Yasmin Hamad

08/01/14 CJ 1010
M.Cupello
Do Police Officers Need A College Education?
Knowledge is the foundation of human existence and development. Knowledge can be as
simple as learning the alphabet or as challenging as quantum mechanics. Early geniuses like
Aristotle, Galileo, and Pythagoras just to name a few, gained knowledge by speaking with other
intellects or gathering data and experimenting on their own. Modern geniuses such as Tesla,
Einstein, and Newton received knowledge through more structured ways, like universities or
schools of thought. Without the knowledge these individuals obtained and passed down through
generations we wouldn't know how to act civilized. An uneducated human race can't think
analytically or logically, so our behavior would be based on instinct. On a more basic level
humans wouldn't even know how to read which means no economy or technology. The gaining
of knowledge through any means is important to functioning in our modern day society. The
importance of higher education is becoming more prevalent because in most cases the more
schooling you have the more money you make. I believe if you are in a professional career there
should be a minimum education requirement. In my opinion, I believe police officers should
have a college education.
The police agencies should make a college education a requirement because the
knowledge they learn in school can be applied to their work. Dr Lynch states (1996), We have
enormous expectations of our police officers, but we don't invest enough in preparing them for
their enormous tasks. (p. 26). The bureaucracy expects a lot from officers but they don't give
them the correct tools they need to achieve that level of success. A college education instills
qualities in an individual that make them a well rounded person. For example, a humanities
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course examines human culture, which include topics like cultural values and
race/racism. Police officers deal with different types of people everyday from many cultures and
a humanities course would place a higher value on ethical conduct. Its easier to develop your
values and morals when you have reasoning to back up your opinions. Police officers can use a
combination of their physical and educational training to make themselves the best possible law
enforcer. Officers will be able to make rational, logical, and analytical decisions when working
the streets.
College educated police officers tend to have fewer administrative and personnel
problems. That would make sense because they have a clear understanding of policing and the
criminal justice system. They are able to write better reports which in turn makes them well
prepare for court. According to Dr. Lynch (1996), Of the police officers arrested for corrupt acts
over the last four years, eighty-six percent of them would not have been hired in the first place
under these new standards (p.26). The new standards were a minimum age of twenty-two and at
least sixty college credits or Honorary Discharge from the Military. Its hard to believe that if at
least some college was made a requirement it would help prevent the police departments from
hiring criminal police officers.
I believe the minimum educational requirement for a patrol officer should be an
Associates Degree. A general education degree should be the foundation of all professional
occupations. With the extra schooling the police officer is able to display organizational,
professional, and critical thinking skills. In a journal by Jagiello (1971) he mentions, Perhaps
the most significant power of police, is the ability to engage in summary on-the-street
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punishment ranging from verbal abuse to death. (p.116) This lies in the discretionary powers of
the police officer and if they don't have the critical thinking skills developed in college it's
difficult for the officer to come up with an educated decision. I also think that if you go up in
rank the schooling requirements should also be increased. Any position above a patrol officer
like a lieutenant, sergeant, or captain should have nothing less than a Bachelor degree. Salary
adjustments would need to be adjusted for either having an Associates degree or a Bachelor
Degree. The amount of money the individual gets should depend on their amount of schooling
and job title. Since they have more knowledge and experience they should be paid more.
In general a college educated individual has a deeper understanding of diversity because
they are required to take those type of courses for an Associates degree. All accredited
universities and colleges have classes, like humanities, as I stated before, that deepen the
students understanding of our differences. Warren and Farrell claim (2009), Prior knowledge
has consistently demonstrated that minorities are more likely to be targeted by police. (p.52)
Patrol officers tend to use excess force and aggression when dealing with people of color. Racial
profiling is a phenomena getting a lot of media coverage and its when a police officer performs a
traffic stop based on race rather than an individualized suspicion. I can't think of any reasoning
as to why an officer would stop someone merely based on the color of their skin. On the other
hand, officers that are aware of racism have a better comprehension of civil rights issues from
multiple perspectives. With the knowledge they gained by completing diversity courses they
become more cautious of ethical problems in the work place. If all police officers were required

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to have an Associates Degree situations, like racial profiling should drastically reduce or even
diminish.
In conclusion I believe all police officers should have a minimum education requirement
of an Associates Degree. This would create a well rounded officer that would have the skills to
perform all the enormous daily tasks. I would feel more comfortable trusting a police officer that
is book smart because that knowledge will stay with him while on patrol. They will be experts
of the law and be able to use their problem solving skills to resolve conflicts in the work place. In
turn, these qualities should reduce racial profiling because the officer will have the knowledge to
remain open-minded. All in all, police officers should get a college education so they will be able
to deal with cristim, change, workload, and stress.