Salt Lake Community College

Criminal Justice 1010

Section 013
Instructor: Mark Vincent
Criminal Justice Term Paper
Police Officers and College Degrees
Written by: Lissann Lichtenstein

Education. It is defined as: the process of receiving or giving

systematic instruction, esp. at a school or university. (Education) It is
something that is taken very seriously in the United States of America,
with children being taught from a young age to take advantage of all
the opportunities they have to further their knowledge, particularly by
continuing on in higher education. Another very serious topic within
the US: police. The civil force of a national or local government,
responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the
maintenance of public order. (Police) While these two key elements of
our society do not really seem to be related, many Americans believe
they ought to be. While officers must go through police academy and
in field training, a new debate is unfolding on whether it should be
necessary for officers to have some type of college or university
degree.

The first question many may ask is does a higher level

education really make that much of a difference in the long run? In an
article from Sage Journals entitled Who Benefits Most from College?
Evidence for Negative Selection in Heterogeneous Economic Returns to
Higher Education, it states: Educational expansion is one of the most
apparent, enduring, and consequential features of modern society.
Considering the significant educational expansion in the United States
during the twentieth century, particularly at the postsecondary level,

[it has been concluded] that the division between the less- and moreeducated grew and emerged as a powerful determiner of life chances
and lifestyles. In 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that college
graduates earned about $55,000, on average, compared with less than
$30,000 for individuals who had only a high school diploma." (Brand)
While the statistics are a little out of date, $55,000 is not something to
shy at. The stories really are true that a higher education really does
lead to opportunities for an increased income.

But even with the benefits of a higher education in general

established, some may wonder why would we require more education
for our officers when they go through so much training as it is? As
stated in the class text for Salt Lake Community Colleges Criminal
Justice 1010 course, On average, local police departments serving
populations of 250,000 or more require 1,648 hours of training 972
hours in the classroom [police academy] and 676 hours in the field.
(Miller, pg. 146) The police academy is a time when recruits are taught
the appropriate responses for the various calls they may have to
perform and the field hours are spent seeing how well they can apply
their previous training. However, this training is specific to the ins and
outs of the physical role an officer plays in the community. What about
the paperwork that will have to be done when someone is brought in?
How to write a proper report is not a skill they should have to learn on

the job; it is something they should already know. General education

college course requirements allow for a well roundedness in skills to be
taught to students on the basics required for most careers. It also for
an opportunity to explore new ways of thinking about and approaching
problems that is applicable to our day and age. Modern-day problem
solving skills and the need for proper wording and punctuation in
papers will never disappear from the work force, so why not prepare
our officers to handle these situations so as to make all aspects of their
already difficult job easier?
Another reason for the need for education is that people in most
other fields, including other law enforcement fields, are required to
gain a university degree before they are even considered for the job,
let alone someone that would be hired. In fact, to become an agent for
the FBI, one of the highest forms of law enforcement in this country,
you are required to have a bachelors and/or a masters degree. (Miller,
pg. 158) Those in the FBI are often looked up to and emulated by local
law enforcement, so why should it be any different on an educational
front? Doctors, who save peoples lives on a daily basis, are in school
for many years before they can officially practice medicine. Law
enforcement saves lives on a daily basis as well, so why should they
not need a higher educational requirement to become an officer?

In fact, many law enforcement agencies are showing a

preference to those with some form of college degree over those
without. In a publication from the National Criminal Justice Reference
Service, it says: 61.1 percent [of agencies] had at least one formal
policy supporting higher education for sworn officers; and 58.2 percent
required that coursework be job related. Only 13.7 percent of agencies
had a formal requirement for some college for entry into police service,
but the majority gave preference to applicants with some college
credit. While 75.2 percent had no formal policy requiring college credit
for promotion, 82 percent recognized college education as important in
promotion decisions. (Carter)

Why is there now a desire for officers to have degrees? One

reason is that they values that are being looked for are changing. In an
article from Northwestern University School of Law entitled Higher
Education and Policemen: Attitudinal Differences between Freshman
and Senior Police College Students, it says that it has been pointed
out that flexibility and impartiality are among the desired
characteristics of today's policeman. In a 1967 study, these same
authors found college oriented police to be less authoritarian in
orientation than non-college oriented police. (Guller). The article
continues by saying: It is a culturally shared assumption that through
exposure to new and diverse ideas and a broadening of perspectives, a

person's view of himself and attitudes toward others will undergo

changes in some beneficial manner. Two relatively uncontroversial
expectations about the consequences of education are that the
involved individual will increase in self-esteem and will become more
adaptively flexible in his approach to his environment. (Guller) They
are no longer looking for hard, rigid enforcers; what is wanted is
someone who has confidence in themselves and the job they do and
the open-mindedness to better handle the situations they are
presented. And these are skills that have been proven to be gained
from a college education.

However, some may still argue that why would we need more
officers all with the same degree in criminal justice? How would that
add any benefit to the force? The answer is simple: not every police
officer has to major in criminal justice. There are many degrees that
are very versatile and would be well suited for someone in law
enforcement. One such degree is sociology. Sociology is defined as:
the study of the development, structure, and functioning of human
society/ the study of social problems. (Sociology) Basically, its the
study of how individuals interact with other individuals, how individuals
interact with groups and how groups interact with other groups. That is
definitely something that would apply to law enforcement since they
deal with people from every walk of life imaginable. And since there is

an increased desire for officers to be more open-minded and more

flexible in their approach to various situations, a sociology degree
would fit perfectly for those needs.

In conclusion, it appears that there would be no harm in requiring

those going into law enforcement to need some form of a higher
education degree before they can join the force. It helps increase
opportunities for advancement and higher pay. Time in college teaches
needed skills that are not taught in academy and in-field training. More
agencies want skills in their officers that are easily acquired from a
college experience and more agencies want their officers more
educated period. They are given higher priority when it comes to the
hiring process versus others with no degree. And there are several
degree options that can be chosen from so not everyone has to end up
with the same degree. Overall, its a winning solution for both the
officers and the community at large. When it comes to someone in a
life-saving position, the more they know, the better they can handle
the situation so the outcome works out for all parties.

Bibliography:

Brand, Jennie E., and Yu Xie. "Who Benefits Most from College?
Evidence for Negative Selection in Heterogeneous Economic Returns to
Higher Education." Sage Journals. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2015.
<http://asr.sagepub.com/content/75/2/273.full>.
Carter, D. L., A. D. Sapp, and D. W. Stephens. "State of Police
Education; Policy Direction for the 21st Century." NCJRS Abstract. N.p.,
1989. Web. <https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?
ID=116418>.
Education. The New Oxford American Dictionary Second
Edition. New York: Oxford UP, 2005. Electronic.
Guller, Irving B.. Higher Education and Policemen: Attitudinal
Differences Between Freshman and Senior Police College
Students. The Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police
Science63.3 (1972): 396401. Web.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1142063
Miller, Roger Leroy. "Chapter 5 Law Enforcement Today." CJ 1010
Criminal Justice. By Larry K. Gaines. 7th ed. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 146+. Print.
Police. The New Oxford American Dictionary Second Edition.
New York: Oxford UP, 2005. Electronic.
Sociology. The New Oxford American Dictionary Second
Edition. New York: Oxford UP, 2005. Electronic.