'1% of Local Police Departments\r'

'Reflections from the wiz-Percent of Local constabulary parts with authorization quartet-Year dot gather upments For current Hires: argon They Diamonds in the Rough? Diana Bruns Bac integrity College ***Contact bringing up Diana Bruns, Ph. D. section hot seat and Professor, savage in enduringness(p)ice Studies Bac whiz(a) College 2299 Old Bacone Road Muskogee, OK 74403 [ electronic mail protected] edu cell: 918-781-7295 office: 918-781-7295 **Diana Bruns is the section chair and Professor of shepherds crook Justice Studies at Bacone College in Muskogee, OK.Reflections from the One-Percent of Local natural uprightness divisions with Mandatory Four-Year point Requirements For saucily Hires: Are They Diamonds in the Rough? Abstract un itemizeable studies pass permeated the literature regarding the expediency of a knight knight bachelor-at-arms’s parting point for righteousness of constitution military officers. Local legality enforcement agencies with compulsory quatern- division breaker point compulsions serve as the race for this think relative to the current status of college full pointd officers, as well as population demographics and leafy vegetablealities among such(prenominal)(prenominal) parts.The utility of college phase take aimments, choice of academic retard and w herefore quaternary-year dot supplicatements population big argon merely a favourence, non a standard mandatary hiring indispensability is discussed. Current minimum facts of lifeal activityal supplicatements for topical anaesthetic and secernate legality of nature agencies and implications for the prox of the college- point in timed officers ar explored. Hiring college-educated candi visualizes in the arbiter enforcement expanse does non guarantee they lead be good officers.Being a legal philosophy officer is elusive and to be successful, you create to want to be a practice of law officer. Individua ls who receive the entreatd power point in law enforcement assimilate foundd their desire. Desire is virtu bothything very(prenominal) demanding to evaluate, more(prenominal)(prenominal) all allwhere such an all-important(prenominal) trait. If each(prenominal) former(a) qualities atomic form 18 equalâ€the college have with a quartet-year horizontal surface in wretched judge or related domain of a function should be hired as law of nature officers in the beginning one who doesn’t stupefy the full stop. guard force Chief from department with requisite stagecoach guidement Introduction and Background The relevance of a college head for natural law officers has been debated for decades. Numerous studies slang been conducted regarding the impressiveness of the phased officer, while others pretend appointd how a college breaker point is non an essential or important member for success among jurisprudence officers. That precise debat eâ€the charge of the bachelor’s ground direct for guard officers is non the focus of this endeavor.The focus here is central to iii vital panels’ recommendations from 1967-1974 proclaiming that natural law officers obtain baccalaureate floorâ€the President’s Commission on practice of law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice, the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, and the American Bar link Project on Standards for Criminal Justiceâ€and wherefore so hardly a(prenominal) topical anesthetic anesthetic and domain practice of law departments acquit fol imp overisheded suit in requiring that patrol officers suffer baccalaureate microscope stages, as miniature than 1% of such departments bespeak a four-year academic gradation (Hickman and Reeves, 2006).It is limpid that leading in law enforcement atomic number 18 hesitating to take on the reproductional movement. Roberg and Bonn (2004) rei terated the most nonexistent numerals of jurisprudence departments requiring peaks. Although leaders in law enforcement continue to swerve the implementation of breedingal strikements (Carlan, 2007; Roberg and Bonn, 2004; Breci, 1997;Remington, 1990), enlisting for college graduates continues to adjoin. Carlan (2007) examined the worth of the crook justness head as placed by natural law officers and let up that In this study, practice of law force officers (n=299) with variable take aims of realise and riminal justice education bring oned positive attitudes c formerlyrning the score’s treasure with regard to conceptual increment for employment purposes. The positive assertions in this study contrive well on the ability of twist justice programs to prep ar its clientele for supposeingful employment challenges (p. 616). Johnston, Cheurprakobkit, and McKenzie (2002) revealed that law enforcement administrators stressed that the role of education sho uld place richness in aiding constabulary officers with knowledge of the legal aspects of policing as well as musical theme writing, ethics, and procedures.The President’s Commission (1967) reported that with bulge graduate(prenominal)er(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) educational extremitys, lumber in law ser sins could non be acquired or attained. However, over forty days later, in 2009, although most legal philosophy agencies do report that they cull a college- dotd officer, the bulk of practice of law agencies ( topical anesthetic, domain and peculiar(a) jurisdiction) do non imply whatsoeverthing more than a mellowed indoctrinate lambskin or resembling. Upon analyseing 36 departments that invite a four-year decimal point, this exploratory analysis examines to reveal and explore the reasoning behind the small number of patrol departments real requiring the head.Results of this analysis give describe the departments with four-year mandatory detail strikements and characteristics of such departments will embarrass opinions of natural law headways regarding why a college level is important to patrol. Qualitative news reports will yield tuition regarding how explemplary practices of a few departments should serve as role models and guides for departments crossways the nation in the one-hundred year quest to captainise the policing field. As the literature suggests, natural law administrators do prefer natural law officers to pass water a baccalaureate phase, entirely do non hold it.Verrill (2007) called for the impoverishment to chink why the select one-percent of local patrol departments who crave the degree actually do so. This study attempts to act that oppugn. As adduced antecedently, debates pertaining to the usefulness and value of a college degree for law officers concord been commonplace in vicious justice literature for decades. However, at the outset, it is unclear how some(prenominal) police departments actually require a four-year degree and the location of such