Top 12 State Trooper Skills to Put on Your Resume

In today's competitive job market, standing out as a state trooper candidate means showing a sharp, relevant skill set on your resume. This guide breaks down the top 12 skills that signal readiness for the grind, judgment, and community service baked into the role—so your application doesn’t just blend into the stack.

State Trooper Skills

1. Firearms Proficiency
2. Defensive Driving
3. First Aid/CPR
4. RADAR/LIDAR Operation
5. Incident Command System (ICS)
6. Criminal Investigation
7. Traffic Control
8. Report Writing
9. Conflict Resolution
10. Drug Recognition Expert (DRE)
11. Body-Worn Camera
12. Microsoft Office

1. Firearms Proficiency

Firearms proficiency for a State Trooper is the safe, disciplined handling of duty weapons with accuracy under stress—paired with sound judgment, knowledge of law and policy, and careful maintenance.

Why It's Important

When seconds compress and outcomes matter, competence with a firearm protects the public, your partners, and yourself. It also sustains trust: precision, restraint, and policy alignment are non-negotiable.

How to Improve Firearms Proficiency Skills

Make training deliberate and repeatable, then add stress and movement until it holds.

1. Reps that matter: Mix live fire with structured dry fire. Draws, reloads, malfunctions, positional shooting, and accuracy at distance.

2. Scenario and stress blocks: Incorporate decision-making, shoot/no-shoot drills, low light, use of cover, and movement.

3. Beyond the minimum: Exceed annual qualifications. Track groups, times, and standards. Seek instructor-led clinics when possible.

4. Fitness and endurance: Grip strength, core stability, and cardio improve control and consistency.

5. Care and confidence: Know your platform. Maintain, inspect, and document. Zero optics and confirm regularly.

Build habits you can trust when your heart rate spikes.

How to Display Firearms Proficiency Skills on Your Resume

2. Defensive Driving

Defensive driving is the art of anticipating hazards, creating space, and adapting—whether cruising a beat, threading traffic for a call, or transitioning into a pursuit within policy.

Why It's Important

It prevents crashes, keeps response times crisp, and models the conduct you enforce. Fewer surprises, fewer collisions, fewer injuries.

How to Improve Defensive Driving Skills

1. Scan and plan: Read 12–15 seconds ahead. Identify escape routes. Expect the unexpected.

2. Space and speed: Keep a cushion—three to four seconds in normal conditions, more in weather or at night.

3. Adapt fast: Rain, ice, gravel shoulders, construction zones—adjust speed and following distances without delay.

4. EVOC refreshers: Revisit braking, cornering, threshold control, and pursuit/intercept techniques regularly.

5. Cut distractions: Prioritize radio traffic and mission-critical tools; stage the rest. Eyes up.

6. Policy first: Know pursuit criteria, termination triggers, and vehicle inspection checklists by heart.

7. Review and refine: Use telematics, collision reviews, and dashcam footage to self-correct.

How to Display Defensive Driving Skills on Your Resume

3. First Aid/CPR

First Aid/CPR means immediate care until higher-level medical help takes over—CPR, AED use, bleeding control, airway support, and scene safety. Often you’re first on scene. Sometimes the only one for minutes that feel long.

Why It's Important

Lives hinge on fast, competent action. Stop the bleed, restore breathing, keep someone stable long enough for the medics to arrive.

How to Improve First Aid/CPR Skills

1. Keep certifications current: CPR/AED and First Aid should not lapse. Refresh before skills fade.

2. Hemorrhage control: Train with tourniquets, pressure dressings, and wound packing. Practice until it’s automatic.

3. Realistic scenarios: Simulations with noise, low light, and bystanders build calm under pressure.

4. Naloxone and trauma kits: Carry, inspect, and drill deployment. Know your kit cold.

5. After-action learning: Review real calls, identify gaps, and adjust training.

6. Teach to learn: Coaching community or peer classes hardwires fundamentals.

How to Display First Aid/CPR Skills on Your Resume

4. RADAR/LIDAR Operation

RADAR uses radio waves and LIDAR uses laser pulses to measure vehicle speed. Both demand correct setup, steady operation, and airtight documentation to stand up in court.

