Salt Lake Community College

College Education for Police Officers

Should it be Required?

Catherine King
Criminal Justice CJ 1010
Butler
April 30, 2016

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I do believe that police officers should get a college education. Not because they need
some scholar telling them what to do, but because the many classes that are required can offer
them an array of ways to think critically and interact with people who are not officers in an
education capacity. In addition, criminal justice degrees include learning about psychology,
sociology, and communication. All of which are important when working with the public in any
capacity. Even if the officer is not getting a degree in criminal justice, other degrees can offer
similar critical thinking and problem solving skills. These topics can be covered in more depth at
a college than a police academy can offer.
Having critical thinking skills is very important for any person, but those who need to
make critical decisions that can be life threatening especially need this skill. Most college classes
incorporate critical thinking into their curriculums so having a potential officer take these classes
can allow plenty of practice at honing their own critical thinking. Getting practice in an
educational environment is very important so that they are not trying to develop these skills in
the field where mistakes can be much less forgiving and cause even more stress upon an already
extremely stressful job. While these skills are probably covered pretty well in officer training, it
is also very important to be able to practice these skills with someone outside of the police, just
to see how other mindsets work.
In police work, it is fairly pivotal to be able to figure out what another person or people
are going to do, this is where psychology and sociology come in. Studying psychology and
sociology can help an officer get a little into the mind of an individual or a group of people,
respectively. For example, knowing that seeing aggression can cause aggression can help officers
to know to be careful about their actions. Or knowing about how strong the bystander effect is
can help them to know to be on the lookout for those who need help in large groups. Not that

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they wouldnt receive this information pretty quickly in officer training, these are just a few
examples and psychology and sociology can be covered much more in depth at the college level
over a police academy program.
Communication is a pillar of existence, without communication, everything could fall
apart. This is especially true in a police capacity. When decisions are made that can really affect
the safety of so many people, communication is key. Whether the communication is happening
from an officer to a civilian or from brass to officers, it is very important that everyone have
strong communication skills. Understanding and being good at communication takes time and
practice. College education always requires communication, no matter what degree. Again, this
can much more effectively be relayed in a dedicated class at a college than in a police training
program and will include communication with non-police training people.
So these are some of the important skills that college education can help with, but getting
educated means more than just the classes the person takes. Getting an education means that the
person is serious and is willing to put in an extra effort, even if it seems that some of the things
they learn arent even related to what they want to do. It shows determination. So, I do believe
that it is important that an officer get an associates level education. I think it would make a better
officer. While high school certainly would provide all the basic information and skills an officer
would need, college provides a way to make sure they know how to manage themselves
responsibly. And, since getting a degree takes a while, it ensures that they will have a bit more
life experience as well.
So, while I think it is important that a police officer get an associates degree, education
should not stop there, especially if the person moves up in the ranks. I think that sergeants,

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lieutenants, and captains should at least work through to a bachelors degree. And if the
individual wishes to be chief, I think it would be wise to go for a masters degree, but not
necessary.
When an officer wishes to move up the ranks, I think they should be required to go
further in schooling. This would help reinforce many qualities that are found in good leaders.
More psychology, sociology, writing, communication, as well as public relations and manager
type classes would be helpful. Since these individuals are then going to be helping and managing
other individuals and everyone is going to be participating in stressful jobs, it is important that
they become very familiar with psychological indicators of breaks and depression.
Communication becomes even more important for the same reasons. Then in the higher up
positions, they will probably often come under fire any time a mistake is made, so they must
have some knowledge in public relations and management of those under them. Again, while all
this could be learned on the job, I think it is important for them to learn this away from their jobs
where they can receive feedback from a professional in the field.
As for a chief, I believe most of their ways should come from experience; an advanced
degree could definitely help. At higher levels of education, you begin to have to think even more
critically and get plenty of exposure to mistakes that have been made in the past and are given an
opportunity to study them with other professionals to avoid making the same mistakes. And for a
chief, having plenty of experience and training on public relations is crucial to not crumbling the
department.
When all is said and done with education, it isnt really about the individual pieces of
knowledge; it is how they are applied. These classes that I think would be important for an

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officer to have werent just about knowing the laws, they were about knowing people and how to
communicate and think with them, according to Daniel Bear and Johannes Rieken, Policing is
less often about possessing Sherlock Holmes-like deduction and reasoning skills than about
building and maintaining effective relationships with the community. The education is just as
much about professionalism as it is about knowledge.
Of course, requiring degrees would have to raise the salaries of those required to obtain
them. This would be expensive, but there would be a benefit as having an educated workforce
would result in fewer incidents within the department and reduce the amount of money having to
go towards fixing said incidents.
In conclusion, I think that education is very important for everyone. And for those who
work in the policing field, it is no different, and perhaps even more important. While I do think
that police today are generally well educated with the training they receive in the academy and
having to have a high school education, there is always room for improvement. And with police
constantly under scrutiny, having a better educated police force can only help. Receiving
education in basics like psychology, sociology, and communication can make a better officer.
While it would be probably more expensive in the short run, I think in the long run, it would pay
off.

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Bibliography
Dial, Nick. Should LEOs Have a College Degree? August 2013. 30 April 2016.
Rieken, Daniel Bear and Johannes. Should all police officers really be university-educated?
March 2012. 30 April 2013.