Why Do Police Officers Have A Higher Education?

Introduction Law enforcement office are given the legal authority by the state to protect and serve citizens. Law enforcement officers are given a lot of discretion in most situations. Occasionally, officers abuse his or her power and temporarily or permanently deprive civilians of his or her rights to life, liberty, and property (Minton, 2011). Police are often associated with police brutality by the media causing scholars to argue that police departments should mandate that candidates who wish to be hired as police officers must have a college level education. The idea of requiring law enforcement officers to have a college education is not a new idea. August Vollmer, an influential figure in shaping law enforcement, believed that only
Individuals against such a requirement think that minority representation would decrease among law enforcement officer. There is evidence that is contrary to this belief (Paoline and Terrill, 2007). Minority representation would not decrease because according to Carter et al., 1989 “non-White officers nationally have higher levels of education compared to White officers” (as cited in Paoline and Terrill, 2007). Requiring a college education would not have an adverse effect on minority representation. However, requiring a college education would more than likely exclude military veterans who are qualified from the applicant pool. Military veterans are defined as an individuals who “served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other than dishonorable” (Szymendara, 2015). Veterans have the experience to be law enforcement officers because they are taught discipline during military
In terms of education, exposure to a college education from some college to a four year degree impacted how a law enforcement officer behaves. Exposure significantly decreased adverse behavior of police officers and the number of public complaints that included incidents of unreasonable force. College experienced police officers were less likely to fire their weapon. It increased officer’s verbal and nonverbal communication skills. Experience alone cannot be used to impact policing of law enforcement officers. In order to have experience, untrained and uneducated officers must be in the field for a long period of time to have any effect on their behavior. Untrained and uneducated officers are more likely to be dangerous to their community than their educated counterparts. During that time in the field without sufficient experience or a college education, recruits are impressionable. They are more likely to be corrupted. Police departments such as ones in Maryland should adopt a two year college requirement or two years of military experience. But once hired recruits should be assigned to older and more experienced law enforcement officers so that they obtain more experience that they would just on their own.