departments. This lack of clarity is advertise exemplified by ncertainty as to how m each another(prenominal) police officers and police agencies on that point actually atomic number 18 the in U. S. , leads to unenviabley in counting police agencies (Maguire, Snipes, Uchida, and Townsend, 1998). some(prenominal) the case, we can be assured that few police agencies (non-federal) actually require a bachelor’s degree. Is the display case of course Important? Verrill (2007) described the tenuous amount of literature concerning the advantage or worth of a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and whether criminal justice employers add preferentiality to vocational over speculative degrees or vice versa.Verrill’s study reviewed entry- train educational sine qua nons for criminal justice agencies in Florida, where still twain local police departments out of N=261 essayd postulate a bachelor’s degree. Realistically, Verrill’s prove is indicative of local police departments nationwide, as slight than one-percent require a bachelor’s degree as a prerequisite for employment. It is unclear at this point, from the literature, whether those one-percent of police departments who require four-year degrees specify which sort out they prefer.This analysis reveals striking information regarding the few police departments that require the degree and their gustatory modalitys regarding the even out as well as if they prefer that police candidates affirm degrees pertaining to each vocational or theoretical orientations. Bostrom (2005) addressed take put underences in take aims of effectance and contrive habits among officers who had obtained unmarried man of Arts degrees and bachelor of scholarship degrees, finding that officers with bachelor-at-arms of Arts degrees confound break up work habits (measured by sick time usage, traffic collisions, discipline) than officers with a knight bachelor of Science degree.Although results were detailed with caution, as this was an exploratory study at one large police department, Bostrom called for future re seem in this area. Schafer and Castellano (2005) attempted to extricate the relationships that last among work buzz off, educational background and attitudes toward criminal justice education, once again finding, â€Å"the type of police attend to will not significantly improve until in high spiritser educational demands are established for its somebodynel” (p. 300). odour into Questions 1. What is currently known about educational indispensabilitys for local and adduce police departments/agencies? 2.How m either an(prenominal) police departments (local) build a four-year degree necessary and where are those departments? Who makes up the one-percent of police departments that the literature refers to as requiring four-yea r degrees? What is the lay in size of police departments that bring on the four-year degree prerequisite? Are they large departments or small departments? 3. How numerous departments that confuse the four-year degree necessary will antecede the want, and under what conditions can the educational necessary be preceded? 4. What are the education levels of headmans of police in departments that withdraw a four-year degree unavoidableness? . What are the mean offset salaries for the departments that require a four-year degree? Are the beginning salaries for police officers in police departments with four-year degree requirements higher(prenominal) than salaries for police officers in departments without four-year degree requirements? 6. Do police chiefs in departments with four-year degree requirements prefer that officers drive a degree in criminal justice? 7. Do police chiefs in departments with four-year degree requirements have a preference of vocational (hands-on) o rientation or else than an academic (theoretical) orientation? . shoot applicator pussys step-upd, reduced or stayed the comparable since their four-year degree requirement was mandated? 9. Do the police chiefs view the degree requirement will change in time, or will it detain a mandate, with no exceptions? 10. Regarding police departments with the four-year degree requirement, why does their various(prenominal) department require a four-year degree? 11. Regarding police departments with the four-year degree requirement, why do police chiefs intrust so few departments crosswise the nation actually require the degree?Current noesis About informational Requirements for US law segments fit to the U. S. surgical incision of Justice (2004), thither are 12,766 local police departments with 3,067 sheriff’s offices, 49 primary state law enforcement agencies, 1,481 peculiar(prenominal) jurisdiction agencies, and 513 ‘other’ agencies actualizely 17,876 l aw enforcement agencies. As of 2003, in a stress of 3000 police departments, 98% of local police departments had an educational requirement for new recruits; 18% had ‘some eccentric person’ of college requirement; ine percent essential a biyearly degree and slight than one-percent call for a four-year degree (Hickman and Reaves, 2006). another(prenominal) source, The International intimacy for Chiefs of patrol (2008) announce that 16% of state police agencies require a devil-year degree, while four-percent require a four-year degree; 13% of county police agencies require a cardinal-year degree and an unknown serving of county police agencies require a four-year degree. Nine percent of local police departments require a deuce-year degree and two-percent require a four-year degree.However, it was unclear the name and location of the departments that required a two or a four-year degree. Furthermore, it is unclear as to where that two-percent was derived. Overa ll, scarce information is purchasable regarding which departments require a two or a four-year degree. By search state police situation and state highway patrol websites, it is evident that but tether state police departments require officers to hold four-year degreesâ€Illinois order police force, New Jersey stir law of nature, and North Dakota main road Patrol. All ternary agencies, however, will antecede educational requirements.Regarding the New Jersey State law’s minimum qualifications, An applicator must have (1) a bachelor’s degree, signifying completion of the undergraduate program and outset from an genuine college or university or, (2) alternatively, an associate’s degree or have complete 60 college assign from an genuine college or university, plus at least(prenominal) two eld of satisfactory employment, or (3) alternately, have spotless 30 college credits from an accredited college or university, plus at least two historic pe riod of alive(p) duty array machine returns with an honorable discharge (http://www. jsp. org/recruit/qual. html). The Illinois State legal philosophy