Criminal Justice 1010
This is my term paper. Hope you enjoy. I will link the document below when WEEBLY gets the links working again.
An Education in the Police Force
It has always been of question whether or not police officers should in fact have acquired a college degree before joining the work force. For those who aim to become police officers, the question often pops up as they wonder if having any type of higher education makes them better suited for the workplace they will be going into. The police agency requirements for education vary throughout the country depending on geographical location and can range from a high school diploma to a bachelor’s degree and may even go as elevated as a doctoral degree for some high level positions in populated areas. While there are many things that officers will end up partaking in that cannot simply be learned in a book or discussed in detail in a classroom, higher education will likely play a superior role in successful law enforcement, especially as departments promote new technologies in their facilities to increase their ultimate effectiveness.
In 1967, when there was a wide range of typically violent and well known riots and, of course, many other forms of civil unrest, the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice published a statement that included a highly despised proposal that all entry-level law enforcement officers must be required to have obtained any type of a four-year degree (at least) within five years of its publication and that any further employment of personnel without one of these degrees must be abandoned for the sake of the future of the criminal justice system and its many departments. Clearly, this hasn’t come about yet for a couple reasons.
Firstly, the cops themselves and their mindset on how people (most importantly, other officers) see them. At the time, it was fairly rare for police officers to have a college degree. There seemed to be antipathy showed to those with any type of degree. The second blockade was an issue of recruiting and where departments would find individuals who fulfilled this high expectation. And at this time, military experience was valued more than a college education.
With as much as the government did to insure that police members earn their respective degree, it is almost unimaginable that they didn’t rise to the occasions and make due for a while for a better future. For most of the 1970s, most all working cops had the majority of their education paid for (depending on the institution used to further their studies) through the Law Enforcement Educational Program (LEEP). This project was very important in filling the higher ranking openings. Those who took advantage of this opportunity were soon put in higher paid positions and benefited tremendously. Finances slowly went sour and those who had not yet taken advantage of this program were forced to find another means of financial aid for a while (Staats, 1980).
Some research has shown that education can have an effect on the outcomes of police interactions with citizens and the citations given to particular police officers. “All of the existing studies on this topic have concluded that police officers with a college education are less likely to have complaints filed against them compared with police officers with a high-school education… Some of the research has also revealed a difference in complaints when comparing police officers who have earned four-year degrees with police officers who have earned some college credits or who have earned two-year degrees,” (p. 509-510, Manis, Archbold, & Hassell, 2008). See Figure 1 (Page 3). Obviously there is a direct link between having a college degree and acquiring less formal and informal complaints during one’s policing career, but that doesn’t mean that some people without a higher education or degree aren’t suited for the job and won’t do well as there have been many that would prove that statement wrong.
In addition to fewer police allegations, requiring a degree out of each and every police officer would allow states to further pursue their goals of more students graduating. In the state of Minnesota, out of the many goals stated, five goals were lined out in the Minnesota Measures Initiative for post-secondary education, three to prepare people for the workforce and two to increase the number of graduations per college per degree level (Hulsey, 2012). Those who have a higher education are statistically more suited for the responsibilities that await them in the workplace and further in life.
In 1967, when there was a wide range of typically violent and well known riots and, of course, many other forms of civil unrest, the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice published a statement that included a highly despised proposal that all entry-level law enforcement officers must be required to have obtained any type of a four-year degree (at least) within five years of its publication and that any further employment of personnel without one of these degrees must be abandoned for the sake of the future of the criminal justice system and its many departments. Clearly, this hasn’t come about yet for a couple reasons.
Firstly, the cops themselves and their mindset on how people (most importantly, other officers) see them. At the time, it was fairly rare for police officers to have a college degree. There seemed to be antipathy showed to those with any type of degree. The second blockade was an issue of recruiting and where departments would find individuals who fulfilled this high expectation. And at this time, military experience was valued more than a college education.
With as much as the government did to insure that police members earn their respective degree, it is almost unimaginable that they didn’t rise to the occasions and make due for a while for a better future. For most of the 1970s, most all working cops had the majority of their education paid for (depending on the institution used to further their studies) through the Law Enforcement Educational Program (LEEP). This project was very important in filling the higher ranking openings. Those who took advantage of this opportunity were soon put in higher paid positions and benefited tremendously. Finances slowly went sour and those who had not yet taken advantage of this program were forced to find another means of financial aid for a while (Staats, 1980).
Some research has shown that education can have an effect on the outcomes of police interactions with citizens and the citations given to particular police officers. “All of the existing studies on this topic have concluded that police officers with a college education are less likely to have complaints filed against them compared with police officers with a high-school education… Some of the research has also revealed a difference in complaints when comparing police officers who have earned four-year degrees with police officers who have earned some college credits or who have earned two-year degrees,” (p. 509-510, Manis, Archbold, & Hassell, 2008). See Figure 1 (Page 3). Obviously there is a direct link between having a college degree and acquiring less formal and informal complaints during one’s policing career, but that doesn’t mean that some people without a higher education or degree aren’t suited for the job and won’t do well as there have been many that would prove that statement wrong.
In addition to fewer police allegations, requiring a degree out of each and every police officer would allow states to further pursue their goals of more students graduating. In the state of Minnesota, out of the many goals stated, five goals were lined out in the Minnesota Measures Initiative for post-secondary education, three to prepare people for the workforce and two to increase the number of graduations per college per degree level (Hulsey, 2012). Those who have a higher education are statistically more suited for the responsibilities that await them in the workplace and further in life.
Seeing police officers as dumb-witted and brainless is obviously a problem in this society, but it is also common for a non-educated officer to, when denied access to search a car without probable-cause, to suggest that the mere denial itself was probable cause when the fourth amendment clearly says it isn’t. Expecting a well-educated police force isn’t too much for the public to ask, but acquiring one is the difficult measure. Although paths have been taken in the past, it is unlikely that the United States will ever adopt such requirements in the higher process for most anything (Staats, 1980). Overall, asking for a police officer to have a bachelors degree is like asking a McDonalds worker to have a bachelors degree to serve their fries; sure, it seems it would make the process more efficient and give the worker many perspectives to understand a customer and more words to make the company seem smarter, but it isn’t necessary considering the cost of acquiring a degree and the low salaries they will be making.
References
Hulsey, T. L. (2012). How (Not) to Grade a College Education. Phi Kappa Phi Forum , 20.
Manis, J., Archbold, C. A., & D., H. K. (2008, February 12). Descriptive Statistics for Dependant and
Independant Variables. Exploring the impact of police officer . Journal of Police Science and
Management, pp. 514.
Manis, J., Archbold, C. A., & Hassell, K. D. (2008, February 12). Exploring the impact of police officer
education level on allegations of police misconduct. International journal of police science and
management , pp. 506-523.
Staats, E. (1980). The Law Enforcement Education Program is in Serious Financial Disarray. Washington
DC: United States General Accounting Office.
References
Hulsey, T. L. (2012). How (Not) to Grade a College Education. Phi Kappa Phi Forum , 20.
Manis, J., Archbold, C. A., & D., H. K. (2008, February 12). Descriptive Statistics for Dependant and
Independant Variables. Exploring the impact of police officer . Journal of Police Science and
Management, pp. 514.
Manis, J., Archbold, C. A., & Hassell, K. D. (2008, February 12). Exploring the impact of police officer
education level on allegations of police misconduct. International journal of police science and
management , pp. 506-523.
Staats, E. (1980). The Law Enforcement Education Program is in Serious Financial Disarray. Washington
DC: United States General Accounting Office.