2006-11-19 17:42:15 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law Enforcement & Police
No, because if they become lawyers, they certainly will not want to remain police officers any longer. The pay stinks, and the risks are great, compared to that of a lawyers's lot.
2006-11-19 22:59:33 · answer #1 · answered by WC 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's an interesting proposition. It sounds nice on the face of it, but there are several drawbacks that immediately come to mind. First, the U.S. already has more lawyers than anyone else on earth...it is truly a ridiculous number, something like 70% of the worlds lawyers are in the U.S. We don't need anymore. Second, a juris doctorate has a much better earning potential than a cop...you'll never be able to fill the vacancies in police agencies if the all the eligible applicants can make three time the cop salary. To make this worse, police experts predict the greatest challenge for law enforcement agencies in the coming decade will be recruiting. Third, most cops are not academically inclined enough to make it through law school. It probably has something to do with the personalities that are attracted to the job.
All in all, it looks good on paper, but I don't think requiring cops to attend law school is a practical idea. I really don't think it's necessary either since so much of law school deals with legal matters that are really civil in nature. Cops should be required to get more training in criminal procedure and civil rights matters. I try to take a criminal procedures update every three or four years.
2006-11-19 19:32:13 · answer #2 · answered by taters_0 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, b/c cops enforce the law not interpret them. Also their is already a great need for cops, increasing the standards will only further weaken the system. Not to mention the money we would have to pay an officer with a law school degree.
2006-11-19 19:38:15 · answer #3 · answered by J 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Basic knowledge of the law and LAW School are two totally different things.
Trust me, a cop with a Law Degree is a former cop.
2006-11-19 19:19:17 · answer #4 · answered by zillenium_00 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Law enforcement officers should understand the laws they are enforcing. Requiring them to go to law school however, may not be cost effective for society. With a Juris Doctor one would hope to be making enough money to at least pay their college loans off. That's pretty hard to do on the average police salary. As mentioned above, law school does not cover only criminal law, therein, a majority of the information in law school would be trivial for the position. I do strongly support the need to have a four-year degree, but requiring graduate school for one of the poorest paid positions in our society is a bit much.
2006-11-19 19:10:59 · answer #5 · answered by Pincher 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How about NO... Otherwise they would be LAWYERS not cops.. And you would have to pay them a lot more money, law school is expensive. Cops aren't there to be the judge, just enforce the law as it is written and the court system will make decision if the person is guilty or innnocent through judge or jury. Cops aren't even the ones who decide what the charges are it's the District Attorney's office. So no they shouldn't be required to go to law school. They go to school to learn their job and are required to pass tests to become a police officer and that is appropriate.
2006-11-19 19:43:29 · answer #6 · answered by Wicked Good 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
All police officers go to their respective states Police Academy. This is where they are trained in the laws that they will be enforcing. Academies last several months where they are trained in all applicable levels of study.
And then they go back to be in a Field Training Program with a senior officer for several more months before they are let go on their own.
Knowledge of the law and training really isn't a problem for police officers. They get alot.
2006-11-20 21:12:29 · answer #7 · answered by the_mr911 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There wouldn't be many cops if we did that. Law School is hard and many cops don't even have a college degree. As such, the idea just isn't workable. Also, I went to law school and eventually became an attorney specializing in criminal law. Had I known where I was going to end up, I might have taken more criminal law classes, but, as it was, I took exactly three classes related to criminal law and only two of them were exclusively criminal law classes. That totals less than one semester of classes in a 6 semester program. As such, a law school curriculum seems unnecessary.
Incidentally, many FBI agents went to law school.
2006-11-19 17:49:35 · answer #8 · answered by Erik B 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
If they were required, we wouldn't have any cops. Due either to the fact that they wouldn't want to "bother with it", or it would take so long that crimes would be committed while we're waiting for these boys in blue to get their degrees. I mean honestly, who's gonna beat the Rodney King's of the world if Officer Beatdown has to get to bed early for a 20th Century Law midterm? I'll tell you who, nody... that's who. So yeah, maybe they should go to law school.
2006-11-19 17:51:52 · answer #9 · answered by John T. Woods 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
in today's world cops need to be very informed about the law. some do go to law school. most should. there's a lot more to it these days than directing traffic.
2006-11-19 17:52:47 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