Should Police Officers be required to have at least a 4 year college degree?
Having a degree doesn’t necessarily give someone common sense and compassion, I’m afraid, no matter what field they are in. Four years of school would help in that more maturity and life experience would be developed, as so many new cops are very young, but I can’t see as how a 4 yr. degree would necessarily make a better cop. I have a BA in Criminal Justice, but that doesn’t mean I would have made a better cop than my husband with a 2 year degree and advanced training and who is now Chief of Police. It’s a personality thing as much as anything else. There are certain personality types that are attracted to law enforcement, and the flaws in those personalities often don’t really show until they are working in the field. They can have all kinds of education, but when they become obsessed with their work or with the power they are given it can really change a person. Supervision and close observation and tight screening when hiring are vital to weed out the potential “bad cops”–but some
