Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Chris Bertram
Would our society benefit if our police officers were required to obtain a college
education? There are both negative and positive aspects of asking our officers to seek higher
education. Some drawbacks would be the ever-increasing costs of tuition and the associated
college loans that go along with that, as well the low pay already facing our officers. However,
there are many benefits that go along with a college education, and commanding officers would
be more well-rounded and better prepared to manage such a high-stress environment. They
would have a better understanding of the psychological effect of their jobs and their role in the
Education is important for most careers in the modern era, it is difficult to get any job
these days without a college education or some form of specialized education. Our officers are
required to go through the police academy, and this is where they learn the practical nature of the
job. They learn state and local laws and policies, proper equipment usage, and the basics of
investigation and reporting techniques. Once they leave the academy, the real world tends to be
the real teaching tool and is where most officers get a feel for handling various situations. We
could prepare our officers in a classroom for years, and still not cover everything they may deal
with. Sometimes real-world experience is the best teacher, and no one can understand things like
getting a feel for peoples posture and body language unless you have had to deal with it time and
time again. Is the training through the police academy enough of an education for the intense role
of public service that these individuals are about to take on? Though this real-world experience is
invaluable, it does not substitute for a better understanding of the mental processes that one may
encounter throughout a career in police work. This could be individuals with mental health
issues, dealing with significant amounts of stress, or the fear and anxiety that could come along
with poor prior experiences with police. This could allow them to alter their approach to fit the
situation and potentially de-escalate tense encounters if possible. If you combine a well-balanced
education with real-world experience, we will find ourselves with officers that are more well-
rounded and prepared for the various situations they encounter day in and day out. This would
be particularly important for those seeking leadership positions. According to the Assistant chief
of police, Jose Tellez (2017) in San Diego, “If you have any aspirations to be a supervisor or
work in management, then you definitely should get your master’s degree."
With the meager pay that beginning police officers receive, however, how can they be
expected to pay off college loans and still make a decent living wage? If officers are required to
acquire education past their academy training, then it is reasonable to assume that a pay increase
would be necessary also. In order for this pay raise, the public taxes would need to be increased,
or a federal grant would need to be set up, which may still require a tax increase. Perhaps we
could look to another government body for guidance, as the Armed Forces offer college tuition
reimbursement as a benefit to joining the military. Would it be such a stretch to offer similar
benefits to our understaffed police forces? After all, this may help in recruiting a higher class of
candidate as well. Some police departments across the country offer incentives now. The Salt
Lake City Police Department has a reimbursement of up to 5,000 annually. (UPDSL 2018)
However, as we will discuss in further depth, later on, this does not cover half of the average cost
of tuition. Unfortunately, if there were no pay increase or a substantial subsidy to offset the cost
of higher education, potential officers with a degree would be able to find higher paying jobs that
did not require them to put their lives in danger. This could cause officers to leave law
enforcement for a less demanding position in the private sector that would not jeopardize their
personal safety. We are putting our lives and safety in the hands of young men and women that
may not have much real-world experience. A well-rounded candidate to become an officer
should have some knowledge of how to work in groups settings, public speaking, social work,
and psychology. These should be requirements to help prepare the potential police officers for
We entrust our soldiers to protect and serve us, similar to the police, and the Army allows
recruits to join without a college education. Any training that they need is provided through their
basic training and deployments. To be able to advance into positions of higher power such as
commanding officers, one is required to have a bachelor’s degree. Along with the potential for
career advancement, the pay is adjusted accordingly. There are “four paths that can be taken in
becoming an officer, Army ROTC, direct commission, officer candidate school, and the United
States Military Academy.” (GoArmy, 2018) All of which require a college degree, hard work,
and merit. Implementing a similar policy in our police force could have significant benefits. The
first would probably be similar to what we see in the army, where there are many who sign up
for a few years initially and choose not to re-enlist, while others who wish to pursue a career then
do put in the work to advance their education in order to receive promotions and more desirable
positions. This could allow some to try out policing as a career while still allowing them the
flexibility of a career change if it is not something they see themselves doing long term. In
addition to this, our officers could have a better understanding of the social work aspects that go
into working on the civilian side of the criminal justice system. Another benefit would be
communication courses and group projects where collaboration is essential for success.
