Transitioning From Law Enforcement to Corporate Security

Written By Megan Lewis

A few years back I made the change from law enforcement to corporate security. This change was not a direct transition, which I think worked out better for me when reflecting on my career. It allowed me to build other skills and knowledge that would come in handy in the future. I spent almost eight years working for a fairly large full-time police department, holding a variety of roles and various certifications through investigations, patrol, and specialized units. During my time at this department, I also worked part time in security at a local hospital and as an instructor at the police academy.

 

But, like many of my fellow officers, I was becoming more dissatisfied with society and my administration around seven years in. After long discussions and considering what the future would hold, I resigned from the police department. It wasn’t ideal and honestly wasn’t what I wanted to do, but I knew things with the department would not be turning around for the better. I ended up switching careers into engineering and management at a fortune 100 company. I thought that being able to step away from the scrutiny and night shift would be a positive change for me. The transition to engineering and management was an interesting one for a couple years, but soon the lack of excitement started to eat at me. Not much in this position caused an adrenaline spike, which I had grown use to during my time as an officer. There was a local police chief who asked if I would come back to a small department in my same county to work a few evenings a week.

 

This sounded great! I was able to re-establish my prior certifications and return to teaching at the police academy, along with helping out a local community a few nights a week. A few shifts into driving around on night shift really started causing some nostalgia. It made me realize how badly I had missed being an officer and how I needed to get back into law enforcement. It caused me to despise the mundane nature of my full-time job in engineering management. It wasn’t that the work of an engineer wasn’t stimulating. Building data pipelines for optimization models and overseeing million dollar projects certainly was, however, while these skills benefited me later on in security, the desk work was excruciating.

I began applying for Federal LEO jobs along with State Police and there was one Corporate Security job. I applied for the Corporate Security job thinking I didn’t have a chance. Corporate Security positions can be very selective and since I didn’t know anyone in this Corporate Security department, I didn’t think I had a chance. Fortunately for me, they were looking for someone to build up their corporate security technology side and align their security systems on a global scale. My time in engineering and data science along with LEO experience aligned perfectly for what they were looking for.

For anyone looking to transition into Corporate Security, I would highly recommend you outline your skill-set prior to applying. I’m sure you are overlooking some of your skills and could easily refine some of your skills to be a more desirable candidate.

 

When you think of your time in law enforcement, you may have many skill-sets:

1. Leadership and Management

  • Supervising and mentoring teams under high-pressure conditions

  • Coordinating interdepartmental operations and joint agency initiatives

  • Decision-making in crisis situations and maintaining composure under stress

2. Communication and Interpersonal Skills

  • Clear and concise verbal and written communication (e.g., reports, court testimony)

  • Conflict de-escalation and negotiation techniques

  • Building trust and rapport with diverse communities

3. Investigative and Analytical Abilities

  • Conducting investigations, gathering evidence, and preparing case documentation

  • Applying critical thinking and problem-solving to identify patterns and solutions

  • Using technology and data analysis tools to support intelligence-led policing

4. Legal and Ethical Expertise

  • Deep understanding of criminal and civil law, rights, and procedural compliance

  • Evidence handling, chain of custody, and courtroom presentation

  • Upholding confidentiality, integrity, and ethical decision-making standards

5. Crisis and Incident Response

  • Emergency response and scene management (accidents, crimes, disasters)

  • First aid and tactical medical intervention skills

  • Risk assessment and rapid decision-making under uncertainty

6. Security and Safety Operations

  • Threat assessment, situational awareness, and protective operations

  • Physical and digital security protocols (e.g., access control, surveillance systems)

  • Workplace safety and emergency preparedness training

7. Community Engagement

  • Developing community outreach and crime prevention programs

  • Mediation and conflict resolution in sensitive or volatile situations

  • Cultural competence and understanding diverse populations

8. Technical and Administrative Proficiency

  • Experience with law enforcement databases (e.g., NCIC, CAD, RMS systems)

  • Report writing, documentation, and administrative record management

  • Familiarity with surveillance technology, forensics tools, and communications systems

 

These skills align well with many corporate security departments. Corporate security departments can also have fractions within them that require specialized skills such as:

·       Investigations

·       Technology

·       Analytics

·       Travel Security

·       Executive Protection

Some of the best skills I had gained during my time in engineering management were

·       Project management

·       Data Science/Date Analytics

·       Technological Integration

These skills allowed me to take a deep dive into the current enterprise systems my team had and identify improvement opportunities. I was also able to utilize my knowledge in data science and engineering to work with our GSOC, access control systems, and CCTV system to bring them into the modern era.

To summarize, law enforcement provides you with a valuable skill-set that can easily transfer into corporate security. Despite what others may say, both corporate security and law enforcement have proactive and reactive capabilities. Your unique skill-set gained during your LEO time will correlate to one of the fractions in corporate security i.e., SWAT experience to Executive Protection, Detective to Investigations, even corporate GSOCs are frequently built to mirror dispatch centers.

 

There are certifications you can look into to refine or complement your skills further:

ISC2 and ISACA have a variety of certifications that would align with the tech side- I talk about my experience with the Certified in Cybersecurity (CC) here.

ASIS has the CPP, PCI, PSP, and APP

Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)

And there are several Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery certifications which are in growing demand.

 

I have been very happy with my transition from law enforcement to corporate security. While it may not be the “high-speed” life of a night shift patrol officer, I think this is a very rewarding career that I’m proud to be apart of.

 

If you want to make the change out of law enforcement, take a holistic view of your prior experience. Look at your current skill-set and determine if there are any areas you need to refine now, before you walk away from the badge. Highlight your current certifications you have acquired in law enforcement and determine if sitting for another certification would complement your skill-set.

Megan Lewis