoned to an emergency. Some countries, such as the United Kingdom have outlined command procedures, for the use in major emergencies or disorder. The Gold Silver Bronze command structure is a system set up to improve communications between ground based officers and the control room, typically, Bronze Commander would be a senior officer on the ground, coordinating the efforts in the center of the emergency, Silver Commanders would be positioned in an 'Incident Control Room' erected to improve better communications at the scene, and a Gold Commander who would be in the Control Room.