Police Officer Cover Letter Example and Writing Tips

Police Officer
Cover Letter Example

In your police officer cover letter, it's important that you emphasize education, work experience, a clean background, and community service. Use the example below to learn how to highlight these four aspects.

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Text Format

Hiring Manager’s Name

341 Company Address

Palo Alto, California, 94301

(xxx)xxx-xxxx

hiring.manager@gmail.com

Dear [Hiring Manager’s Name],

I am excited to submit my application for the full-time police officer position at the New Haven Police Department. I have two years of experience working as a police officer for the Charleston Police Department, and am a graduate of the West Virginia State Police Academy. I believe that I have the requisite skills and abilities to perform the duties you’ve stipulated exceptionally well.

During my two years as a police officer, I performed area patrols on foot, bicycle, and in patrol cars, responding to traffic incidents, domestic disputes, and reports of criminal activity. My performance was above standard, and I was frequently praised for my calm and authoritative demeanor even during moments of tension and hostility.

I am aware that the rate of crime in New Haven is higher than average, and I am keen to use my skills to assist and protect the community to the fullest extent possible. My training and personal characteristics make me a perfect fit to handle both tough situations and present a pleasant face to the New Haven community.

For all of the above reasons, I am confident that you will find me to be a compelling candidate. You can contact me at (your_email@gmail.com) or by phone at (###-###-####). I am available any time for an interview, as I am now a permanent resident of New Haven. I look forward to discussing this opportunity with you in detail.

Sincerely,

Your Name

Police Officer Cover Letter Writing Tips

Learning how to put together a cover letter for the specific job(s) you want will help you land more interviews.

Policing is a tough job, and doing it well requires exceptional patience, social skills and level-headedness. While there will always be a need for quality police officers, getting hired for a full time position is not necessarily easy.

Police departments are looking for officers who have the skills and experience needed to do their job safely and effectively. An outstanding cover letter can be the difference between landing the top job or being left waiting for a response.

Below are three tips for writing a strong police officer cover letter:

Highlight relevant skills

A day in the life of a police officer might involve responding to domestic disputes, traffic accidents, violence, theft, or any number of issues.

Because the action needed in these situations can vary as wildly as the behavior of the civilians involved, the skills required of a successful police officer are complex.

To show police departments that you have the expertise needed for the job, highlight some of these key police officer skills on your cover letter:

Community outreach
Youth education
Active listening
De-escalation techniques
Squad leadership skills and supervision
Interpersonal skills
Self-defense and martial arts skills
Specialized weapons training
Military experience
Officer training
Proficiency in more than one language
Fitness certifications
Crisis leadership
Data security and processing
Academic background in law or criminal justice

The ideal candidate for any policing position ultimately depends on the unique challenges facing the city or town hiring for that job. With that in mind, include skills in your cover letter that address the needs of the department you want to work for. This helps employers know that you have what it takes to excel in the role.

Show your passion for police work

Police work isn’t a casual day job. Officers are responsible for a community’s well-being, and are regularly put in potentially dangerous situations. So police departments need to know they’re hiring someone who’s seriously passionate about the work they do.

Use your cover letter to show employers that you’re personally invested in providing excellent police work, and that they can rely on you to exceed the minimum of what’s expected of you.

If you have life experiences that made you want to become a police officer, highlight those experiences in your cover letter to show that you’re dedicated to doing excellent work. Let departments know your personal values inspire your dedication to law enforcement.

Make sure your cover letter isn’t too long (or too short)

Police departments in bigger cities have to sort through stacks of cover letters whenever they hire new officers.

To make sure that your application doesn’t go overlooked, your cover letter needs to communicate all your strengths while being short enough to keep the hiring manager’s attention.

The most effective cover letter length for police officers is between 200 and 400 words, which should all fit on one page with standard size text.