has the following minimum educational requirement: weft 1). An harmonise of Arts point in time or kindred coursework and must meet one of the following two phone line bang requirements: Three consecutive years of continuous, regular avail as a police officer, with the same police agency or trine consecutive years of sprightly military duty. extract 2). An Associate Degree of Science or equivalent coursework and meet one of the following two line of worry experience requirements: three onsecutive years of continuous, full-time service, as a police officer, with the same agency or three consecutive years of active military duty. Option 3). An Associate of Applied Science Degree, only if the degree is in right Enforcement/Criminal Justice and meet one of the following two frolic experience requirements: Three consecu tive years of continuous, full-time service as a police officer, with the same agency, or three consecutive years of active military duty. Option 4). A bachelor-at-arms’s Degree (https://www. illinoisstatetrooper. om/requiremnents. html). Lastly, North Dakota Highway Patrol’s minimum educational requirements are: An Associate degree with two years of work-related experience or a knight bachelor’s degree (http://nd. gov/ndhp/employment/qualifications. html). Upon review of each state police or state highway patrol website, the following requirements by state were revealed: presently, ten states require an Associate’s Degree or 60 hours of college credit (PA, TX, KY, MN, MO, OK, DE, CN, WI, LA). The remaining states require a high school diploma or equivalent.However, one state†Nevada, stipulates no educational requirement. forth of the carbon largest cities in the unite States, only four police departments require a four-year degree (Jacksonville, FL, Arlington, TX. , St. Paul, MN, and Tulsa, OK). Upon expression at the 100 largest police departments in the United States by number of blaspheme officers (list provided by the law Executive Research Forum), only 3 of the largest police departments require a four-year degree (New Jersey State legal philosophy, Illinois State practice of law, and Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office).After reviewing each of the 100 largest cities websites, it was compulsive that 67% of such departments require a police officers to have a high school diploma or equivalent; 6% require a high school diploma plus 12 hours college credit; 4% require in the midst of 30-40 hours of college credit, 19% require an Associate’s degree or 60 hours of college credit, with 4% requiring a four-year degree.Again after searching agency websites regarding flight opportunities, the functions were equal upon reviewing the largest 100 departments by number of sworn officers: 68% required a high school diploma or equivalent; 4% required a high school diploma or equivalent plus 12 hours of college credit; 4% required between 30-54 hours of college credits; 21% required an Associate’s degree of 60 hours of college credit, and 3% of the 100 largest police departments (by number of sworn officers) currently require a four-year degree.Once again, as yet the few that require the degree; the majority will waive the requirement, with certain stipulationâ€which will be discussed. To estimate whether or not the one-percent of police departments with degree requirements were actually large or small departments necessitated reviewing the LEMAS report (2003), concluding that Seventy-four percent (74%) of all local police departments served fewer than 10,000 residents, these agencies employed just 14% of all offices. About half of all officers served a jurisdiction with 100,000 or more residents.While departments serving the largest cities had thousands of officers on average, thos e serving fewer than 2,500 residents have an average of just four full-time employees, including three sworn officers. The Arguments: Pros and Cons of the College-Educated law Officer The idea surrounding the purpose of college-educated officers has beginning from two sources: the alleged importance of professionalism for the police force and to change officer attitudes (Shernock, 1992). Friedmann (2006) made an excellent point,When police officers try to do their job today without a degree, their already difficult task is made more difficult. However, chiefs who mandate the degree requirement should be conscious that the transition periodâ€where the police department does not already have a clear majority of officers with degreesâ€could be difficult. jurisprudence officers sometimes resist higher education requirements. Despite this resistance, police officers need higher education for the good of the profession” (p. 23). Chief of police force Hawkins (2006) reite rated his department’s four-year requirement in Burnsville, MN. ,Burnsville’s four-year degree requirement helps recruit big-picture thinkers who are creative, culturally aware, and technically sound in constitutional law, and who look for the best solution to the multitudes of challenges they encounter. An officer’s well-rounded background enhances his or her ability and desire to coadjutor with union members, use the vast resources both the residents and business owners own, and make them part of the problem- solution accomplish. The synergy created between the biotic lodge and the officers is the basis foundation of Burnsville’s society policing efforts. Friedman, 2006, p. 28). As the debate over the need for an educated police officers has demonstrated contradictory evidence concerning college educated police officersâ€meaning that although many studies are supportive that officers need a college education, there is in addition conflicting evidence. Baro and Burlingame (1999) contend recommendations that officers need a baccalaureate degree to increase levels of police professionalism, stating that officers need no more than a high school diploma or equivalency.Sherman and McLeod (1979) speculated that higher education for officers may be ir germane(predicate) because the education officers receive in higher educational institutions is sort of similar to culture officers receive in police academies. Critics of higher educations recollect the â€Å"college-educated officers are more probably to become frustrated with their work, with restrictions imposed by supervisors, and with extra opportunities for advancement” (Worden, 1990, p. 567). Hudzick (1978) found that officers with an education place less value on obedience to supervisors and are less meet with their careers. other(a) are concerned that â€Å"college-educated officers will pronto tire of the irregular hours, constant pressures, and relativ e low yield of policing” (Varricchio, 1988, p. 11). Whetstone (2000) acknowledged that, â€Å"hiring candidates with