Police Officer 2026.2

Police Officer 2026.2

Salary

$65,242.00 - $93,203.00 Annually

Location

Police Bureau - Lancaster, PA, PA

Job Type

Full-time

Job Number

5336

Department

Police

Division

Police Patrol

Opening Date

07/01/2026

Closing Date

10/26/2026 11:59 PM Eastern

FLSA

Non-Exempt

Bargaining Unit

5000

• Description
• Benefits

Explore a rewarding career with the City of Lancaster, Pennsylvania! Spanning just 7 square miles in south Central Pennsylvania, the City of Lancaster is home to nearly 60,000 diverse residents. The City oversees a range of public services including fire and police, health, housing, parks, streets, as well as water and wastewater for upwards of 120,000 customers in the surrounding region. This work is powered by nearly 600 employees who are committed to the core values of quality, teamwork, integrity, and respect. https://jobs.cityoflancasterpa.gov/

Mayor Arroyo's Strategic Priorities

• An Economy That Works - Driving equitable growth, empowering small businesses, and creating opportunities that strengthen our community.

• Government That Delivers - Leading with integrity, accountability, and action to meet the needs of every resident and build trust in our city's future.

• A City Built for Everyone - Ensuring safe streets, quality housing, and a community where every person has the tools they need to succeed.

Our Core Values: Quality. Teamwork. Integrity. Respect.

Primary Functions and Job Details

The work of the sworn police officer involves responsibility for the protection of life and property, prevention of crime, apprehension of criminals and the general enforcement of state and local laws (ordinances). Duties normally consist of routine patrol, preliminary investigation and traffic regulation. Police officers also may be assigned duties as detectives, school resource officers, crime prevention officers, department training officers, task force officers, evidence technicians, field training officers, accident investigators, horse mounted officers, firearms instructors, TEAM officers, hostage negotiators, K-9 officers or special response team officers. Work involves an element of personal danger. The employee must be able to exercise sound independent judgment under stress. Assignments may include work on special tasks, which call upon specialized abilities and knowledge possessed by the officer. Work assignments can be general or specific and instructions are received from a supervisor who reviews work methods and results through reports, personal inspection and discussion. Finally, sworn police officers work under the agency chain of command structure.

Examples Of Essential Duties

Duties and Responsibilities

Crime Prevention and Investigation

• Performs preventive patrol in assigned beat;
• Continually observes for criminal activity, safety hazards, traffic violations, persons needing assistance, etc;
• Becomes and remains familiar with patrol beats, geographic locations, known offenders, neighborhood routines, potential problem areas;
• Conducts security inspections and surveys of buildings and businesses and makes recommendations regarding security, etc;
• Makes presentations to groups and individuals on subjects related to the job's tasks and functions;
• Handles complaints made by the public;
• Observes for, detects and investigates violations of laws and ordinances and documents those actions for future use;
• Conducts interviews and interrogations of victims, witnesses, suspects and offenders;
• Conducts searches of person, vehicles, places and things;
• Identifies and arrests offenders, including subduing resistive arrestees;
• Seeks and serves arrest warrants, search warrants and other court documents;
• Assists prosecutors in the preparation of cases for trial;
• Appears and testifies in court, juvenile hearings, at deposition sessions and similar proceedings;
• Enforces traffic and parking laws, including driving under the influence detection and apprehension;
• Controls, regulates and directs vehicular and pedestrian traffic;
• Investigates traffic accidents, including protecting the scene, aiding the injured, controlling traffic, clearing the scene, determining the cause, preparing reports and diagrams;
• Assists disabled motorists;
• Deals with children of all ages in a variety of situations, such as delinquents, minors requiring authoritative intervention, neglected, abused, runaways, lost, found, victims of crimes, public relations and instructional functions and informants.

Miscellaneous Order Maintenance

• Deals with domestic disputes and other interpersonal and business contacts;
• Recognizes and corrects or reports public hazards and inconveniences, as gas leaks, traffic signals out of service, traffic obstructions and other safety hazards;
• Responds to specific requests for ambulance/fire service and assists as needed;
• Administers first aid, including CPR, to sick and injured persons;
• Investigates incidents involving dead persons resulting from criminal, accidental, suicidal and natural causes, including determination of the circumstances and handling/removal of the body and dealing with the family, relatives, friends, witnesses, etc;
• Investigates reports of lost and found property;
• Investigates reports of missing and found persons;
• Investigates animal complaints, including the humane disposition of severely injured animals;
• Directs and/or supervises civilian employees and the public at the scenes of crimes, accidents, disasters, assemblies, etc;
• Generally assists persons in distress.

