Higher education and policing: where are we now?

Abstract

There has been a long‐standing debate over whether a college education for police officers is desirable or even necessary. Today, with the ever‐expanding complexity of the police role and the transition toward community policing, this question is more significant than ever. A zenith of interest and debate over the requirement of higher education for officers was reached in the 1970s, but it soon died out. However, a quickly changing social landscape, changing job role, rapid technological advancement, domestic terrorism and increased scrutiny have combined to renew the debate over higher education. This article attempts to synthesize past literature and bring the discussion up to date. Finally, the authors will advocate a position that would require a bachelor's degree for police officers over time, using a graduated timetable and supported by federal funding.

Adding value? A review of the international literature on the role of higher education in police training and education

“…These values can be taught to police recruits (Bayley and Bittner, 1984). Roberg and Bonn (2004) take this further and argue that education is necessary for the development of these values and the effective use of discretion that maintains both police performance and professionalism. Thus, there is a clear link between the professional use of discretion, understood as making appropriate situational judgments (Marenin, 2004:109), and the broader issues of public accountability and police legitimacy.…”

“…A body of research on the impact of higher education on police attitudes was built during the 1970s that demonstrated that university educated police officers were less authoritarian than non-6 university educated police officers (Parker, Donnelly, Gerwitz, Marcus, and Kowalewski, 1976;Roberg, 1978), less cynical (Regoli, 1976), and that the higher the level of education attained, the more flexible the officers' value system became (Guller, 1972). In particular, this evidence pointed to improved attitudes towards minority groups (Parker et al, 1976) as well as more ethical and professional behavior (Roberg and Bonn, 2004). The research also made the important point that it was not criminology or criminal justice courses that cultivated this more ethical and culturally aware attitude but the overall university experience (Roberg, 1978).…”

“…This was evident in a recent London Metropolitan Police Authority report (2010) which called for a fundamental restructuring of the initial recruitment and training system, and which aims to act as a model for future reform and cost-savings across England and Wales. This is unusual as demands for police reform across the globe are most commonly driven by crises in public confidence that are followed by calls for improvements in recruitment and training (Roberg and Bonn, 2004;Holland, 2007;Wimshurst and Ransley, 2007). This presents an opportunity to look at the international debate that surrounds the role of higher education in police training and education.…”

“…From the late 1960s onwards the United States government played a key role in funding criminal justice personnel to attend university and this encouraged the establishment of criminal justice programs for police officers. The rapid rise in the number of criminal justice courses raised questions about their quality and academic rigor, some of which remain today, but reductions in funding for criminal justice courses during the 1970s and 1980s ensured that only the stronger survived (Roberg and Bonn, 2004).…”

“…The other area that influences public confidence is the representation of diverse communities. There has been some concern in the United States that the inclusion of mandatory higher education could have a discriminatory impact upon the employment of minority groups (Decker and Huckabee, 2002) although Roberg and Bonn (2004) contend that any potential discriminatory effects could be off-set by an aggressive recruitment strategy. The final section brings together the findings of this literature review to identify four key policy implications; understanding the transnational context, the development of police training and education, the role of government and other stakeholders, and the regulation and training of non-state policing agencies.…”