College Education And Officer Performance : Do College Educated Police Officers Perform Better Than Those Without A College? Essay

There are twelve qualities that Dennis Nowicki believed that are authoritative for entry-level police officers: “Enthusiasm, Good communication skills, Good judgement, Sense of humor, Creativity, Self-motivation, Knowing the job and the system, Ego, Courage, Discretion, Tenacity, and Thirst for knowledge” (Peak, 2012, pp. 137-138). First, enthusiasm is mostly about having faith “in what one is doing and going about even routine duties with a certain vigor that is almost contagious” (Peak, 2012, pp. 137). Second, having good communication skills is “having a highly developed speaking and listening skill that helps interacting equally well with a wealthy person or someone lower on the socioeconomic ladder” (Peak, 2012, pp. 137). Third, good judgement

Gaines, L. K., & Kappeler, V. E. (2014). Policing in america (8th ed.). (S. Decker-Lucke, Ed.) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America: Anderson Publishing. Retrieved January 2017

The field of police work is constantly being forced to develop and improve its protocols, procedures, and practices in an effort to keep pace with the ever-changing society in which it operates and criminal behavior it seeks to eradicate. While the history of policing has been marked by substantial changes throughout time, the work of modern-day police officers and officials demonstrate some of the most substantial adaptations to its surrounding environment that the field has ever seen. In order to understand where the future of policing is heading, it is important to first understand these current trends that are affecting the current landscape of the profession. By

Concepts like crime prevention, authority, professionalism and discretion have evolved in modern law enforcement since the twentieth century. August Vollmer instituted university training as a tool for young officers in training and under Vollmer’s teachings; O.W. Wilson pioneered the use of advanced training for officers and is also known for the start of criminal justice as an academic field. Wilson was also instrumental in applying modern management and administrative techniques to policing. Vollmer’s drive for educational innovations and improvements has changed policing tremendously and is still practiced heavily upon in today’s modern law enforcement society.

Police brutatlity infleucnes its victims, as well as can undermine the group 's trust in it 's police force. Cops are given a extended range of scope in playing out their obligations. Since they are required to ensure society general safety and face conceivably brutal people, they can legitmatley utilize physical, and even fatal constrain in specific situations (Pierce, 1986, p. 52). Notwithstanding, and officer who utilizes extreme force when it is not called for, or important to play out his or her employment, may go too far into police

Having had the opportunity to see both sides of the argument play out in the City of Memphis and as a member of the Memphis Police Department. I have become an advocate for requiring entry-level police officers to have at the very minimum an associate degree or the equivalent college credits. The college requirement can only be avoided with military experience. However, my position is not that more education makes you a better police officer or less education makes you a lousy officer. I believe that there should be a “happy medium” when it comes to police work. A good officer will be empathic, fair and in tune with the needs of the community and its members. Requiring a level of education for your entry-level officers speaks volumes about your agency and their dedication to professionalism. The benefits of having a college educated officer have shown to make a difference in the way they do their jobs. An educated police officer is less likely to utilize force when interacting with his co-workers or civilians. A department with educated officers also has shown to see a reduction in misconduct and disciplinary issues(Gómez-Mejía et al., 2016). Some years back the Memphis Police Department had relaxed their

Many businesses require their upper-level leadership to have a degree. The police departments are now starting to change to that style of education hiring. The hiring process can be very complicated because the police department wants to ensure that they are hiring the right person that fits their department. Choosing the right applicant for the job is an important decision because of the cost of the equipment, uniforms, training, and probation period because this is an investment in the departments future (Dempsey, & Forst, 2016). Because the police departments are requiring their officers to have an associate’s or bachelor’s degree for an entry-level position will make the department more completive, but the department should still consider

Gaines, L., & Kappeler, V. (2011). Policing in America (7th ed., p. 194). Waltham: Anderson Publishing.

Police Agencies in modern society are a part of the American fabric to serve and protect the American public. The United States currently have more than 15,000 police agencies, (Walker & Katz, 2011). Police Departments across the United States face similar critical issues policing. All police officers face dangers in the job of policing the dangers can emanate from internal and external origins. Police officers have continued to evolve to serve communities by finding better less than lethal alternatives to weapons used. In addition, police departments have continued to keep up with

A growing number of entry-level criminal justice practitioners have college degrees. This paper will explore whether or not law enforcement agencies should require applicants to have a post secondary degree as a condition of employment and will college-educated police officers will be resistant to organizational change.

One major advantage in having a college education is proficient in technology Law enforcement has changed dramatically in the last 30 years with the vast growing of technology. Adoption of new technology, computer skills are a basic requirement to function and communicate in a modern technical society. Understanding forensic science and how this evidence can strengthen a case, as well as the technical skills to understand ways to fight cybercrime, require educated detectives using a multi-disciplined approach. Modern police departments need highly educated people capable or leading change in an evolving technology-oriented society. With the trend of citizens with video cameras watching uniformed police officers perform their duties, research indicates that educated officers will act with more discretion, tolerance, and restraint when confronting resistance. By police officers continuing their education they make themselves a current

Law enforcement like much of the economy and society has had to adapt to the rapidly changing Atmosphere of the technological advances. To counter these advances, education has served in the forefront to combating the technological sophistication that is rapidly sweeping the workforce. The need and desire to remain competitive with the technology that we have is a need that can be satisfied with more education. Much like technology, education has benefits elsewhere in the equation of remaining competitive. Education on the higher tiered level provides a professionalism to accompany by the demands placed on students during their scholastic years of study. Activities required by many professors in the higher education

Line-level law enforcement officers, investigators supervisors, and police executives are more educated and sophisticated with technology in their arsenal to enhance job performance. Despite having better education, training, equipment, access to specialized resources, and information, law enforcement agencies struggle with sharing power with their workforce. The result of this failure to modernize leaves law enforcement officers going through the motions and working at less than maximum efficiency.

Lawyers and psychologists require even more schooling, a minimum of around eight years. Police officers end up being all of these things, and more. To obtain the real goal of law, and prevent crime, officers must have the trust and respect of the community they serve. "Instead, policing has been defined as uneducated people's work" (Fyfe, 262). Many citizens feel that the people protecting them are not as smart as they are. This leads to disrespect, and a sense of superiority within the community. With disrespect comes uncooperation, something any department would be worlds better without. If officers were required to obtain more basic schooling, and focus on social issues and psychology more during training, they would be better equipped to take up the position of law enforcement in any community. Besides the obvious benefit of being more adept at dealing with citizens, there would be added bonuses in police departments requiring more strenuous schooling. With four years of general education, officers would inherently become acquainted with a wide range of topics that they might not otherwise be exposed to with the minimal curriculum now required. Foreign language, art, and psychology classes would be especially useful in exposing up and comers to the varied environments they might encounter in their careers. Most importantly, people in the community would have a new respect for the

Although many aspects of criminal justice programs have been examined over the years, Terry observed that criminal justice students are seldom the focus of research. In the limited number of attitudinal studies, the role of college tends to be assessed as a step toward police professionalization, to the neglect of research addressing effects of college on criminal justice students who aspire to careers in