Running Head: Term Paper 1

Term Paper: Do police officers need a college education?

Criminal Justice

4/20/2018

Roger Hill
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Do police officers need a college education?

This is an interesting question to me since I have been in law enforcement for 10 years

and am just now going back to school for my degree. It is not that I think an education is a bad

idea, I am just not sure that it would change how I do my job currently or if experience can make

up for what education gives. The question made me wonder what others say on this subject and

what I found was very interesting to me.

In 1967 the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice

discussed whether or not there should be a requirement for police officers to possess a college

degree (Smith & Aamodt, 1997). They had hoped that this would increase job performance.

During the 1980’s, this became less of a concern because of the increase in in crime rate and

drug trafficking (Smith & Aamodt, 1997). There was a need for more officers quickly on the

force and less of a concern on their college education.

In 2015, more than 2,100 police officers were interviewed from different departments

across the country (EKU Police Studies, 2015). Approximately 50% of those interviewed had a

college degree (EKU Police Studies, 2015). William Terrill, who coauthored the study and is a

criminologist at Michigan State University stated, “Degree programs that address social issues

and incorporate topics like sociology and psychology train police to think more critically, which

can change attitudes among police and the public.” (EKU Police Studies). Thinking about this

made me actually change my mind on the subject pretty quickly. Having skills that can train us

to think more critically can certainly help in certain situations. Victor Kappeler, one of the

study’s co-authors believes education is vital for police officers and stated, “We need critical

thinkers, not just people who can react.” (EKU Police Studies, 2015). The research in this study

showed that when watching the careers of 120 officers over a 5-year period, officers with a 4-
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year degree had a significantly lower rate of citizen complaints than their coworkers who had no

degree (EKU Police Studies, 2015).

There is some resistance on the push for education and law enforcement. One that is

included is the idea that police rosters should be demographically representative of the local

community (Whetstone, 2000). I found this one to be concerning to me and wonder how it would

affect the ability to police appropriately. As an officer, I feel the tension every time I walk in

someplace in uniform. I wonder if that would be harder on the officers because they are already

judged, and people feel they are not treated fairly by officers. Would having a degree make the

situation worse in the long run?

The yearly training officers go through can be very intense at times, but maybe it is not

enough. Yearly, I am involved in training at the range with my weapon, driving skills, defensive

tactics. Kappeler explains “The incidents training merely provides us with a catalyst and alone is

not sufficient problem solving.” (EKU Police Studies, 2015). I think the training I go through

yearly is very important to my job but what about the people skills and the communication skills.

Terrill stated, “Todays policing is much more about social work than it is law enforcement. It is

about resolving low level disputes, dealing with loiterers, and so on.” (Henion, 2015).

Performance is measured evaluating the officer’s overall performance, communication skills,

public relations skills, report writing skills, response to new training, decision making ability,

and commitment. Significant correlations are found between education and most measures of

performance (Smith and Aamodt, 1997). This also made me rethink my original thoughts on

education. I can see that many of these evaluations could be significantly better due to education.

First, writing skills could increase. Education could help a young officer with word choices in
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reports. Also, oral communications skills could increase with the involvement in class room

settings.

A study in 2014 of 2109 officers from seven departments showed the departments did not

require a four-year degree but 45 percent of the officers had a degree (Paoline, Terrill, and

Rossler, 2014). Half the officers had a major in criminal justice and the rest were made up of

degrees such as psychology and business. (Paoline, Terrill, and Rossler, 2014). Education can

provide the officers with information that could be influencing the event at hand. Classes in

specific things could give officers a better understanding of history and what could be altering

our collective awareness (EKU Police Studies, 2015). Interestingly, Paoline’s study showed that

college-educated officers were more likely to be dissatisfied with their job and the degree type

had nothing to do with the dissatisfaction (2014).

I do think a degree is important for leadership and promotion. In some ways it sets a

precedent for the new recruits and shows a desire to further oneself. Promotional opportunities

for someone with a degree is important (Whetstone, 2000). Over the years many studies and

scholars have supported the requirement of a college education for police officers (Whetstone,

2000). Whetstone (2000) points out that a college education provides a competitive advantage in

police promotional examinations. The skills learned in school will transfer to an occupational

context (Whetstone, 2000). Employees who do not have a degree will have to find a way to

prepare for a sergeants exam without having the background of education to put them ahead of

others.

I think an all-around officer is what is important. Officers are involved in not only law

enforcement activities which can include interpersonal activities and non-enforcement activities

within the community (Smith & Aamodt, 1997). Smith and Aamodt (1997) make a good point of
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saying “Problems arise when trying to define effective police performance because there is

considerable ambiguity in distinguishing what makes a police officer good.” Officers can be

judged by people differently because they work with different cultures within society. The

officer must be able to perform roles of an officer while being aware of and adjusting

accordingly to the differences in the community he is currently working in (Smith & Aamodt,

1997).

When I first read the letter from Dr. Gerald W. Lynch, I was put off and maybe quick to

become defensive because I have just started my education after ten years as a law enforcement

officer. I felt like my training and service was enough for my job. Don’t get me wrong, I think I

am a good officer and I do my job well. After doing the research, I feel it is a good idea for

officers to have a college education. I do not think it makes a person a better officer but there

may be situations that could be handled differently with the educational background. If it was

decided officers needed a degree, I would think this is a specialty job that requires a degree that

specifically focuses on law enforcement. Something in an area such as criminal justice,

psychology, or social services. A degree in business or sports science for instance would not be

useful in this line of work.

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References

EKU Police Studies Online (2015). Does History Show Cops Need College Degrees? Retrieved

from http://plsonline.eku.edu/insidelook/does-history-show-cops-need-college-degrees

Henion, A. (2015) Do College Grads Make Better Cops? Retrieved from

https://www.futurity.org/are-college-educated-police-better-cops-851672/

Paoline, E., Terrill, W., & Rossler, M. (June, 2014). Higher Education, College Degree major,

and Police Occupational Attitudes. Vol. 26 issue 1 p. 49-73 Journal of Criminal Justice

Education

Smith, S. & Aamodt, M. (Sept., 1997). The Relationship Between Education, Experience, and

Police Performance. Vol. 12 Issue 2 p. 7-14 Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology.

Whetstone, T. (March, 2000). Getting Stripes: Educational Achievement and Study Strategies

Used by Sergeant Promotional Candidates. Vol. 24 issue 2 P. 247-257 American Journal

of Criminal Justice