Exploration of Degree Requirements for Law Enforcement: Improvement or Hinderance?

• In Event: Poster Session 1

Abstract

Most police departments do not require any type of college credits or a degree. There is only 1% of departments in the United States who require their officers to be college-educated (Hickman & Reaves 2006, as cited in Rydberg, 2010). There have been many studies conducted to see if police officers who are college-educated are more effective at their job (Johnson et al., 2022a; Preito Hodge & Tomaskovic-Daley, 2021; McElvain, 2008; & Tovar, 2023). By increasing the education level of the police officer, reformers believed that not only would the officer become more effective in his or her day-to-day tasks and more proficient with technology but also the public image of the police would be heightened to that of a professional occupation (LeDoux et al., 1984, as cited in Rydberg, 2010 ). In this research, prior studies were looked at to examine the hypothesis of a college education will enhance police effectiveness. It was found that a college degree is not necessary, but it will only enhance and not hurt the officer. Policy implications and possible avenues for future research are discussed.

Authors

• Jenna Dale, University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg

• Katie Swope, University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg