Do Police Officers Need a College Education?

Britney Harms Criminal Justice 1010-F13

Policing in one form or another has been around for centuries. The practice of protecting the citizens and making sure that justice prevails is seen throughout history in almost all geographical locations. One could argue that the knights of the distant monarchs were an early form of police. During that time training, skill, instincts and the right attitude were all that was needed to perform the job adequately. One learned more in the field with real life experiences and much hasnt changed since then. It still seems that in most states training, instincts, and a desire to learn is still enough to become a police officer today. In most places a college degree is not a requirement to become a police officer and most of what is learned is learned in the field. Although a college education is not a requirement in most states to become a police officer, a college education can improve police work, greatly benefit the person going after a career in police work, and help the officers be better prepared as crimes and criminals become more sophisticated.

Many believe that there does not need to be a change in the way police officers are trained and what requirements are needed to become a police officer. From the beginning the idea of police work has remained mostly unchanged. Since police work is a specialized field unlike many others, specialized training has always been implemented to some degree to ready an individual for what they might endure. A college education does not provide the skills needed to perform the job because those skills come exclusively from experience on the

job(White, M. D., & Escobar). Many believe that what one must know to be an effective officer one cannot learn in a classroom or from a book. Much like one cannot learn how to shoot a gun just by reading about them. Another reason one might oppose a college education as a police requirement is that police training has been sufficient enough in the past to ensure that police officers are being trained adequately. Also, many believe that tacking on a new requirement would reduce the number of candidates available, leaving the community with inadequate resources. However, most police departments in the USA are having a difficult time filling available positions, and unfortunately the shortage of qualified applicants does not appear to be diminishing(White, M. D., & Escobar). This means that currently there are not enough police officers to fill every opening. If a college education becomes a requirement there could be an even greater shortage creating greater strain on the officers that are already employed and on the community as a whole.

There is a responsibility to the greater good when it comes to police work; which is to ensure order and to protect the citizens. Police officers often do tasks that civilians are unable to perform. The responsibility of police work is crucial to our communities and everyday life. Therefore, we should strive to have the best educated officers and a college education can accomplish this. Those who study criminal justice at college will bring with them a more in-depth knowledge of the system, its various components, how it functions, as well as the prevailing theories on the causes of crime. Educational backgrounds in psychology, government, sociology, public management, communications, business and the natural

sciences would also serve to benefit police officers in various aspects of the job. (White, M. D., & Escobar) This means that officers with a college education will be more prepared than officers who attend training only. They will have a better insight into criminology as a study and will be well rounded individuals from their time spent at college. Higher education promotes creativity and critical thinking [] and an enhanced focus on ethical and professional behavior(Paterson, C). With colleges being so divers individuals get the opportunity to work with and around many different people and groups that they may not have otherwise come in contact with. For individuals perusing a career as a police officer this can benefit how they see other ethnic groups or religions that they may encounter on the job. In college people are likely to interact with others who look and act differently, and who adhere to different belief systems. This exposure to other cultures and customs will lead to greater tolerance and understanding among police when they interact with people who are different from them(White, M. D., & Escobar). This will help officers be in their everyday interaction with the public. A college education will provide officers with skills that are not taught at the academy but that are used every day such a communicating with the public or other officers, writing reports and gaining computer skills that are necessary for police work. Changes in how police work can also be made easier by having a college education. As departments have moved toward problem-oriented styles of policing, critical thinking and analytic skills have become centrally important, and both of these skills are often developed and improved in the college classroom(White, M. D., & Escobar). A college education can ensure that our officers are not only skilled and prepared, but that their police work is the very best it can be.

There are several benefits to having a college education not restricted to police work. A person with a college education will be more confident in perusing career options and have greater options opened up to them. Career advancement is not the only reason someone pursues higher education, but it is one of the most important for law enforcement officers (Hilal, S., & Densley). Individuals who take the time to complete at least a two year degree have more life experience and have had the opportunity to decide if a career as a police officer is really what they want. This in turn saves time and money in training individuals who may not continue their career as a police officer. College-educated applicants will be older, more mature, and more well-rounded(White, M. D., & Escobar). This time will help to ensure that those who do still decide to pursue a career as a police officer will be more likely to stick with it. A college education also better prepares officers in the field when working with others or when trying to solve crimes. It can be argued that university education helps develop skills that improve community orientation and local accountability. Community policing requires police officers to make decisions and solve problems (rather than incidents) using skills that can be developed as part of higher education courses(Paterson, C). This means that a college education not only benefits the work that officers do, but also benefits the person. Officers with a college education are better prepared for their job and have a greater understanding of the world. A college education also opens many different possibilities for an individual either as a police officer or after one chooses to move on. A college education can act as a safety net for those officers who get injured on the job and must retire or who decide to leave the force because of the severity of the job. The benefits of a college education to the individual greatly benefit someone going after a career in police work.

Both crimes and criminals are becoming more sophisticated as technology improves. This gives criminals an easier way to commit crimes and avoid capture. In turn policing has become more sophisticated to keep up with criminals meaning our police officers must also become more sophisticated through higher education. Law enforcement officers responsibility to serve and protect is a core job function; however, a task analysis of todays officer looks different than it did 10 years ago due to advances in technology and the emergence of new security threats. Training on cybercrime and identity theft, for example, is more important now than in 2003(Hilal, S., & Densley). Presently, technological crimes such as cybercrimes are becoming more prominent and criminals now have the means to avoid being caught. Cybercrime has created substantial challenges for law enforcement, particularly at the local level. Most scholars and police administrators believe that patrol officers need to become more effective first responders to cybercrime calls(Holt, T. J., & Bossler). To become more effective officers need education in fields such as computer science or criminology. Today technology not only helps police officers to identify criminals, but it also helps criminals invent new crimes and better hide from the police. For police offices to be able to keep up with new technology it is important that they receive an education. Our society has become increasingly educated and it is necessary for police to keep pace with the larger public(White, M. D., & Escobar). This can insure that as criminals become more sophisticated so do our officers who are protecting the public.

Decades of police work have continued primarily the same. However, this is now a generation of technology and advancement never seen before in the past. Although, a college education is not a requirement in most states to become a police officer, a college education can improve police work, greatly benefit the person going after a career in police work, and help the

officers be better prepared as crimes and criminals become more sophisticated. In later generations training, on the job experience and the right person was pretty much all that was required from knights to the sheriffs of the old west, but with the great change in technology that we have today, there is a change in criminology and therefore needs to be a change in policing. The benefits of a college education especially when it comes to police officers cannot be ignored and needs to instead be encouraged and eventually be a requirement to become an officer who protects the citizens and does what many cannot do.

Bibliography:
Hilal, S., & Densley, J. (2013). Higher Education and Local Law Enforcement. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 82(5), 1-3. Holt, T. J., & Bossler, A. M. (2012). Predictors of Patrol Officer Interest in Cybercrime Training and Investigation in Selected United States Police Departments. Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, 15(9), 464-472. doi:10.1089/cyber.2011.0625 Paterson, C. (2011). Adding value? A review of the international literature on the role of higher education in police training and education. Police Practice & Research, 12(4), 286-297. doi:10.1080/15614263.2011.563969 White, M. D., & Escobar, G. (2008). Making good cops in the twenty-first century: Emerging issues for the effective recruitment, selection and training of police in the United States and abroad. International Review Of Law, Computers & Technology, 22(1/2), 119-134. doi:10.1080/13600860801925045