Organizational Support

• May perform desk duties, including telecommunications (telephone, computer terminal, radio), assisting persons at the counters at the station, processing reports;
• Conducts background investigations for prospective police applicants;
• Attends training as assigned;
• Develops and maintains required skills and licenses/permits/certifications associated with area of special instruction, expertise, etc. (Firearms qualification, evidence technician, juvenile law, criminal investigations);
• Trains new officers, cadets and community service aids in areas of special skills or expertise;
• Prepares clear, accurate and complete reports on any and all activities engaged in;
• Work effectively as a member of a team;
• Inspire trust;
• Guard confidentiality of information.

Typical Qualifications

Education, Training and Experience

• Graduation from High School or completion of a GED is required.

Licenses and Certificates

• Possession of a valid Pennsylvania State Driver's License is required.

Work Characteristics/Conditions

Scheduling

Police officer positions involve regular and irregular shift work and shift rotations necessary to provide police services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year (weekends and holidays included). Work shifts for patrol officers are normally twelve (12) or eight (8) hours in duration for detective but may be extended in the event of emergency, disaster, manpower shortage, workload or work-in-progress. High percentage of attendance, on-time arrival to work and ability to work overtime when necessary are required.

Environmental Factors

Police officer positions involve exposure to and requires the officer to function in the presence of the following:

• Inclement weather, to include extreme heat/cold, rain, snow, wind, etc.
• Light conditions associated with day and night;
• Fire, smoke, chemical leaks/spills - as close proximity as necessary to provide emergency services;
• Personal danger, including but not limited to:
• Armed and/or dangerous persons/animals;
• Persons and/or articles with contagious/communicable diseases
• Hazards associated with emergency driving, traffic control and working in and around traffic;
• Hazards associated with natural and man-made disasters.

Infectious Diseases

Because police officers may be called upon in adverse conditions to come into physical contact with others, the City will not knowingly expose citizens or other employees to an employee infected with a contagious disease that poses a direct threat to others. Decisions regarding infectious diseases will be based on reasonable medical judgments given the state of medical knowledge about: a) the nature of the risk (how the disease is transmitted), b) the duration of the risk (how long is the carrier infectious), c) the severity of the risk (what is the potential harm to third parties, and d) the probability that the disease would be transmitted and will cause varying degrees of harm.

Tools and Equipment Used

May include, but are not limited to; Police Vehicle, Expandable Baton, Soft Body Armor, Drug and Narcotic Field Test Kit, Pepper Spray, Car Door Lock Opening Device Fire Extinguishing Agents, Blood-borne Pathogen Protection Equipment, First Aid Kit, Road Flares, Flashlight, Flexi cuffs, Handcuffs, Hand-held Police Radio, Public Address System, Traffic Cones, Alley Light/Spot Light, Semi-Automatic Pistol ,Magazine, Cartridge, Shotgun, Electronic Speed Timing Device, Computer Equipment /Mobile Data Terminal, Police Vehicle Radio Equipment, Keyboards, Lights and Sirens, Rubber Gloves, Tape Measure, Barrier Tape, Weapon Cleaning Equipment, Fluorescent Vest, Hobbles/Shackles, Whistle, Rape Victim Evidence Kit, Blood-Borne Pathogen Clean-up Equipment, Electronic Control Weapons (ECW) - TASER, Rifle.

DISCLAIMER

The duties listed above are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position. The job description does not constitute an employment agreement between Lancaster City Police and the employee, and the duties of a Police Officer are subject to change by the employer as the needs of the employer and requirements of the job change. This position description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by a person assigned to this position. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required to perform the job.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

The Lancaster City Police Department has a strong interest in promoting confidence with the general public by having our employees maintain a uniform, professional appearance and image. Uniforms, equipment items and personal appearance are regulated by the Department's Uniform Policy (277.26). All sworn police officers must be able to wear and effectively utilize all Department issued items of uniforms and equipment as specified in the Uniform Policy, regardless of assignment. This includes, but is not limited to: the field uniform (gun belt and included equipment; soft body armor; and specialized equipment such as riot helmet, riot baton and ballistic shield).

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions and tasks of this job. These demands are considered a business necessity and a job requirement.

