NCJ Number
208318
Journal
Policing & Society Volume: 14 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2004 Pages: 233-249
Date Published
September 2004
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study examined the impact of a British program that involved sending officers from a police agency (Essex Police) to university full-time, giving them free choice of subject study, and not requiring them to stay with the agency after graduation.
Abstract
The seven officers who participated in the program were interviewed about their experiences as students, their return to policing, and their reflections on the impact of having college graduates within the police service. The officers had the feeling they were a select group who were being given an unprecedented opportunity, who were representatives of their organization and had to succeed; this motivated them to mostly achieve high grades and degrees. They experienced a gradual shift from the practical world of police work to an enjoyment of the academic work and the academic environment. Inevitably, after 3 years in the academic world, an adjustment was required when they returned to the policing world. All of the participants felt that their college work influenced their analysis of and performance in policing, and they cited some examples. Tensions persist in seeking to obtain the proper balance between education and training, and this was evidenced in the subsequent decision of the Essex Police to stop funding the college program and divert the financial resources to specific vocational training, albeit with degrees of resistance from the senior managers who graduated from the university. This paper advises conducting a thorough assessment of knowledge and skill requirements for all levels of policing tasks, with attention to the training and education required for the effective performance of the tasks at all levels of policing work. 40 references