You dont need many qualifications to become a police officer, especially when it comes to

education. The Bureau of Justice Statistics show that eighty three percent of police departments

require a high school diploma and only eight percent require a four-year college degree. In the

next few pages, well discuss if police officers really need a college education and if it effects

any aspect of their day to day duties.

In MSNBCs article, Education levels and the use of force by Willa Frej, she states that

majority of police departments only require a high school diploma, while a select few require

college degrees. She then proceeds to say that in a 2010 study by Police Quarterly showed that

college educated officers were less likely to resort force or in other words pull the trigger while

non-college educated police officers were the opposite. The percentages had a twelve percent

difference, college educated cops would show force only fifty six percent of the time while non-

college educated cops would show force sixty eight percent of the time. Its not a very wide

margin but it still is a significant margin that should be noticed.

In Willa Frei Education levels and the use of force she interviews Dr. Maria Haberfeld who is

a professor in the criminal justice community. Dr. Haberfeld states that the reason behind college

educated police officers showing less force is because they tend to be more mature. She states

that it takes a while to obtain a degree, and while youre doing so you tend to learn specific out

comes of certain situations through text. You learn ethics whether it be police ethics or just

criminal justice ethics, these subjects give you another tool to act accordingly to a difficult

situation. She also states that college tends to give you maturity, compared to your counterpart
who just graduated high school. The overall census is that if you attend college then you can

grow and learn and acquire tools to better help you make proper decisions when it comes to

showing force or taking a life.

College educated police officers are not only better at making decisions when it comes to for,

they are also good at doing other tasks that a police officer would encounter in his regular day. In

The Impact of a College-Educated Police Force, Dr. Rebecca L. Paynich, explains that police

officers with a college education are all around better than their high school counter parts. They

are better at writing reports, understanding the criminal justice system, are more open minded

and the list goes on. This is all because they attended college and could mature and become their

own person. College can expand you mind, so you can think outside the box and it also exposes

you to a variety of people so you know how to associate with anyone. Every skill that is learned

in college, from meeting new people, taking test, and even writing papers will better suit you in

the future as a police officer. You can carry many skills over to the real world and it will help

you become a better police officer.

Its believed that this education issue is an issue that has just started, we could not be more

wrong. This issue has been an ongoing issue that stretched back as far as the 1960s. This issue

according to the director of the National Institute of Justice, Jeremy Travis who wrote Beyond

the College Degree, was brought up due to the misconduct of police officers during urban riots.

This misconduct led to the people and the internal entities wanting a more professional conduct

in the police department. He states that a bachelors degree for every officer was the ultimate
goal, not the immediate goal. Which meant that eventually down the line they wanted to hire

police officers who had already put in the time at school and earned a degree. In the time being

they wanted candidates to at least have some college under their belts. They were also pushing

for higher requirements to be promoted and education programs had to become a matter of

formal policy.

The article also states that the college education process stretches even further that 1960. It can

be traced to 1916, to the father of modern policing August Vollmer who wanted police officers

to have a college education. Because of him, the university of Berkeley started incorporating law

enforcement classes into their curriculum. Nevertheless, education is an important part of being a

police officer since you must be one step ahead of the criminal. The father of modern policing

understood this and it has been slowly implemented through time.

All these facts inevitably end up to one place, and that shows us that police officers technology

has changed with time and an officer would be out of his element without education. In Mark

Bonds article, How Education Impacts Police Performance, he says that technology is

changing almost every day, and without a higher education or a continuation of education and

officer is obsolete. Technology has advanced so much that there are new ways to conduct day to

day duties, and a lot more ways of monitoring officers. For instance, dash cams keep an eye on

every officer. According to Mark Bond, research indicates that the more educated an officer is

the more he will act accordingly in front of these cameras. According to his study, he states that

an educated officer has a better understanding to his technological surroundings, and can use
these tools to have a better report with the citizens hes trying to protect. In the end, a better

officer is one who knows his gear and how to properly utilize it.

In conclusion, education plays a major in a policemens life. If you cant utilize your equipment

properly to do your job then you shouldnt be a cop. I believe that a higher education should be

demanded by the police departments, statistics show that a well-educated cop makes fewer

mistakes and shows less force. They are also greater with the local populace and are not afraid to

think outside the box. All and all education makes or breaks a good police officer, and I do

believe education is the answer to all the problems the police force goes through.
Citations

Frej, W. (2014, December 19). U.S. Police: Education levels and the use of force. Retrieved

April 24, 2017, from http://www.msnbc.com/ronan-farrow-daily/us-police-education-levels-and-

the-use-force

Travis, J. (1995, February 10). Education in Law Enforcement: Beyond the College Degree.

Retrieved April 24, 2017, from https://www.nij.gov/about/speeches/past-

directors/pages/police.aspx

Bond, M. (2017, March 22). How Education Impacts Police Performance. Retrieved April 24,

2017, from http://inpublicsafety.com/2014/07/how-education-impacts-police-performance/

Paynich, R. (2009). The Impact of a College-Educated Police Force [Review]. 1-32. Retrieved

April 24, 2017, from https://www.masschiefs.org/files-downloads/hot-topics/96-the-impact-of-

higher-education-in-law-enforcement-feb-2009-and-summarypdf/file