I understand your point on why you feel law enforcement should not be required to have a four year degree, but given the growth of technology and the new form of criminals, law enforcement should be required to have a further education than high school diploma. A two year degree may be substantial, but most police department is transitioning to requiring their future potential officer to have a four year degree. An educated officer has been proven to be better adapted to handling the stress of the job. The new era police officer has to be articulate and display intelligent when required, rather than
Albarano, R. F. (2015). College Education and Officer Performance: Do College Educated Police Officers Perform Better Than Those Without a College Education?. International Journal of Education and Social Science, 2(7), 41-48.
Many people might argue that the lack of training in the police force is more harmful to the officers than the effect it has on society. Leslie Pfeiffer mentions in her article “” that the Federal government devotes a shocking amount of money toward training, yet local police agencies are often left to fend for themselves” (Pfeiffer). Whatsoever the federal government may be doing with the funds should undoubtedly be providing effective programs and necessities to ensure a complete and sufficient training process for officers. Often time’s people forget that although the officer is vulnerable to failure, error, and possible injury, in the event of a possible suspect or wrongfully accused person the lack of knowledge perceived by the officer can cause outcomes such as hostility, hatred, and death. Not only are officers fending for themselves but in
Having had the opportunity to see both sides of the argument play out in the City of Memphis and as a member of the Memphis Police Department. I have become an advocate for requiring entry-level police officers to have at the very minimum an associate degree or the equivalent college credits. The college requirement can only be avoided with military experience. However, my position is not that more education makes you a better police officer or less education makes you a lousy officer. I believe that there should be a “happy medium” when it comes to police work. A good officer will be empathic, fair and in tune with the needs of the community and its members. Requiring a level of education for your entry-level officers speaks volumes about your agency and their dedication to professionalism. The benefits of having a college educated officer have shown to make a difference in the way they do their jobs. An educated police officer is less likely to utilize force when interacting with his co-workers or civilians. A department with educated officers also has shown to see a reduction in misconduct and disciplinary issues(Gómez-Mejía et al., 2016). Some years back the Memphis Police Department had relaxed their
Many businesses require their upper-level leadership to have a degree. The police departments are now starting to change to that style of education hiring. The hiring process can be very complicated because the police department wants to ensure that they are hiring the right person that fits their department. Choosing the right applicant for the job is an important decision because of the cost of the equipment, uniforms, training, and probation period because this is an investment in the departments future (Dempsey, & Forst, 2016). Because the police departments are requiring their officers to have an associate’s or bachelor’s degree for an entry-level position will make the department more completive, but the department should still consider
Throughout the story a criminologist, David M. Kennedy talks how citizens who want to be a cop are hired without being taught psychology, anthropology, sociology and criminology and other classes that will prepare them for the job. This is true, I believe people who want to work in this profession should at least have some type of college education. In the text book “Police in America” written by Steven G. Brandl explains, police officers who have
A Need for Change: The Importance of Continued Training and Education for Modern Day Police Officers Michael- Criminal Justice Institute
- Cops must complete a two year degree before they can be a certified officer.
To become a Police Officer, one is only required a high school diploma. Chaney and I acknowledge that the lack of education, but that does not justify police brutality and their actions, at least it shouldn't. Should the well-being of a society suffer because a police officer is uneducated? Many may argue that police officers should be cut some slack because they are people too. But, that is not a good enough argument because before someone can call themselves a police officer, they must be trained on how to handle stressful situations. Chaney does a good way of saying it by stating that even though "criminals are also people" like everybody else, that doesn’t stop the law from "[punishing them] for their crimes" and wrong doings. If you follow the argument that police officers are also people, then they also need to get punished for their crime. In her article, Chaney acknowledges that "it’s a tough [and] dangerous job" but she claims it as a false argument because there are many "jobs [that] are tough and dangerous" besides the job of being a police officer. Just because a job is both dangerous and tough, it doesn't justify anyone to "violate... their authority" and be able to get away with it.
A growing number of entry-level criminal justice practitioners have college degrees. This paper will explore whether or not law enforcement agencies should require applicants to have a post secondary degree as a condition of employment and will college-educated police officers will be resistant to organizational change.
Is sixty college credits reasonable enough to become a police officer? There have been many studies that show the same outcome on why a police officer should need sixty college credits if not more. There are more advantages having a college education than just a high school diploma. Many people ask if sixty college is enough or should they have at least a four-year degree. In this essay, I will list and example some advantage of having a college education and why police agencies should make dramatic changes in their educational requirements.
Law enforcement like much of the economy and society has had to adapt to the rapidly changing Atmosphere of the technological advances. To counter these advances, education has served in the forefront to combating the technological sophistication that is rapidly sweeping the workforce. The need and desire to remain competitive with the technology that we have is a need that can be satisfied with more education. Much like technology, education has benefits elsewhere in the equation of remaining competitive. Education on the higher tiered level provides a professionalism to accompany by the demands placed on students during their scholastic years of study. Activities required by many professors in the higher education
There is a debate that is as controversial as police officers holding a degree and that is whether the law enforcement career is a profession or craft. Although, the classification of police work as a craft, trade, or a profession was the subject of intense controversy, there appeared to be little doubt that the trend toward professionalization was exerting a powerful impact on the field of law enforcement. Many officers argue that policing is a craft that you must have passion for and academies are irrelevant to learning police work. In order, to become a good officer one must gain experience and knowledge on the job. Then you have others who say that policing is a profession with education a central feature. They believe that one
A: I went to Western Illinois university for my bachelors degree, which is 4 years for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. After College I spend 2 weeks shadowing my FTO (field training officer) for on the job training. After words we spend time in PTI (police training institute for about 5 weeks.
Lawyers and psychologists require even more schooling, a minimum of around eight years. Police officers end up being all of these things, and more. To obtain the real goal of law, and prevent crime, officers must have the trust and respect of the community they serve. "Instead, policing has been defined as uneducated people's work" (Fyfe, 262). Many citizens feel that the people protecting them are not as smart as they are. This leads to disrespect, and a sense of superiority within the community. With disrespect comes uncooperation, something any department would be worlds better without. If officers were required to obtain more basic schooling, and focus on social issues and psychology more during training, they would be better equipped to take up the position of law enforcement in any community. Besides the obvious benefit of being more adept at dealing with citizens, there would be added bonuses in police departments requiring more strenuous schooling. With four years of general education, officers would inherently become acquainted with a wide range of topics that they might not otherwise be exposed to with the minimal curriculum now required. Foreign language, art, and psychology classes would be especially useful in exposing up and comers to the varied environments they might encounter in their careers. Most importantly, people in the community would have a new respect for the
I do not believe that statement to be true as I am a prime example. I have a degree in Anthropology and History, but have many more felony arrests and uses of force than most officers. However, I have not received one complaint as I have fully embedded myself in the community and they know I would never treat anyone wrongly. The offenders who resist usually end up apologizing to me afterwards because I know them very well. I believe that an educated officer will be in less excessive force incidents, but not necessarily less use of force incidents as those who work hard to locate felons will have more that fight