Should all police officers be required to have a 4 year college degree? Why or why not?

Answer 1

That is a very interesting question for a reason that you might not have thought of. We expect police officers to memorize a lot of laws/offenses, and to exercise a lot of discretion... arrest someone or warning, use deadly force or non-lethal force, etc... In theory, we would like for very intelligent/educated people making these decisions (and before I get hate mail, I know that lack of a degree makes someone dumb; but the presence of a degree does mean that one has met a certain minimum level of educational and intellectual achievement)...

BUT... we are still talking about a job that pays only $28k to $30k a year (here in Florida) to start. Is it really reasonable to expect someone to rack up $60k in loan debt (needed to pay for the schooling and to live on while getting the degree), all so that they can make $30k a year - well below a living wage??? (and then ya get to get shot at too!)

Answer 2

No, That job is not that complicated, they get all the training they need with a high school ed. Most cities don't have enough cops to begin with. Most police departments don't pay that well. If you had a college education and were doing it for money or a challenging/safe job, in most cases it wouldn't be a PD. By the way many cops have degrees. I think major cities such as Los Angles require a 4 year or equivalent. Bottom line, I know some great cops, no 4 year.

Answer 3

My question would be: What kind of impact do you think it would have on the overall police force?

Having a 4 year degree doesn't mean you would have less
foul play amongst the men in khaki and blue.

Infact, plenty of them that have gotten in deep doodoo have 4 year degrees.

If this is the motive of your question, I believe that the answer lies in a multiple pronged approach.

Yes, education levels are important in terms of knowledge and execution of duties as well as boundries.

You also have personality/behaviour, prior unknown criminal background, etc etc....

As long as we continue to be human, there will always be
som fallability amongst our sworn officers.

Depts usually have a college credit requirement, plus a POST basic certificate from an accredited law enforcement academy.

Then they must go through the hiring tests, Field training,
qualifications, and probationary period.

I think it is already good.

I also think that departmental policy review process needs to be more transparent and expiditious.

Just as out towns and counties have representatives, I blieve that the dept enforcing that jurisdiction, should have departmental policies that reflect the jurisdiction.

Attempting to force a "template" on all communities is like having signing up for driving lessons with Stevie Wonder.

Every community has different requirements.

Answer 4

Police departments would have a very hard time finding new employees. No one with a four year degree wants to start at less than $30,000 like almost all departments offer. The only four year degree people who might take the jobs are the C or D level graduates.

Answer 5

Just like with any job entry level positions should not require extensive College Education. Just insure they need to know what is necessary and pair them with qualified veterans to learn the ropes. Then to progress make more education a requirement of the job. Most police departments will pay for at least a portion of your continuing education.

Common Sense - You win the prize for the stupidest thing I've read today. Congratulations!

Answer 6

I come from a family of quite a few police officers. Only a couple went to college for about two years for a Criminal Justice course. But there was really no difference in their promotions whether they went or not . One was an undercover officer with a drug unit, one a top detective in a big city, now retired and his son following in his footsteps. All did very well and received many accreditations? not sure thats the word! bettyk

Answer 7

If you have a 4 year college degree, why would you be a cop?

A cop was writing out a ticket for me once and he misspelled a word on the ticket and he kept saying "I seen" and using double negatives.. I wanted to correct his grammar and inform him of his spelling mistake, but I refrained from doing so. He might have tasered me ... or worse.

It's a good thing I wasn't a 7 year old kid playing on the sidewalk.

Answer 8

Not all police officers. Some of them have jobs that don't really require all that much education. Others probably do.

Answer 9

I think that any officer which moves up in rank, such as Corp, Sgt. Lt, etc, should have, but an officer on the street needs street knowledge in order to make it on the streets. I work with many of them and I do think that most of them have college degrees.

Answer 10

Nope..
Several Police forces have a maximum IQ requirement of 100.