created by DoughnutItchy3546 on 01/02/2025 at 23:33 UTC
105 upvotes, 45 top-level comments (showing 25)
This seems to be an idea proposed after the events of 2020. I will say that at least where I live, the local police agency, most officers in the agency have a college degree already ? So.... Furthermore, what KIND of degree should we require ? Criminal Justice ?
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1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
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Comment by Clone95 at 02/02/2025 at 18:30 UTC
35 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Police just need licensure along the lines of Nursing, Medicine, or any other career, not necessarily a type of degree - and misconduct boards that can bar officers from working again regardless of their union policies.
There's lots of Nurse's Unions across the country but they have no power to reinstate someone who has lost their license to practice nursing. Meanwhile, misconduct in one state can bar you from being licensed in another, eliminating the 'Move to Florida' loophole for bad cops.
The problem with degrees is that degrees have very variable quality to them, which is why things like the NCLEX exist for Nurses to set national standards. I don't think that policing should be some high-education career, either - we need more cops to physically manage people, firearms use and unsafe restraint techniques come largely from a lack of manpower in the field.
Comment by RainManRob2 at 02/02/2025 at 18:54 UTC
56 upvotes, 0 direct replies
100% yes we should. In my experience, every single police officer I ever had respect for was a college graduated degreed officer.
Comment by anneoftheisland at 02/02/2025 at 03:45 UTC
33 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Yes, we should require college degrees--at least associates' degrees--for law enforcement officers. It's hands-down the most effective single move that departments can make to reduce police misconduct[1] (and there's also evidence that it cuts down on unnecessary use of force[2]). I don't think there's much evidence that the kind of degree matters; it's that any kind of higher education helps build communication, diplomacy, creative thinking and problem-solving skills that can help solve some situations in non-violent ways.
1: https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/education-offers-best-solution-for-police-misconduct/
2: https://www.cjcj.org/media/import/documents/jpj_education_use_of_force.pdf
I will say that at least where I live, the local police agency, most officers in the agency have a college degree already
Most city departments either prioritize recruits with degrees or heavily incentivize them these days, because a) the demand is high enough that they can and b) however much more they have to pay them to be competitive, it pays off in fewer lawsuits, fewer investigations, etc. Most rural and many suburban departments are still dominated by officers whose highest level of education is high school, though.
Comment by Marti1PH at 03/02/2025 at 02:47 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
We should require all law enforcement officers to carry personal liability (malpractice) insurance.
That’s how they weed out bad doctors from health systems. They make it very expensive to be a bad doctor.
We need to make it expensive to be a bad cop.
Comment by Wermys at 02/02/2025 at 10:33 UTC
6 upvotes, 3 direct replies
No, but there should be a requirement in reading comprehension specifically to make sure the officers understand the law they are memorizing. Being testing on the law vs understanding the law are 2 different things. This is outside at least getting an associates degree.
Comment by mule_roany_mare at 02/02/2025 at 20:27 UTC*
4 upvotes, 2 direct replies
This is putting the cart before the horse.
Before we start debating about degrees we should acknowledge that cops are acting exactly the way we train them to.
They are trained to escalate & dominate every situation & failing to do so will put their & their fellow officers lives at risk, then they are shown videos of cops being shot & killed to justify it.
They are trained that fear alone is reason to use deadly force. Shoot first & ask questions later is acceptable & they will die if they wait around to validate a perceived or imagined threat.
Delaying that training with some time and debt won't change anything. Right now statistically higher education helps, but law enforcement is a big umbrella & college boys aren't exactly on the same career track
18 year olds in the armed forces don't have 1/100th as much trouble following stricter rules of engagement with people Americans don't care about while enduring much more dangerous & stressful situations. The difference is not an associates degree, it's the norms & training.
Comment by chiaboy at 02/02/2025 at 21:07 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
No. There are lots of requirements and training we can add but a degree doesn’t solve the issue.
