Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security career cluster
Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security career cluster
The law, public safety, corrections, and security career cluster is all about protecting and serving the public. People working in this sector deal with protecting life and property, enforcing laws, providing legal counsel, sentencing defendants, and rehabilitating offenders.
What makes up this cluster?
- The major employers in public safety are government organizations at the city or county, state, and federal levels.
- First responders such as fire and police departments, share a mission to keep people and property safe, as do the workers who patrol city streets, coastal waters, ski slopes, and swimming beaches.
- Laws guide relationships among people, institutions, and government; workers in the law sector enforce these laws, and sometimes create them.
- Lawyers conduct research, prepare documents, gather testimony, and argue cases before judges or juries. Judges interpret laws and sentence defendants.
- The corrections sector consists of city and county jails, state and federal prisons, community correctional facilities, and juvenile detention centers.
Quick facts
Employment numbers
About 5 million workers are employed in the law, public safety, corrections, and security cluster.
Law graduates
Over 30,000 new law school graduates pass the bar exam each year, emerging into a job market of more than 1.3 million lawyers. Most specialize in a particular branch of law.
Public safety
Crime and other public safety hazards continuously present new, significant digital challenges, requiring innovative and sophisticated technology and cybersecurity measures to address them.
Scope of corrections
Over 2.3 million individuals are incarcerated in the U.S. annually, with an additional 4 million on parole or probation.
Would a career in law, public safety, corrections, and security be a good fit for me?
Do you value a sense of community? Have the patience to resolve mental and physical challenges? If so, then a career in law, public safety, corrections, and security may be for you. Here are some points to keep in mind:
- Police officers, firefighters, and EMTs respond to emergency situations, often putting themselves in harm’s way.
- First responders often work irregular schedules including weekends, while part-time, seasonal work is common for ski patrols, lifeguards, and other recreational safety workers.
- Public safety and corrections workers are often on the move—outdoors, in and out of vehicles, and in large facilities like jails and prisons.
- Some of the fastest growing fields in the cluster are fire inspectors, paralegals, private detectives, paramedics, lifeguards, forensic science technicians, and firefighters.
What are some careers in law, public safety, corrections, and security?
Specialized skills and training are often required in this cluster, where workers play a crucial role in the well-being of their communities. However, there are many career options that require only a high school diploma.
Check out some examples of in-demand careers in law, public safety, corrections, and security below. Click any link to find out more about a career, including typical tasks, average wages, employment projections, training requirements and more.