improved credentials also invites eventual problems such as greater job dissatisfaction and staff office turnover” (p. 247). Kakar (1998) further demonstrated that a college education might decrease officer’s calibre of service because police work does not offer opportunities to stimulate the college-educated mind.Furthermore, because police performance measures differ in studies, no real consensus exists on on the nose how police performance should be defined and measured. Carter and Sapp (1990) indicated that disregardless of degree requirements, 23% of police officers had obtained a four-year degree and 65% of police officers had at least one year of college. Peterson (2001) gave somewhat higher estimates, in that 30% of police officers sampled from ten medium-sized departments in the Midwest had four-year degrees.Mayo (2006) estimates betwe en 25-30% of police officers have a four-year degree, which realistically nearly reflects the percentage of U. S. population over age 25 who have obtained a bachelor’s degree. correspond to the US Census Bureau (2005) 28% of the US population over the age of 25 has obtained a bachelor’s degree, which is an all-time high. Common smack dictates that those percentages of police officers with four-year degrees are representative of the education levels of the communities they serve, if we hire such figures and that line of reasoning.However, the small number of departments requiring degrees necessitates heed to raise awareness to the fact that less than 100 police departments, including special jurisdiction police, state police, county and local police departments mandate degrees, and whether this will change in the future. Little information exists regarding the 1% of police departments that require the four-year degree. Mayo (2006) revealed several(prenominal) case studies of departments with four-year degrees regarding the question of the degree and its importance to the sites’ organizational success in the communities they serve.One of the departments that was highlighted, the capital of Delaware police force surgical incision in N. J. , which is now the Toms River patrol surgical incision, has changed its language to wind off its mandatory four-year requirement, the current ordering: requires candidates to sustain a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university or, the candidate must give a minimum of 64 college credits feature with two (2) full years of military experience or full time work experience (http://www. rpolice. org/Recruitment. html). some other than a list of departments that require four-year degrees latterly made available on-line by the police force Association for College Education, no other list is available to reveal the one-percent of police agencies that require the four-year degree . Unfortunately, many of the departments listed on that site that have a four-year degree requirement no presbyopicer have the requirement, but have relaxed it or waived it all together.After contacting all of the departments by email or phone, the following departments on PACE’s list no longer require a four-year degree: Vallejo, CA. ; Boulder, CO. ; Peach Tree, GA. ; Holden, MA. ; St. Cloud, MN. ; Eagan City, MN. ; Borough of Gettysburg, PA. ; Edinboro, PA. ; Appleton, WI. ; Flint, MI. ; Milford, MI. ; Montvale, NJ. ; University parkland, TX; Whitefish Bay, WI; and Upper Moreland, NJ. The Chief of police force, doubting Thomas Nestle, III. , of Upper Moreland, NJ, responded via email that Upper Moreland only requires 60 hours of college credit.Nestel (2009) offered his opinion, via email, as to why the degree requirements was relaxed at his department, The applicant pool that is suited for this position oft does not possess the educational pedigree you describe (a four- year degree). Law enforcement tends to draw military veterans and sons/daughters of existing officers. Neither convocation has a high rate of college graduates. Recruiting on college campuses has be to be very unsuccessful. Policing doesn’t seem to be an appealing direction for the college graduate.In recent years, other departments (Memphis, TN, Plano, TX, Portland, OR) once known to have had a four-year degree requirement, further made national headlines regarding the choice to relax their private educational requirement. Interestingly, many other police departments were found that were not included in the natural law Association for College Education’s (PACE) list regarding police departments that require four-year degrees as of 2006. A massive Inter lucre search was undertaken to locate local police departments that currently require a four-year degree for new patrol officers.Additionally, numerous contacts via telephone to police chiefs and recruits were atte mpted to uncover supernumerary police departments with four-year degree requirements. However, most of those attempts were unsuccessful for little knowledge exists as to whom the police departments requiring four-year degrees actually were in the U. S. Therefore, it was necessary to rely on departmental websites in attempts to discover who indeed mandated the baccalaureate degree requirement. Problematically, many departmental websites lacked clarity regarding educational requirements.Therefore, if applicable information could not be obtained via websites, many telephone contacts to police departments led to the discovery of 60 local police departments, including local police departments and county sheriff offices that require a four-year degree for police officers. However, there are several special jurisdiction police agencies that also require officers to hold a baccalaureate degree and will not waive educational requirements, including the Missouri part of conservation (law enforcement) and the Texas places and Wildlife Department.However, special jurisdiction police agency degree requirements are not the focus of this analysis. lux police agencies (local and county) were unearthed to indeed have the requirementâ€Illinois has the greatest number of police departments requiring a four-year degree, with eleven; New Jersey has seven; Ohio has eightsome; Pennsylvania has cardinal; Michigan has 5; Texas has four; Wisconsin has 4; carbon monoxide gas has 3; South Carolina has 2; Florida has 2; manganese has 2; Oregon, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Missouri each have one local police department that has a four-year degree requirement.Special jurisdiction police agencies aside, caution however, that of those 60 police departments, only 37 will not waive or relax their educational requirements for any exception. Therefore, there are 37 local police departments that will not waive their educational requirements on any grounds. table 1 contai ns the 37 local departments that will not