Should Police be required to have College Degrees ?

[JI7]

Should people who want to go into law enforcement be required to have college degrees ?

So many seem so fucking stupid . I know many are just assholes also but many seem to lack critical thinking skills.

I know having a college degree itself isn't the solution. But I think it can help. And those who really want to go into law enforcement with the right intentions will put in the work to get there.

[Vinca]

1. No. They should be required to have some common sense and a little heart.

A college degree is fine, but you know what they call the person who finishes last in the class in medical school, right? Doctor. Alphabet soup after your name doesn't necessarily indicate intelligence.

[Maeve]

2. No but they need more training than they are getting

A degree is only as meaningful as the coursework it took to get it. And a lot of fools manage to get thru without absorbing what a good cop needs to know.
A proper police education could be done thru a community college system and would require psycho-social vetting of candidates

[JI7]

3. I guess it doesn't have to be the 4 year degree but there should be programs available at

community colleges and other places. Similar to things like for those who want to be a nurse or pharmacy technician .

[Maeve]

5. Coursework does exist, but more of it needs to be manditory

An associate degree (two years) maybe

[Mike Nelson]

4. I think...

... it might help. It should be a public, or state college. I found going to college exposed me to different people. In college, you can sometimes get to know a variety of different students and I liked getting to know people that were different from me... that's not to say there were subsets of bigoted groups. But the subsets were clearly small... it was an important part of my education, I think. I'm sure it's similar in the police academy - but do they have many Muslims, gay people, etc... I don't know...

... and colleges have classes on culture, behavior... probably, police should be like teachers and doctors; you must complete a 4-year program, then get your credentials.

[ck4829]

6. Yes, in addition to licensing and continual psychological and competency exams

[DFW]

12. That would help for sure

Have every one of them sign a statement pledging not to use lethal force on an unarmed person who poses no immediate danger of harm to anyone, and that that they acknowledge that a violation of that pledge subjects them to the same legal liabilities as any civilian.

If that makes becoming a cop seem cumbersome, well DUH, it SHOULD be cumbersome. A society that gives a gun and a license to use it as they see fit needs to implement certain restraints, or else you end up with, well, what we have now.

[Snake Plissken]

7. I'm not sure a well educated psychopath is any better than one who is not well educated

There should be better psychological screening for candidates of police academies and mandatory drug testing for steroids for all police officers

[Hortensis]

8. They're supposed to reflect the communities they police, but

these days most people have at least some college. A lot of communities require an associate's degree. And, as it happens, most police officers have some college, and four-year degrees are fairly common.

We've learned a great deal about psychology and personality. We really need to be able to apply it to screen those with too many of the wrong traits and too few of the right ones out during the initial selection process.

That's touchy, though, because it results in discrimination against many who are drawn to police work. To keep it from being cast as political discrimination, I'm guessing culling needs to be backed with identification of actual unacceptable behaviors, too often only found after the fact. So, perhaps background checks could be much deeper, and perhaps the formal screening for fitness understood to continue through the first years on the job? How about only a provisional license while getting on-the-job experience? Many licenses aren't issued until after a couple years' experience.

[oswaldactedalone]

9. Yes

[Freethinker65]

10. No. But I could see some sort of licensing and certifying/recertifying

So there is a level of competence and knowledge and if the license gets revoked, you cannot just get hired at another police department.

[Marrah_Goodman]

11. College degrees IN law

Also more then just short periods of training. You have to have more hours in training to be a hairdresser.

[JI7]

13. That's one reason I asked this. I was thinking about how people in other jobs

that have far less power over others , especially regarding life/death have much higher standards at their jobs.

We need better people in law enforcement and I think higher standards will help in keeping more of the bad ones out and getting better ones in.

[CTyankee]

14. If a person wants to serve their community by becoming a police officer, there should be

a course curriculum for same at local community colleges. It should be free (like the service academies for those willing to serve). There should be mandatory course work that involves study. Study and reflection are not bad things for preparing people to serve in these demanding jobs locally.

[JI7]

15. It shouldn't be any more free than those courses offered for nursing, technician and other things

but there can be financial aid available for those that need it.

[CTyankee]

23. Of course. All people who serve our communities should have it.

[hlthe2b]

16. Psych Eval yes. I don't know how a college degree would weed out racism and sadistic defects

[bobbieinok]

17. Read yrs ago people scoring 'too high ' on cop application are not hired---claim they get bored

Do they get bored and go on to a 'more interesting job'?

Or do they question policies and orders too much?

[JI7]

18. I don't think it has anything to do with getting bored

I would say it has more to do with them less willing to put up with the bs . They see how resistant to change things are so they may just leave.

But I think many of these same people would stay if they could actually use their intelligence in dealing with situations in ways that do least harm to everyone involved.

I also think many of the idiot cops who may have more say in this matter don't want certain types that would be less willing to go along with the bs.