According to Law Enforcement Edu, these are the current requirements to become a police
officer in the state of Utah. “You must, be a U.S. citizen, be at least 21 years old, have a high
school diploma or equivalent, have a valid Utah driver’s license, have no felony convictions,
degree.” (SLCPD, 2018) These requirements seem to be the bare minimum; they don’t appear to
be sufficient for those who are enforcing the law and taking on an authoritarian role. They seem
ill-equipped to deal with the psychological rigors of modern police work. “Today’s policing, he
said, “is much more about social work than it is law enforcement. It’s about resolving low-level
disputes, dealing with loiterers and so on.” Officers with experience in psychology, sociology,
and other college-taught disciplines might be more adapt at addressing these issues.” (Henion, &
Terrill, 2015) Equipping our streets with well-educated officers could prevent many unnecessary
officer-involved shootings, and in turn, start to improve community relations that have been
falling for years. Though education is important, it will not be a fix all for the issue of
community relations that seems to grow exponentially worse with each passing year. Another
aspect that could help make sure we have qualified candidates would be to require quarterly
to an officer-involved shooting, or other severe cases. Education is a great way to help mentally
prepare the police to see things from the public point of view and to help de-escalate situations,
but all of this can and does take an emotional toll on the police. Perhaps by taking psychology
courses, they would have a better understanding of what they are experiencing after a traumatic
event, and thus be able to verbalize to a therapist the inner workings of their mind during those
times. This same training would help them better relate to the public who may be in a panicked
or distressed state during their encounters with police and of course when dealing with
While the benefits are plentiful, we must consider what the cost of school is in the
modern era, and how that compares to police earnings. According to the University of Utah
admissions page, the average yearly cost for 26 credit hours, 13 in the fall semester and 13 in the
spring semester, each student will pay $7,956 for tuition and fees, $1,232 for books and supplies,
and around $3,690 for transportation and miscellaneous items. In total that is roughly $12,878
yearly to attend school. The average pay for beginning police officers in the state of Utah is
approximately $41,600 annually in 2018. (SLCPD, 2018) After taxes have been removed and
student loans are factored in, a police officer in the state of Utah would be barely making enough
to survive. When considering all of these factors, officers paying out of pocket could end up
below the poverty line. Should we expect our police to endanger their lives for such minimal
pay? If society wants our officers to acquire higher education, we must also give financial
incentives in order to make the job more desirable and attract the highest of qualified candidates.
It seems clear that for our departments to get the best trained and well-balanced officers, we do
need to require a higher standard than just having a high school education for law enforcement
As the times change so should the education requirements for our officers, with new
technologies, comes news and ever-changing criminal tactics that seem to be a few steps ahead
of our police force. If we hope to combat these growing threats to our society, we must ask more
from the ones who enforce the laws and stop criminal acts. How can we expect our officers to
attempt to stay on top of these issues if we have not provided them with the proper education to
be able to recognize and address these problems? Criminals never stop learning new ways to
wreak havoc, we must not require less from our officers if we expect to make progress in an
attempt to slow down criminal activity. “leaders with knowledge of 21st-century issues are in
great demand. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of officers who meet these criteria. For officers
interested in leadership roles, there has never been a better time to go back to school for an
advanced degree in law enforcement leadership.” (University of San Diego, 2015) The quality of
the education that we are asking the officers to obtain should also be held to a higher standard.
William Terrill said in a Science Daily article, “many degree-granting programs, particularly
online programs, are technical in nature and don’t foster the analytical skills found in the social
sciences. There are a lot of so-called ‘cop shops’ out there that aren’t very academically
rigorous.” (University of San Diego,2015) We should not look to discount education in order to
fill the needs of our officers. The world is a rapidly evolving place. Technology advancements
and the shifting priorities of our society means that our police forces must be adaptable.
“Policing does not exist in a vacuum. It is impacted upon daily and, in the long term, by changes
in the social, political, economic, technological, environmental and legal structures, in whatever
country it is practiced. It therefore follows that the future structure and activities of policing will
be shaped by the future changes within these and other activities.” (Rogers, Frevel, 2018)
In conclusion, educated police officers would be a benefit to their communities, but the
compensation for their education needs to be addressed. Increasing the pay of police officers and
providing college grants and discounts could be a way to achieve this. We need to honestly ask
ourselves if we are providing the brave men and women who server our communities with the
best possible training to not only ensure the safety of themselves and civilians but the knowledge
necessary to appropriately address the problems facing modern society. We should strive to
recruit the best, highly trained officers available in order to combat the ever-evolving criminal
world and to help promote a better unity between police and their communities. The best way to
accomplish this seems to be in providing our community police departments with a highly
educated officer core that would be better equipped to deal with the challenges that arise both
inside and outside the walls of the department. In this way, we can ensure that those who wish to
join the police can learn necessary on the job skills at an entry level while providing the
Becoming a U.S. Army Officer. (n.d.). Retrieved April 05, 2018, from
https://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/become-an-officer.html
Law Enforcement Careers in Utah. (n.d.). Retrieved April 05, 2018, from
https://www.lawenforcementedu.net/utah
Perspective.
http://www.slcpd.com/careers/joinourteam/
Why Police Officer Education Is So Important. (2017, March 13). Retrieved April 05, 2018,
from https://onlinedegrees.sandiego.edu/why-police-officer-education-is-important/