waive educational requirements. commonwealth size, pull together from Sperling’s Best Places (www. bestplaces. net) follow to demonstrate the size of each city in which the various(prenominal) department is located.Regarding county police departments, population size was not included. bow 1 Note: N=37. This may not be the complete list. However, no other such list is available. Simple computations reveal the baseborn for the population size of local police departments with mandatory degree requirements is (X=61,911), with the Median (MD=31,891). Due to the reality that there are so few local police departments mandating degrees, it is relevant to include exemplifications of specific educational requirements for such departments regarding their policy regarding mandatory four-year degree education requirements in hedge 2.Local practice of law Departments Requiring Four-Year Degrees, No Exceptions practice of law DepartmentLoc ationPopulation size Arvada guard DepartmentCO104,838 Arlington legal philosophy DepartmentTX367,197 Bethel Park guard Department PA 31,891 Bloomfield Township practice of law Department MI 65,796 Canfield legal philosophy Department OH 7,061 Centerville Police Department OH 23,046 Cleveland high school Police Department OH 47,097Deer Park Police Department TX 29,748 Burnsville Police Department MN 59,321 Eatontown Police Department NJ 14,022 Elgin Police Department IL 98,846 Gaston County Police Department NC Flint Township Police Department MI 32,753 Green Tree Borough Police Department PA 4,396 Lakewood Police DepartmentCO140,024 Leonia Police DepartmentNJ 8,799 Mahwah Police DepartmentNJ 24,560 Middleburg high Police DepartmentOH 15,237 Mt. Lebanon Police DepartmentPA 5,481 Multnomah County Sheriff’s DepartmentORNaperville Police DepartmentIL140,633 Norton Shores Police DepartmentMI 23,429 Novi Police DepartmentMI 52,621 Owasso Police DepartmentMI 15,388 Palatine Po lice DepartmentIL 66,596 Platteville Police DepartmentWI 9,748 Pueblo Police DepartmentCO103,730 Peters Township Police DepartmentPA 4,683 Richmond high gear Police DepartmentMO 9,228 Schaumburg Police DepartmentIL 73,890 Smithfield Police DepartmentRI 21,863 South Park Township Police DepartmentPA 14,647 Strongsville Police DepartmentOH 43,347 Sugar reason Police DepartmentTX 79,943 Tulsa Police DepartmentOK385,486 Wheaton Police Department IL 54,611Wilmette Police Department IL 26,737 disconcert 2 Examples of Educational Specification Per Department That Have Mandatory Four-year Degree Requirements PoliceEducational Requirement Specification Department Arvada PDâ€Å" unmarried man’s degree from an accredited college or university (final semester seniors are eligible). This requirement will not be waived for any reason” (http://arvadapd. org/join-our-team/requirements/. html). Arlington PDâ€Å"Possess a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or uni versity. Education is not waived for prior military service or prior experience” http://www. rlingtonpd. org/index. asp? nextpg=recruiting/require. asp). Centerville PDâ€Å"Bachelor’s Degree Required” (http://ci. centerville. oh. us/index. php? option=com). Deer Park PDâ€Å"Bachelor’s degree by hire date” (http://www. ci. deer-park. tx. us/department/index. php? fDD=15-0 Eatontown PDâ€Å"Effective folk 1, 2008, applicant must have a bachelor’s degree, signifying completion of the undergraduate curriculum and graduation from an accredited college or university” (http://www. nj. com/police/careers. html).Lakewood PDâ€Å"Bachelor’s degree in any disciplineâ€no exceptions” (http://www. ci. lakewood. co. us/index. cfmp). Tulsa PDâ€Å"Applicants must have completed a Bachelor’s degree with a C+ average or split at an accredited college. No military hours or credits are acceptable unless they are reliable fro m or converted through an accredited college” (http:/www. tulsapd. ord/recruiting/requirements. htm Note. This is not an exhaustive list. Examples of Specific Educational Requirements Per Departments Regarding Mandatory Four-Year Degree Education Requirement, With Waiver ExceptionsAs stated previously, only 37 local police departments require a four-year degree with no exceptions allowed. However, 23 other local police departments require a four-year degree, but will waive the requirements with certain exceptions, as do the Illinois State Police and the New Jersey State Police. Therefore, those 23 departments with similar wording or language embedded in their respective specific job requirements or career opportunities containing ‘require a four-year degree, but will relax requirements,’ will be included in departments that require four-year degrees.The Toms River Police Department provides a good example of ‘waiver exceptions,’ The current ordinance requires candidates to possess a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university or the candidate must possess a minimum of 64 college credits combined with two (2) full years of military experience or full-time regular police experience” (http://www. trpolice. org/Recruitment. html). Other specific examples of police department requirements with waivers include: dance Police Department, Bachelor’s degree and in a higher place or Associate degree with four years of prior law enforcement experience or military experience” (http:www. charlestoncity. info/dept/content. aspx? nid=817&cid=9931). Coral Springs Police Department’s requirements are similar, â€Å"Applicant must possess: A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or (4) years law enforcement experience and at least 60 credits from an accredited college, or (4) years military experience and at least 60 credits from an accredited college” (http://www. theblue line. com/feature/Flcoralsprings. html). Other examples include: 1.Highland Park Police Department â€Å"Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university†circumstance may be given for applicants who possess at least 60 credit hours” (http://www. hptxorg/index. aspx? page=233). 2. Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office â€Å"Must possess a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or possess an accredited Associate’s degree or equivalent (60 semester hours/90 quarter hours) with four (4) years prior active military or law enforcement experience or possess 90 semester/ one hundred thirty-five quarter hours with two (2) years prior active military or law enforcement experience” http:www. coj. net/Departments/Sheriffs+Office/About+ the+JSO/default. htm). 3. Livonia Police Department â€Å"Have been awarded an Associate Degree in Law Enforcement or Public Administration or a Bachelor Degree in any non-Criminal Justice discipline” (http://www. ci. livonia. mi. us/default. asp? area2=departments%2F genteel+service) 4. Osh Kosh Police Department â€Å"Associate degreeâ€In Criminal Justice/Police Science; Bachelor degreeâ€in any field” (https://wilenet. org/html/employment/showopportunities. jsp). 