[Jersey Devil]

19. In many areas they ARE all college grads

I was a Councilman in my hometown in NJ and hired many cops along with the other members of the Mayor and Council. Police officers in our town make a lot of money, base salary over $100,000 after 5 years on the job, so when there is an opening hundreds apply, take a test and undergo psychological screening. As a result, the top candidates are always college grads and usually also have military experience (including a lot who served as military police). A good number of them pay to attend police academy before even getting a job so that they are attractive candidates who are ready to go on the job the minute they are hired, very motivated people. Ours was a diverse community and I cannot recall a single incident where charges were brought against an officer for excessive force.

[madville]

27. Pretty similar here in my city

Their requirements are either:

- Four year bachelor degree from an accredited institution
- Four years military experience
- Four years as a law enforcement officer
- Two years as a law enforcement officer and an associate degree

But most that get hired already have a degree of some sort and are prior military since they also give hiring preference to veterans. A bachelors degree in anything (usually Criminal Justice) is easy to get online. Especially for someone that has already been through an associate degree level law enforcement academy/technical/community college program, they already have over half the credits and get additional credits for their military training. I know many cops and most have at least a criminal justice bachelors degree, I've also heard them joke that its pretty much worthless for anything except as a requirement to get hired or promoted in LE. Several I know have a Masters degree in criminal justice, they did their courses online and their agency even paid for the classes.

Also every state law enforcement officer in Florida can take classes at any state university or college for free, I believe up to 6 credits a semester and 18 credits a year.

[Jersey Devil]

28. My bro in law was NYPD and got a full scholarship to St John's Law School by NYPD

But the problem is that they don't often deploy these kinds of highly trained cops to the right places. Instead of having my bro in law train other cops on constitutional law or proper police procedures, they had him writing speeches for police brass. He eventually quit in disgust.

[pamdb]

20. CJ

i had two roommates at MSU back in the 70’s who both graduated from the Criminal Justice program. one left after she had a couple of kids and went into real estate. the other retired as i think a sargent. one thing i know is that police departments want someone with at the very least, a community college degree. and if you are interested in moving up the promotional ladder, you will need a four year degree in CJ.

[Ferryboat]

21. Certainly more education

Aside from a degree of some sort.

A national database of rogue cops to prevent them from working elsewhere.

Requirement to carry liability insurance for their actions?

[samnsara]

22. they need a personality test...some places do have them for new applicants. needs to be mandated

...imho...

[Renew Deal]

24. It's an interesting point

I just checked the NYPD. They require 60 credits or military experience. 60 credits is an associates degree.

https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nypd/careers/police-officers/po-hiring.page

It would be great if they had to complete 60 more credits within 5 years.

One of the big problems for the NYPD is that they are underpaid. Why would someone with a bachelors take less money in a hard job like police work when they can make more doing something else?

[delisen]

26. Attractive pension and benefits

[hunter]

25. They should have five years successful teaching experience in rough schools.

Teachers are not allowed to carry guns and shoot students who misbehave. Teachers are not allowed to beat up students who misbehave.

Teachers learn to cope in other ways.

I've been both the student "running away from the scene of a crime" and a teacher dealing with students who run away from the scene of a crime. Nobody got shot.

There are plenty of professions, in addition to teaching, where one is expected to deal with violent and potentially violent people without maiming or killing them.

I think people should have some life experience other than the military before they become cops. Indoctrinating young people straight from high school, community college, or military service into a toxic police culture is a bad idea.

[Igel]

29. First I'd ask, "What are the requirements for becoming a police officer?"

Then, if the answer was, "Few and limited," I'd ask the follow up.

Houston:
https://www.criminaljusticedegreeschools.com/criminal-justice-resources/police-departments-by-metro-area/houston-police-department-officer-requirements/

To qualify for a police officer position with the Houston Police Department, candidates must be US citizens between 21 and 44 years of age, meet weight and height requirements, have a clean criminal history, possess a valid driver's license, and successfully complete the HPD hiring process. Candidates must also have at least 48 semester hours of college credit with a minimum GPA of 2.0, though the education requirement may be waived with previous military or law enforcement experience. The HPD also looks at candidates' employment and credit histories; accounts in collections may be grounds for disqualification from employment. Conviction of a Class A felony or misdemeanor at any time or of a Class B misdemeanor within ten years of the application date are automatic disqualifiers. Any tattoos or body art must be fully covered by the official uniform.


Eligible applicants who complete the hiring process move on to the Houston Police Department Training Academy, which is a six-month program that includes academic learning as well as physical training. Though the program is Monday through Friday, cadets are prohibited from working or attending non-academy classes during the six-month training schedule. After graduation, recruits complete a six-month probation period, the first 12 to 16 weeks of which are completed while partnered with a Field Training Officer.

I honestly don't know what use having a BA in English or a BS in microbiology would help with. Few improve their critical thinking skills, whatever their major, and a lot of people learn little at most universities and colleges.

[lostnfound]

30. No. Personality screening and intentional recruiting of minority candidates nt