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Nhi Nguyen

Chris Betram

CJ 1010

26 November 2017

Do Police Officers Need a College Education?

Today, almost fields are required for degree in different aspects. Degree is a certificate

that demonstrates the person who is learned and trained and understood what his/her field is

flowing about. If people want to police officers without education, the problem of police

brutality will appear around. Its deeply entrenched and amazingly complicated. No one single

solution will solve the problem. So, I think the police officers need to have a college education to

understand the obligations of the job and to tackle the problems with comprehensive plan.

Police brutality is very much like a glacier. Before an officer ever fires a fatal shot or

applies an illegal chokehold, a dozen other factors have already shaped and informed that officer.

The police officers need to receive at least as much training as a cosmetologist before they get a

gun and a badge. They need to earn four-year degree, at least Bachelors Degree, would radically

improve virtually every metric essential to good policing. Besides, the cops with a degree may

have negative views of their supervisors. Theyre also less likely to favor community policing,

and reducing the number of deadly police-citizen incidents that currently dominate the headlines.

There are benefits for police officers who earn four-year degree of college education.

Four-year degree to become a police officer would help to elevate the job. It gives credibility to

the positions, which means they are professional and had to earn the right to wear the badge, just
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as a doctor had to earn the right to work on a patient. It makes a statement that not just anyone

who graduates from high school can wear the badge and has the awesome responsibility to be a

police officer unless they are highly trained and go through the proper education. After searching

many aspects of police officers, it seems many people support the statement that officers with

college education earn more merit views than officers with just a high school education. With

college education, police officers have a better grasp on the laws and fundamental principles of

law enforcement.

Furthermore, education police may resort to violence to settle a dispute, the educated

officers will more often utilize other social skills and non-violent persuasive techniques to

accomplish. The job requires officers to think quickly on their feet and not react from a place of

emotion. The police officer is often in a pivotal position in highly emotional situations, and many

complexities that an officer needs to weigh before making crucial decisions. On the way of

gaining college education, the police officers will be trained strictly to adopt in several

circumstances they probably face with after deeply involving in this job. Education can provide

officers and civilians with a better understanding of the history influencing each event.

There is the chain of command at the police department for people who want to learn to

be involved in this area. For instance, becoming a police sergeant (SGT.s), carries significantly

higher responsibilities. Sergeants are responsible for leading and motivating the patrol officers

who work under them. If the officers want to reach this career, they will be required to pass a

written examination, an oral interview, and specific experience, fitness and residency

requirements. Sergeants normally start out as patrol officers, with promotion possible after

several years. Departments often require various minimum levels of experience for sergeants

candidates, such as three years of patrol experience, or three years and six months of experience
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as a state trooper, or two years and six months as a detective trooper, depending on different

places.

Another example of career in this field is the chief of police which is the head of the

organization. Police chiefs should have at least a bachelors degree, and many cities require or

prefer a graduate degree. Prospective candidates might consider a degree in criminal justice, law

enforcement, etc. If an officer wants to one day become a chief, the officer should consider a

master of public administration or master of business administration to round out his/her

education in a way that aligns with the leadership and management duties of a police chief

position.

Finally, from a recruit standpoint the benefit of a four-year degree is the pay, many police

agencies give a higher starting salary for those recruits with four-year degree. In addition, it can

open the door to quicker advancement through the ranks. Salaries in law enforcement range

significantly, depending on whether a police officer works in rural area, an urban setting, or in a

large city. And higher salaries tend to be earned through experience.