5. Tinley Park Police Department All applicants must have completed 2 years satisfactory experience as a certified sworn law enforcement officer in the state of Illinois or posses an Associates Degree with at least a C average (or its equivalent) with an ferocity in criminal justice, or possess 60 college credit hours with at least a C average (or its equivalent) with an emphasis in criminal justice, or possess a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree from a four year college or university” (http:www. tinleyparkpolice. org/police. html).Haddon Township Police department is another that was included in the list of police departments that require a four-year degree, however, their exception ha s somewhat diametric specifications: â€Å"Applicants must make a pre-employment agreement to achieve a Baccalaureate Degree within eight years from the time of employment. ” (http://www. haddontwppolice. com/). Table 3 includes Police Departments that require four-year degrees, with exceptions or waiver conditions. Table 3 Police Departments that Have Four-Year Degree Requirements, With ExceptionsPoliceLocation Departments Bath Police Department OH Bainbridge Township Police Department OH trip the light fantastic toe Police Department SC Cherry mound Police Department NJ Coral Springs Police Department FL Haddon Township Police Department NJ Highland Park Police Department TX Hinsdale Police Department IL Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office FL Langlade County Sheriff’s Department WI Livonia Police Department MI Kettering Police Department OH Montgomery Township Police Department NJ Osh Kosh Police Department WIPlano Police Department TX Richland County Sheriffâ₠¬â„¢s Office SC River Forest Police Department IL Shaler Police Department PA St. Paul Police Department MN Tinley Park Police Department IL Toms River Police Department NJ (Formerly Dover PD) Vernon Hills Police Department IL Willowbrook Police Department IL Note. N=23. methodology Regarding the 1% of local police departments that require a four-year degree at the time of hire, it was noted previously that little information exists about the location of such departments.Intensive Internet searches, email and telephone contacts with multitudes of police recruiters and chiefs yielded 60 departments with four-year degree requirements, although only 37 of such departments had mandatory educational requirements resulting in no educational waivers. As it was unclear which department had mandatory requirements at the outset, 45 questionnaires were mailed to police chiefs at departments, which were believed to have mandatory requirements.Of those 45 questionnaires mailed, 40 were complete d and returnedâ€which was an excellent boilersuit response rate of nearly 89%. Four of those surveys revealed that the departments surveyed did not require the four-year degree requirement; therefore, the results were not utilized. Thirty-six (36) returned questionnaires remained, revealing both important and relevant information about departments with mandatory requirements and were the subjects for this study. Thirty-seven (37) departments overall were found with mandatory requirements.Items on the questionnaires pertained to a wide range of subjects including the year in which such departments apply their degree requirement; number of sworn officers; the chief’s education level; mean starting salaries for police officers; whether or not police chiefs had a preference in degree discipline; whether the chiefs preferred their officers had degrees that were vocational or theoretical in nature; whether chiefs preferred bachelor or arts degrees over bachelor of science deg ree; if officers who were hired before the degree requirement was established were required to complete respective degrees; whether they believed the degree requirement would be neutered in the future; if applicant pool had increased, decreased or remained the same since the establishment of the degree requirement; the requirement’s refer on minority recruiting, and whether police chiefs believed officers with a college degree perform break down than officers without a college degree.Additionally, two questions qualitatively regarding why police chiefs believed their respective departments had the mandatory requirement and why police chiefs believe only 1% of other departments have followed suit in mandating the requirement. Although glaring limitations to this analysis stem from the fact the little information exists regarding the reality of those one-percent of police departments that mandate a four-year degree, this is an exploratory step alter further exploration in to this important issue. Ultimately, the future professionalism of the policing field does hinge on raising degree requirements across police departments in America. Although only 36 police chiefs were surveyed, their information speaks volumes as to the need for other departments to follow their lead.As one chief eloquently stated: It is evident that society has become more colonial. Problem solving skills along with communication skills are even more important today for police officers. A college education gives a foundation and more importantly legitimizes police work as a profession The legal document utilized has not proven reliable. However, this began a process of raising issues regarding the importance and the future of the college-degreed officer. At the outset, many officers are obtaining four-year degrees regardless of whether the degree is required or not. Results Information regarding the analysis of data is organized match to the research questions.For each question, the results are followed by an explanation and discussion of the findings. Only descriptive statistics were utilized, as there was no need for making inferences in this analysis. xi research questions were addressed in attempts to determine how departments that require four-year degrees are different from departments that have the requirement, and will waive it, or do not have such requirements. Descriptive data from the surveys revealed that the first department implement their mandatory degree requirement in 1963. One chief responded, Our degree requirement was implemented in 1990. We changed the entry-level minimum educational requirement from a high chool diploma to a bachelor’s degree over the course of seven years. Research indicates police agencies should require a four-year degree. Table 4 describes the year departments implemented their mandatory degree requirement, with a range from 1963-2008. Table 4 Frequencies and Percentages for the Year Degree Requirements w ere use Year Degree Requirement Implemented f% 1963 12. 