Luis Chavez

CJ 1010
Chris Bertram
03/08/2015

Do Police Officers Need a College Education?

Forget about what you learned in the academy, kid. Things are different in real life
Street smarts vs. book smarts, there are a lot of different opinions on which is better when youre
a police officer. In school you read about different cases and how they played out, you have the
comfort of reading and learning about them. Might even consider what you might do in the
situation. But then you get out on the streets and you find yourself in one of those situations that
you read about in school, you might come to realize that you experience different emotions
during the situation and all that you learned during your time in school is pretty much useless.
You have to make a quick decision on what action to take how you should go about in executing
your decision. Its a big mess when you really think about it. So is having a college degree give
any benefit to someone who becomes a police officer?
There have been several studies done on the subject of education and becoming a police
officer. There are many benefits that come from having a college degree. For example when
someone has obtained a bachelors of arts they have taken a variety of classes that has educated
them on different topics given them various skills or interdictions to new skills. They are also
required to practice problem solving skills in a majority of their classes. Bachelor of Arts also
emphasizes problem-solving from a variety of viewpoints, develops understanding of how
perceptions influence behavior, increase a persons comfort level with ambiguity, and assumes

that the things going on in the world are fluid and interrelated. Officers with a bachelor of
science tend to be rewarded for collecting verifiable facts and drawing conclusions based on
those facts. With a bachelors of arts you are likely to be more comfortable with the notion that
there is more than one way to solve a problem. While with a bachelors of science you get used
to that fact that there is one correct or best answer or one best way to do things. With an
education you get to practice your problem solving skills and much more.
Another study found that officers with college education are less likely to use force
during an altercation. Officers with some college education or a four-year degree resorted to
using force 56 percent of the time while the officers who didnt have any college education
resorted to force 68 percent of the time. In the study force included verbally threatening suspects,
grabbing or punching them, using mace or pepper spray, hitting suspects with a baton,
handcuffing, throwing to the ground, or pointing or firing a gun at them. The lower rate of
officers using force can be attributed to their decision skills that they tend to develop while
attaining a college degree. They are more likely to think about their decision a little bit more and
have the knowledge of whether or not to use force or not.
Having a college education is very beneficial to police officers they get to practice their
problem solving skills and many more skills and then have them applied directly to the field
when they go out on the streets. Streets smarts is also very important but you gain that from
experience of being out on the streets and it may take a long time before you get used to things
that you learn from the street. Police officers need both street smarts and book smarts to be a
good and effective police officer. Having only one or the other will hurt you in the long run of
your career. You will utilize both street and book smarts to make the best choice.

Bibliography
Bostrom, M. D. (2005). The Influecne of HIgher Education on Police Officer Work Habits. The Police
Chief.
Burns, M. (2010, sep 02). Cops and College: Do Police Need Book Smarts? Retrieved from psmag.com:
psmag.com/politics-and-law/cops-and-college-do-police-need-book-smarts-21852
Henison, A., & Terrill, W. (2015, Feb 05). Do Cops Need College? Retrieved from msutoday.msu.edu:
msutoday.msu.edu/news/2015/do-cops-need-college/