If anything we should rethink the police charter. That’s the problem. It’s easier to pretend it’s a staffing issue. It’s systemic. We’ve designed and incentef to police to do a lot of shitty thing
Comment by Mountain_Air1544 at 02/02/2025 at 19:02 UTC
3 upvotes, 0 direct replies
What we should do is reduce
1. The amount of laws
2. The power held by police
I also think if a cop fucks up they should be the ones to pay not tax payers. If you as an officer are sued you have to cover the financial burden and legal consequences not the city/state
Comment by whyonearth11 at 02/02/2025 at 20:23 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
As someone who has been in Law enforcement for 29 years about to retire. I can tell you from experience, I will hire a person with character, honesty, and experience over anyone with a degree. Nothing can replace those characteristics. One being a police officer doesn’t require a higher level of education. However it does require common sense, understanding of the law (not memorization of the law) understanding of code of criminal procedures and a clear understanding of constitutional law. All which are provided to law enforcement officer in books and internet. As a Chief, I have hired officers with degrees who failed at this job. A degree does not and will not make you a better police officer. Officers are human and make mistakes just like every other profession. As far as rather it should be required. My opinion is no. But it could be a hiring incentive
Comment by ResidentBackground35 at 03/02/2025 at 00:10 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I will buck the trend and say no. What law enforcement needs is certification with continued education (including physical, psychological, social, and legal credit hour requirements) as well as a third party investigation and prosecution.
Requiring a degree does nothing to ensure that they continue to be proficient, everyone on the roads passed a driver's test but it didn't stop them from forgetting/ignoring rules years later.
Comment by dickpierce69 at 02/02/2025 at 19:28 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Some places do. My FIL is a retired LEO and he was required to have at least an associates to join the force.
Comment by way2lazy2care at 02/02/2025 at 19:36 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
If there were enough applicants that had degrees applying, they probably would require it. Most police departments in the country are already under staffed without harder requirements. It would be nice, but realistically you can't have a handful of cops for a major metro and expect them to be able to do anything you actually need them to do.
Comment by l1qq at 02/02/2025 at 19:52 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
My brother was LEO for several years, served on tac squad in a major city and was a 2x combat vet serving as first boots on the ground in combat in both Afghanistan and Iraq with the 101st. He was great at his job and didn't get a degree until years later. He was a well regarded officer and it would have been a loss to his department if he hadn't met qualifications due to not having a degree. He's actually now a private contractor having been to Dubai, Iraq and now currently in Djibouti Africa.
Comment by IceNein at 02/02/2025 at 20:09 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I mean, it sounds nice, but lots of places don’t have enough officers as it is.
Comment by Remote_Cartoonist_27 at 02/02/2025 at 20:18 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Either that or a much longer and more robust training program.
The policy academy is too easy/short but I don’t requiring a college degree is the only solution
Comment by PeakedAtConception at 02/02/2025 at 20:43 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
You'll have much less people going into the police force making them much like teachers. They also don't make enough to warrant a degree, much like teachers as well.
Comment by spacegamer2000 at 02/02/2025 at 21:00 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
The cop degree at my college was stupid. It looked a lot like bootcamp with kids getting yelled at and told to do push-ups. Just run a bootcamp, you don't have to pretend it's a degree.
Comment by BloodDK22 at 02/02/2025 at 21:01 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Nope. Why? What would the degree be in? How would college make them better officers? I think the world has had quite enough college degree pushing. Look where its got us. College should be streamlined or eliminated as a requirement for more careers if anything.
Comment by big-ol-poosay at 02/02/2025 at 21:27 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
How would all the empty positions be handled? It's hard enough to keep staffed as it is.
Comment by mar78217 at 02/02/2025 at 21:44 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
No. We should not force our law enforcement officers into debt like we do with our teachers and social workers. If we don't want to pay them a wage that will allow them to pay off the loans and buy a home, we should not require them to spend $50 - $100k on education.
Comment by hollyjazzy at 02/02/2025 at 22:15 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I’m Australian, from the state of Victoria. Our police generally don’t take candidates straight from school, they prefer you to have at least 2-3 years of working experience p, preferably more. There are also psychological tests as well as other tests to pass before you can be admitted to the Academy. NSW requires all its police officers to have a degree in criminology. Either way, there are always going to be some people who get in because they want the power, but nowhere in the numbers we hear coming from the US. Of course, I’m also aware that we mainly hear of brutal and corrupt stories, so there’s probably a negative bias.
Comment by Nillix at 03/02/2025 at 01:14 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I don’t think so. The things that make you a good police officer are not things you learn in college.
Comment by YouTac11 at 03/02/2025 at 02:11 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Wouldn't this be considered systemic racism making it more difficult for minorities to become police officers as they are less likely to have degrees?
Comment by jZesdy at 03/02/2025 at 02:34 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
they should be required to take sociology and gender and race studies courses