8 1969 38. 3 1975 25. 6 1976 12. 8 1981 12. 8 1984 12. 8 1986 38. 3 1987 12. 8 1990 4 11. 1 1991 12. 8 1992 1 2. 8 1993 12. 8 994 12. 8 1995 12. 8 1996 12. 8 1997 25. 6 1998 38. 3 2000 12. 8 2005 12. 8 2006 1 2. 8 2008 12. 8 Note. N=36 It was apparent from the literature that only three of the largest police departments (by sworn officer) required a four-year degree. Tulsa Police Department is the largest department in this study, with 844 sworn officers. However, Tulsa is not the norm regarding departments with degree requirements and number of sworn officers, as results will show that most police departments with degree requirements have less than 100 sworn officers.However, of the 36 responders in this particular study, the range of number of sworn officers was 15 at the smallest department to 844 sworn officers at the largest department included. The mean number of sworn officers was 127. 20 (SD=171. 46, MD=70). Table 5 i llustrates the frequencies and percentages of sworn officers in departments with mandatory degree requirements, demonstrating that most of the departments with the requirement have fewer than 100 sworn officers; 16 departments have fewer than 50 sworn officers. Table 5 Frequencies and Percentages of Number of Sworn Officers in Departments with Mandatory Degree Requirements Number of Sworn Officers f % 1512. 8 2025. 6 2112. 8 212. 8 2512. 8 2712. 8 2912. 8 3112. 8 3412. 8 3725. 6 4012. 8 4312. 8 4612. 8 4812. 8 5412. 8 7025. 6 7212. 8 7412. 8 7512. 8 9812. 8 10312. 8 11225. 6 13712. 8 16012. 8 16512. 8 18912. 8 20012. 8 20512. 8 28212. 8 34012. 8 61512. 8 84412. 8 Note. N=36. Regarding the police chief’s level of education, Table 6 contains the frequencies and percentages associated with levels of education broken carry out into five categories: Associate’s Degree, Bachelor’s Degree; One reduce’s Degree; Multiple (2) Master’s Degree’s, and doctors degree Degree. One of the departments where the chief had an Associates degree, the mandatory requirement was implemented in 1981.Furthermore, in all 36 departments surveyed, no officer was on the force without a degree before the educational mandate has implemented was required to obtain a four-year degree. In essence, the grandfather clause was utilized. The same was true with the chief’s who did not meet the degree requirement, as they were not required to meet new degree requirements. Table 6 Police Chief’s Level of Education in Departments with Mandatory Four-Year Degree Requirements Degree Type Earnedf% Associate’s Degree25. 6 Bachelor’s Degree 10 27. 8 One Master’s Degree 22 61. 1 2 Master’s Degrees12. 8 Doctorate Degree12. 8 Note.N=36 Regarding the mean starting salaries for the departments that require a four-year degree, the mean starting salaries for police officers in police departments with four-year degree requirement s are higher than salaries for police officers in departments without four-year degree requirements. City data was additionally gathered (www. bestplaces. net) regarding median planetary house income for the 37 original locations of departments with mandatory degree requirements. The median household income for city residents pertaining to this sample was $61,330. harmonise to the U. S. Census Bureau (2008) the median household income reached $50,233 in 2007.Therefore, it was likely that mean starting salaries for police officers in these locations would also be higher. According to one police chief surveyed: It’s all about tradition, size of city and location. The Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics on-line(a) (2006) states that the mean starting salary for police officers ranging from populations from 10,000 to over 1,000,000 was $38,569. As shown in Table 7, the mean starting salaries for police officers in police departments with mandatory four-year degree requir ements was quite higher. A striking example of this is illustrated in one chief’s words, Thirty-nine percent of our residents over the age of 25 have an march on collegiate degree.Our population is 27,000. Our residents are university professors, attorneys, medical doctors, chief executive officer’s. Our village is considered upper class economically and domicile values are quite high. Many well-known hoi polloi live here. Our police officers are golden inter-acting in our residents’ homes, even on the most lovesome matters. We don’t feel inferior. We belong here. Our residents value us. The four-year degree requirement helps us significantly in recruiting. We provide an average of more than 100 hours of training annually to our officers. Our ‘brand’ is that we are the ‘education and training’ department. This has been very effective for us. Table 7Means and Other Statistics Concerning Salaries for Police Officers in Depart ments With Mandatory Four-Year Degree Requirements Starting requital Mean $47,222 Median $46,786 Mode $40,000 SD $6,024 Minimum $34,901 supreme $58,931 Note. N=36. Only two of the departments surveyed required that officer possess a four-year degree in Criminal Justice or Law Enforcement. It is common that police departments requiring Associate’s degrees are specifically looking for their police candidates to have an Associate’s degree in Criminal Justice or a closely related field. However, upon surveying police chiefs in departments with mandatory four-year degree requirements, only seven or 19. 4% preferred criminal justice or closely related degrees. Seventy-five ercent (75%) of police chiefs in this study believed that a four-year degree in any discipline was acceptable. Two police chiefs in this sample were uncertain as to whether they preferred a criminal justice degree to a degree in any other discipline. When asked whether the police chiefs preferred a prac tical/vocational degree or a degree that was theoretical/academic in nature, or if they had no preference, the majority (63. 9%) of chiefs had no preferenceâ€either orientation was acceptable, stating that was precisely the four-year degree in itself that mattered. Table 8 illustrates the frequencies and percentages of practical versus theoretical orientations. Table 8Frequencies and Percentages of Degree Orientation Preference: Practical v. supposed Degree Orientation Preferencef% Prefer practical/vocational orientation822. 2 Prefer theoretical/academic orientation411. 1 No preference, either acceptable 2363. 9 changeful 1 2. 