Tyler Rutner

CJ 1010
5/2/15

Should Police Go to College?

The 1967 Presidents Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of

Justice stated the following observations on policing, Few professions are so peculiarly
charged with individual responsibility. Complexities inherent in policing further dictate
that officers possess a high degree of intellect, education, tact, sound judgment, physical
courage, impartiality, and honesty. The quality of policing will not improve significantly
until higher education requirements are established for its personnel. In my opinion, this
simple quote about sums up the answer to the question of, do police officers need a
college education? I believe that police officers should be required to obtain a college
degree, not just for their benefit, but also for the benefit of the community. Louis Mayo,
Executive Director of the Police Association for College Education in Mineral Virginia,
explains that only the most professional and qualified person should hold the power of a
policeman, and a college degree is essential to obtaining that professionalism, which
seems like common sense, but it isnt happening. I feel like these policemen should be
held to the highest standards. Most careers anymore at least require a minimum of an
associates degree, so why shouldnt the police force be required to do that as well?
Many times a college degree is viewed as just a really expensive piece of paper,
but thats not all it is. In order to obtain even the minimum degree requirements, a student

must attend school, learn, think critically, and challenge him or herself. While Ive been
in college, there are many times I think, Why am I taking this class? Im never going to
use it. However, I have learned so many priceless things to make me more diverse, and I
feel like a college education does that to everyone. My general education classes have
shown me that there is a world that exists outside of my community. As for those wanting
to be police officers, I think they should have to take classes like ethics, sociology,
psychology, and diversity classes. There are different types of people everywhere;
differences can be seen most clearly in ethnicity, moral standards, beliefs, and religion.
Not all people of this world think, act, understand, and live the way that you and I do.
Having a higher and diverse education can help police officers begin to recognize
differences among people. In some of my psychology, sociology, diversity and ethics
courses I have learned to think about people in critical and unique ways. These courses
would not only make them learn new things, but it would help them exercise better
discretion, and it would help them in their everyday situations. Those that have taken US
history courses may also have a deeper understanding of the Constitution, and what it
means to uphold the law. Having this knowledge, and tying it with real life and street
experience, is what would help make a great police officer.
The question has been asked to many citizens and other officers, and both agree
that education should be a requirement for all potential police officers. However, there
have been a few disagreements. A 20-year veteran police officer expressed his feelings
about education in the police field. He stated that, After being a police officer for over
20 years and now being a chief, I have worked with hundreds of officers, some with a
college education and some without. There are great cops in both groups and bad cops

in both groups. It depends on the person and the maturity level. A rookie officer with a
degree needs the same on the job training than an officer without a degree. College does
not give street experience. I do agree with this, and I do think that a police officer with
a college degree that does not have any street smarts is not going to be any better of a
cop than a police officer with a high school education that has street smarts. Heres
another comment from someone else who was asked if police officers should be
required to obtain a college education responded by stating, Why is this even up for
debate? We are allowing uneducated authorities to rule the rest of us? With the
response from a police officer stating that they are not ruling, but they are enforcing the
laws. These are men and women who face guns and assault themselves every day.
How many college degreed people want to put their lives on the line to get abused on a
daily basis at their job? This is also true, I have a great respect for police officers, and
do respect everything that they do on a daily basis to help protect and serve our
community. However, I do think that some college education should be required. I do
agree with the comments from both parties, how well someone works and how they
perform completely depends on the person. How well the person is composed, how
mature they are in every situation, how well their mental health is and also how driven
they are to be successful.
In conclusion, I do feel like police officers should have to obtain a college
education. This could be a topic that is debated over and over again, but personally, I feel
as though officers should at least obtain an associates degree. Through obtaining an
education, an officer could become so much more diverse and be able to make a lot better

choices. Not only would it help benefit the officers lives, but it would also help and
benefit the community in enormous ways.

Works Cited.
1. Burns, M. (2010, September 2). Pacific standard. Retrieved from
http://www.psmag.com/legal-affairs/cops-and-college-do-police-need-booksmarts-21852/