Motor Skills/Flexibility

The police officer position requires the employee to have and maintain the physical and mental ability needed to:

• React and move rapidly from a sedentary to active condition in response to environmental situations or events;
• Assume a variety of bodily position and postures necessary to employ available "cover and concealment" during a deadly force encounter;
• Respond to a physical attack and possess the ability to escape the attacker and/or summon aid;
• Climb by ascending or descending ladders, stairs, scaffolding, ramps, poles and the like, using feet and legs and/or hands and arms;
• Balance by maintaining body equilibrium to prevent falling when walking, standing or crouch on narrow, slippery or erratically moving surfaces;
• Lift by raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position to position;
• Operate a motor vehicle in a safe and prudent manner (possess and maintain a valid Pennsylvania driver's license);
• Operate and qualify with the Department-issued firearms, utilizing both hands, as well as each hand individually;
• Operate office equipment, such as telephones, audio/visual devices, computer and workstation keyboards;
• Operate all equipment necessary for performing routine daily assignments, apprehending and processing criminals and conducting both criminal and traffic-related investigations;
• Operate/utilize all Department interior vehicle equipment such as computer, camera, microphone, radio, lights, siren, speed timing device;
• Administer first aid, to include Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR);
• Perform required duties for extended periods of time while exposed to adverse conditions, to include time worked in excess of the normal daily duty shift and rotating shift work;
• Apprehend suspects to the extent of engaging in foot pursuits while summoning assistance and/or engaging in the necessary use of force;
• Discern colors as they are applied in traffic safety situations (electric signals, signing, hazardous materials placards, vehicle and clothing descriptions, etc.);
• Adequately judge distances and estimate speed;
• See, read and recognize obstacles in a variety of normal and/or emergency environments. Have vision that is correctable to "Department vision" standards;
• Determine or estimate the point of origin of noise;
• Receive detailed information through oral communication;
• Recognize/relate sound to situations based on frequencies or voice inflection within the normal range of human hearing;
• Employ the normal senses of touch and smell

Communicative Skills

The police officer position further requires the employee to have and maintain the physical and mental condition needed to:

• Speak, read and write the English language in a clear, understandable fashion;
• Reasonably identify and display basic non-verbal communications (body language);
• Effectively relate to or communicate with a variety of personality types during interpersonal contacts;
• Express or exchange detailed or important spoken instructions by means of spoken word, conveying to others accurately, loudly or quickly.

Judgment/Decision Making Ability

The police officer position requires the employee have the ability to:

• Comprehend and implement verbal and written instructions;
• Apply reasoning skills when confronted with circumstances requiring discretionary decisions;
• Establish priorities and construct subsequent plans when investigating incidents or events;
• Formulate and carry out an appropriate course of action for a given situation for which no specific rule or procedure has been established;
• Apply theory based instruction or training to actual incidents/situations;
• Handle situations firmly, courteously, tactfully and impartially;
• Retain and retrieve information furnished in the form of memos, emails, verbal reports, training points, etc;
• Be capable of receiving and giving instructions.

Emotional Psychological Stability

The police officer position requires the employee to have the emotional and psychological stability required to:

• Cope with and perform day-to-day duties under the principles of discipline;
• Maintain self-control when receiving constructive criticism and/or being ridiculed;
• Continue performing all required tasks at a professional level when faced with unpleasant circumstances;
• Perform police duties without dependence on alcohol/narcotics;
• Deal effectively with the morbid, the macabre, the repugnant, the abnormal, the morose, the psychotic, the neurotic and the otherwise unpleasant or unusual facets or results of human behavior.

Applicants must possess valid employment authorization to work in the United States. Applicants must have the ability to work on-site at City of Lancaster, Pennsylvania locations.

Employment Policy

It is the policy of the City of Lancaster to provide fair and equal employment opportunities to all applicants for employment. Applicants are recruited, selected and hired on the basis of individual merit and ability and without discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, age, handicap, disability, veteran status or national origin.

Accommodations Statement for Job Applications

The City of Lancaster is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate in the application or interview process, please contact CityHR@cityoflancasterpa.gov to request a needed accommodation.

The City of Lancaster, PA provides a comprehensive benefits package for all benefits-eligible positions. Available benefits include Medical (PPO and HDHP/HSA options), Dental, Vision, Life Insurance, Flexible Spending Accounts, Critical Illness and Accident Insurance, Pension plans, and 457 Deferred Compensation. Employees also receive Sick, Vacation, and Personal Leave, as well as 13 paid holidays for non-essential positions. Essential positions receive bonus days in lieu of holidays. https://jobs.cityoflancasterpa.gov/benefits/

Employer City of Lancaster (PA)

Address 120 N Duke St

Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 17608

Phone 717-291-4719

Website http://www.cityoflancasterpa.gov