Why It's Important

Accurate speed enforcement saves lives and deters risky driving. Precision and procedure make your work defensible.

How to Improve RADAR/LIDAR Operation Skills

1. Initial and refresher training: Master target identification, tracking history, cosine error, and beam placement.

2. Calibration discipline: Daily function checks, tuning forks/test modes, and scheduled certifications—record everything.

3. Site selection: Maintain clear line of sight and proper angles. Control distance and minimize interference.

4. Weather awareness: Understand how rain, heat shimmer, and traffic density affect readings.

5. Court readiness: Organize logs, certificates, and testimony outlines. Be ready to explain methods in plain language.

How to Display RADAR/LIDAR Operation Skills on Your Resume

5. Incident Command System (ICS)

ICS is a standardized, scalable framework under NIMS that organizes people, resources, and information during incidents—from a roadside pileup to a statewide disaster. Clear roles, common language, unified objectives.

Why It's Important

It removes confusion when things are chaotic. Resources line up. Communication tightens. Safety margins widen.

How to Improve Incident Command System (ICS) Skills

1. Coursework and refreshers: Complete and periodically renew core ICS/NIMS training appropriate to your assignment.

2. Multi-agency drills: Practice with fire, EMS, DOT, and local partners. Learn each other’s rhythms before the real thing.

3. Comms discipline: Use plain language, confirm channels, and protect span of control.

4. Unified command: Establish roles fast, set objectives, and revisit them as conditions change.

5. After-action reviews: Document lessons learned and turn them into policy or training updates.

How to Display Incident Command System (ICS) Skills on Your Resume

6. Criminal Investigation

Criminal investigation covers lawful evidence collection, interviews, leads, and case-building that identifies offenders and supports prosecution while protecting rights.

Why It's Important

It’s how you transform chaos into facts. Victims get answers. Cases hold in court. The community sees justice moving.

How to Improve Criminal Investigation Skills

1. Keep skills current: Legal updates, interview and interrogation, crime scene processing, and digital forensics basics.

2. Use technology well: Leverage video canvassing, license plate data where authorized, cell records with proper process, and analytic tools.

3. Interagency teamwork: Task forces and information sharing accelerate leads and expand expertise.

4. Documentation rigor: Clear narratives, elements of the offense, chain-of-custody, and timely submissions to labs and prosecutors.

5. Victim-centered approach: Trauma-informed interviewing and steady communication build trust and better statements.

How to Display Criminal Investigation Skills on Your Resume

7. Traffic Control

Traffic control is the safe, efficient management of vehicle and pedestrian movement—during crashes, events, construction, and sudden disruptions on fast, unforgiving roads.

Why It's Important

Good control prevents secondary collisions, clears scenes faster, and keeps responders alive.

How to Improve Traffic Control Skills

1. TIM principles: Train in Traffic Incident Management—safe vehicle positioning, quick clearance, and coordinated roles.

2. Scene setup: Use MUTCD-aligned patterns. Cones, flares where appropriate, advance warning signs, and proper taper lengths.

3. Responder safety: High-visibility gear, upstream spotters, and blocking vehicles with correct offset.

4. Technology and data: Deploy ALPR and drones only where authorized and useful. Analyze crash data to target problem corridors.

5. Team coordination: Sync with DOT, tow operators, EMS, and local agencies to reopen lanes swiftly and safely.

How to Display Traffic Control Skills on Your Resume

8. Report Writing

Report writing documents what happened, who did what, when and how, and why it matters legally. It’s the bridge between the street and the courtroom.

Why It's Important

Solid reports preserve memory, drive investigations, and anchor testimony. Weak reports create doubt. Strong ones clarify.

