NCJ Number
177771
Date Published
May 1998
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Because of the current emphasis on advanced education for police officers, due to the increasing complexity of the police officer's role in law enforcement, social order maintenance, and social services, the university education of police officers should be considered as law enforcement addresses future personnel needs.
Abstract
Police departments will need to broaden the base of personnel recruitment efforts to meet new human resource requirements, and it is reasonable to expect there are qualified, motivated, and self-disciplined individuals who are attending universities. In California, the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) has the authority to enact educational standards requiring 2-year and 4-year college education. Of 580 police agencies under POST, 503 require graduation from high school or equivalent, 31 require 15 to 30 semester college units of work, 26 require 31 to 60 semester college units of work, 15 agencies require an associate degree, and 5 require a college degree. A possible scenario using a Police Training Corps Program, similar to the Armed Forces Reserve Officers Training Corps, is described to demonstrate the value of recruiting university graduates as police officers. 5 references