Should we as a society encourage or even require our police to earn law degrees?

Answer 1

If the police had law degrees why would they want to work as cops? They would all get more lucrative, less dangerous jobs in the legal profession.... I agree that police should be better trained in the nuances of the law but let's not go nuts. Plus I think the average cop is probably not smart enough to earn a law degree.

Answer 2

A law DEGREE would not be of significant value to cops. That document, along with passing the bar, allows you to try cases in the courts.

But cops don't try cases in the courts. That's not their job, nor should it be.

Which is not to say that cops don't need a working knowledge of the criminal law. But there is much more to a law degree than that, for one thing, and for another, what the cops really need for knowledge of the law is simply different than what the lawyers need, even though it comes from the same body of laws.

Answer 3

No.

Let the lawyers be lawyers. It requires specialized training and a large amount of time.

The cops should be the best cops they can be - it also requires specialized training and a large amount of time. I don't want to see any cops get killed because they skipped self defense class and had to attend law 101 instead.

Answer 4

I dont think so. I think thats a little much. Maybe some psychology, sociology, and the trainging you already have to go through everything else is just a waste. Besides you guys work hard enough. You usually go to college to get a degree so that you dont have to work hard and get paid more money but for the work you guys do i think its too much to ask for a college degree. What do you think?

Answer 5

No. Police officers aren't lawyers, nor do they need to be.