How to Improve Report Writing Skills

1. Be clear and specific: Plain language, concrete details, and correct identifiers. Avoid vague shorthand.

2. Organize on purpose: Chronological facts, then analysis, then charges. Call out elements of the offense.

3. Active voice: Own actions and observations. Say who did what.

4. Cite and connect: Reference statutes, attach diagrams, and link BWC or in-car video by file or tag.

5. Accuracy checks: Names, times, locations, serials. Proofread. Use supervisor feedback to tighten future reports.

How to Display Report Writing Skills on Your Resume

9. Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution is the craft of de-escalating heated moments, guiding people back from the edge, and resolving disputes safely and lawfully.

Why It's Important

It prevents force, protects dignity, and builds community trust. Everybody goes home.

How to Improve Conflict Resolution Skills

1. Listen like it counts: Active listening, open-ended questions, and careful paraphrasing to show understanding.

2. Time, distance, cover: Slow the encounter when you can. Reduce stimuli. Invite compliance, don’t demand it.

3. Emotion labeling: Name feelings without judgment. It lowers the temperature.

4. Crisis intervention: Train for mental health crises, substance impairment, and suicidal ideation. Safety first, empathy always.

5. Know the law and policy: Boundaries and options are clearer when you know them cold.

6. Self-regulation: Manage tone, posture, and bias. Calm is contagious.

How to Display Conflict Resolution Skills on Your Resume

10. Drug Recognition Expert (DRE)

A DRE is a trained officer who conducts a standardized, multi-step evaluation to determine drug impairment and the likely category of drugs—beyond alcohol—affecting a driver.

Why It's Important

Drug-impaired driving looks different than alcohol, and it’s rising. Accurate recognition keeps roads safer and strengthens prosecutions.

How to Improve Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) Skills

1. Maintain certification: Complete continuing education, supervised evaluations, and documentation requirements on schedule.

2. Practice the 12-step process: Eye exams, vitals, psychophysical tests—precision matters.

3. Track trends: Stay current on emerging substances, poly-drug patterns, and local drug markets.

4. Collaborate: Work with prosecutors, labs, and seasoned DREs to tighten casework and testimony.

5. Document relentlessly: Thorough notes, toxicology follow-up, and clear articulation of observations.

How to Display Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) Skills on Your Resume

11. Body-Worn Camera

A body-worn camera (BWC) records audio and video of officer-public interactions. It supports transparency, accountability, and quality evidence collection.

Why It's Important

BWC footage can defuse disputes, corroborate reports, and illuminate split-second decisions. It protects the public and the officer.

How to Improve Body-Worn Camera Skills

1. Reliable capture: Favor automatic triggers where available, pre-event buffering, and solid low-light performance. Mind battery swaps.

2. Policy adherence: Know activation rules, exceptions, and notification requirements. Consistency is credibility.

3. Data integrity: Encrypt, tag, and upload promptly. Use standardized categories for easy retrieval.

4. Privacy and retention: Follow redaction practices and retention schedules set by law and agency policy.

5. System integration: Sync with in-car video, CAD/RMS, and evidence management systems to streamline cases.

6. Training and reviews: Review footage for coaching and skill building, not just discipline.

How to Display Body-Worn Camera Skills on Your Resume

12. Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office, now commonly delivered as Microsoft 365, includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, and related tools for documents, data, presentations, email, and collaboration.

Why It's Important

It speeds reporting, organizes cases, and keeps communication flowing—without adding clutter to your day.

How to Improve Microsoft Office Skills

1. Secure the workspace: Use sensitivity labels, multifactor authentication, and data loss prevention for sensitive records.

2. Leverage templates: Build report and affidavit templates with required fields and checklists to cut errors.

3. Work the data: Excel tables, PivotTables, and charts for crash trends, patrol heat maps, and deployment decisions.

4. Automate routine tasks: Create quick parts, macros, or simple flows to speed repetitive steps.

5. Collaborate smartly: Share via OneDrive/SharePoint, coordinate in Teams, and track versions.

6. Go mobile: Use secure mobile apps for quick reads, calendar, and updates in the field.

How to Display Microsoft Office Skills on Your Resume