Are we in need of cops so bad that we are lowering our standards?

Question

I recently had interactions with a police officer in the community I live in. I was shocked to see a "kid" looking police officer. After speaking with him, I found he was 21 and only a few months on the job. He honestly looked like he was maybe 16 at the most. I was not the person being arrested, but he was treating the violater very rude and almost unethical. I decided to research and found that with a clean record, 21 years old and a H.S. diploma or GED, you can be a pd officer. Shouldn't we require a little more for a job with this much responsibility? Like 25 age limit and minimum college hours or degree? I really felt like this kid and I will call him a kid, was blinded with power and authority. Scares me to think he has a gun and authority to use it. I guess if we need them, we will do what we need to and hire them. I just feel like we need to raise our standards in regards to the responsibilities of that position.

I am not a police officer, but I am involved with them on an almost daily basis. I have many very good friends that are police officers and they for the most part agree with me. They are seeing a lowering in standards now. I don't think they should have PHds, I said a certain amount of college hours also. And no 25 isn't a magical number but I think a few more years of life expereince wouldn't hurt in making decisions. And you can be phsyically fit in your late 20s, 30s and 40s, you don't have to be young to be in shape. And I agree that if we require more and higher standards the pay would have to increase. I am not opposed to that either, I think they are under paid anyway. I also live in a city with over a million people so not rural.

Answer 1

I know that the rest of the country may be different, but here in Michigan most police officers are required to be at least 21 years old with an associate's degree. We have some exceptions (City of Detroit requires 18 years and a high school education).

As far as a lowering of standards, my department required a bachelor's degree when I hired on. Now we reduced it to an associate's degree because we had difficulty finding qualified candidates. Things have certainly changed, but we still have quality officers. I would suspect that Officer's wages will have to increase in order to attract higher educated or higher qualified candidates.

All in all, I agree that the age is insignificant. I have officers in their 40's with BA degrees that are morons and I have a 22 year old Marine (with barely an associate degree) who is as professional as one could be. Not knowing the Officer's side of the story, I can only assume that you stumbled upon a less then adequate officer.

Answer 2

I must say i disagree and admire anyone who is in the military or a police officer. They put their lives on the line EVERY FRICKING DAY FOR UNGRATEFUL JERKS LIKE YOU. There are many benefits to being young on a job. Not only are they more PHYSICALLY fit than the older cops you see (ie the donut jokes start from) but their minds are sharp as well. In my state...they are required to have a certain amount of school credits or military time built up and for state police you must have an associates degree. But you graduate when your 18 and have that by the time your 20. Do you tihnk every one should put their careers on hold till their 25? Like that is some magic age where you think ppl are old enough? Your a moron.
They are also ALL required to go through at LEAST 6 months of SOLID TRAINING. and then 3 more months of what they call FTO which is where they do their job with a senior officer riding along to teach them the ropes and get to know the area they are assigned.

Answer 3

For a job where you put your life on the line every day and get paid very little (for what the risk is), What kind of education do you expect of these people? Recently, most departments have started requiring at least associate degrees from new recruits. What do you think they should have, a Ph.d? As for the age, 21 seems perfectly fine to me. Do we really want old cops out patrolling the streets? A 25 age limit seems ridiculously unnecessary.........are you going to tell me there is a jump in maturity level from 21,22,23,or 24 to 25?! I think that anyone who really knows about police departments and their hiring standards can tell you that most department's hiring process is VERY competitive. Granted, most smaller, rural agencies are a little less strict in their requirements, but with good reason......less crime, risks, and responsibilities. Also, the reason why this "kid" probably seemed to be "drunk with power" is because he was trained to take control of the situation, be assertive, and to not show nervousness.

Answer 4

Ordinary policement with college degrees? I think not. Not that I'm formally opposed to it, but just what kind of college degree should a policeman have? the only one I can think of is law... and in the US, that means your basic beat cop will be something of an MS or PhD... Do you really want to hire at that level? People who have gone through this much do tend to expect wages and perk packages commensurate with the cost and effort of their education... and no PD I know could afford that.

Plus, Policemen have to be in top shape, which means it's better to take them as young as you can, so 21 is pretty good.

And what do you have against the ed they give at police academy?

That your example cop did not show proper manners and was borderline unethical is not, I fear, a factor of youth or lack of education, but just a manifestation of basic human nature compounded by the "I'm a cop so shut up" syndrome that is abundantly found to varying degrees in all countries.

Answer 5

Those have always been the standard although most places are raising the requirements to an Associates degree, bachelors degree or military experience. It is unfortunate that you had that experience, but that officer will learn sooner than later to actually treat people with respect.

Answer 6

Most jurisdictions can pick and choose among wannabes. 21 is the mininum age for a rookie.

Small towns and rural counties, particularly in the South, have trouble attracting quality recruits (mainly because of crappy pay), and less than ideal people get hired.

Answer 7

I think It is possible to have a 40 year old bad cop and also a 21 year old highly responsible cop... Age is just but a number..

Answer 8

This is what socialism brings you. Let the other guy take care of me. Even if it is in the hands of a kid.

I agree that law enforcement needs to have more mature people in the arena and less number of bodies. Work smarter not harder principle.

Answer 9

you must live where i do. at one point, potential police officers had to pass college type classes, police officers standards, training, (POST) but i think it depends on where they officer ends up working, i took those classes, they started with how police started and covered areas from how to talk to people, to what is said in dealing with situations, to how to act, basic police technique's, crime scenes, and much much more.

Answer 10

You only need to be a High School Graduate to become a cop. The thin blue line.