8 Note. N=36. The results of this study put up little support either way to Bostrom’s (2005) finding. Although several police chiefs could break down the percentage of their officers who had a Bachelor of Arts degree or Bachelor of Science degree, only one respondent believed that officers with a Bachelor of Science perform demote than officers w ith a Bachelor of Arts degree.Seventy-five (75%) or 27 police chiefs believed there is no difference in work habits or performance regarding whether an officer has a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. The remaining respondents (25%) were uncertain as to whether there was a true difference among the types of degree. Whatever the case, a common theme emerged, We believe the quality of our officers and the services provided are enhanced by a go-educated workforce. Policing is an extremely intricate profession, requiring individuals who can apply abstract concepts within difficult situations. We can also assign more complex duties to our officers. Table 9 reviews the police chief’s opinions regarding the future of the degree requirement, and whether they believed it would be altered in the future.It was clearly apparent that in these departments, the degree requirement is a fixed quality. Table 9 Chiefs’ Opinions Regarding the future of Their Degree Require ment Future confrontations f% Expect to retain requirement Indefinitely3391. 7 Expect requirement to be altered In future 2 5. 6 timid 1 2. 8 Note. N=36. We apprehend to keep our degree requirement forever. With the high percentage of college graduates in today’s society, I don’t believe this requirement is unreasonable. It’s our polish to continue to pursue the ‘most answer’ applicants for our police department. Many police departments are hesitant to make a mandatory educational requirement out-of-pocket to fears that applicant pools will dwindle if requirement is enforced.According to this sample, nearly 64% of police chiefs reported that their respective applicant pools have indeed decreased due to their educational mandate. However, others felt different. The four-year degree requirement has served us well. We typically receive about 70 applicants for every 1-3 openings we try to fill. All of which have the four-year degree and either en rollment or completion of the police academy. another(prenominal) responded in a way to overcome the issue of lower applicant pools, cautioning a reason why this will not happen at large, Yes, the requirement decreases this applicant pool. In my opinion, for a department to have an educational requirement such as ours, a voiceless recruitment effort is necessary.We recruit over 15 northern Ohio colleges that have law enforcement majors programs to get an adequate number of participants to take our complaisant service tests. That is an expensive endeavor, one that most cities win’t make. ” Table 10 reviews police chief’s opinions regarding application pools and their particular educational requirement. Table 10 Stability of Application Pools in Police Departments with Mandatory Four-Year Degree Requirement Level of Police Applicants f% Application pool has increased With degree requirement25. 6 Application pool has decreased With degree requirement 23 63. 9 A pplication pool has stayed the same 10 27. 8 Uncertain 12. 8 Note. N=36.One of the predominant reasons offered as to why more police departments do not have a mandatory degree requirement is that enforcing such a mandate would have a negative push on recruiting. One chief replied, it’s ‘politically correct’ to lower education standards to avoid the temper of the special interest-minority groups who wish to lower educational standards to increase the minority population in the applicant pool. Table 11 describes frequencies and percentages of police chiefs’ opinions regarding their requirement’s relate on minority recruiting. Interestingly, only 11% of respondents believed the requirement had a positive impact on recruiting minorities.Two enkindle responses emerged regarding the process of calming the regarded negative impact on recruiting: If I can keep the requirement a few more years, we will have a majority of officers with degrees and there w ill be less internal pressure to lower standards. As long as we hire a significant percentage of minorities, there will be less claims of unfavourable impactâ€nine are female, five are Hispanic. We will evolve to the point that candidates for promotion with degrees are more likely to get the appointment. insufficiency of applicant pool and minorities. While this is true, it can be overcome. We have fewer applicants, but they are higher quality. Our recruitment methods continually change to reach our target audience. We work with many minority groups to reach out to minority populations. One respondent was adamant regarding this issue,The minority community that believes there would be an ‘adverse impact. ’ There isn’t. Table 11 Requirements affect on Recruiting Minorities Level of meeting f % Requirement has had a positive Impact on recruitment of Minorities411. 1 Requirement has had a negative impact on recruitment of minorities1027. 8 Requirement has had no impact on recruitment of minorities1130. 6 Uncertain 1130. 6 Note. N=36. Another important issue addressed concerns that highly relevant debate: Does a college degree make for a correct police officer? The answer to that question among the 36 police chiefs was not unanimous, but the majority (80. 6%) indeed believed that officers with a degree perform better.In efforts to once again address this century-old debate, Table 12 describes the realities of police chiefs’ opinions on this theme. Table 12 Do Officers with a College Degree Perform Better? Police Chief’s Opinions f% Yes, officers with a degree perform better2980. 6 No, officers with a degree do not perform better 411. 1 Uncertain 3 8. 3 Note. N=36. In an attempt to dig deeper into the above issues and subjects, a qualitative cuddle was utilized to uncover themes predominant to this analysis. Although important descriptive information has been revealed, few attempts have been taken to qualitatively explore the two important issues relevant hereâ€opinions of police chiefs from that one-percent of police departments with mandatory degree requirements.Herein, two final questions needed exploration: Why do their departments actually have their mandatory degree requirement and why they believe so few departments actually require the degree? After careful pattern and consideration, they shared their opinions and dogmasâ€those of which should be held in high regard, as they are the select few who have shown to be pioneers in their concrete efforts to bring about professionalism to the policing field. Police Chief’s Explanations as to Why Their respective(prenominal) Departments Have the Four-Year Degree Requirement Aside from grisly recommendations encouraging police administrators and community leaders to adopt educational standards,Our department adopted the requirement ground Carter, Sapp and Stephens findings and the recommendations of the 1967 Presidential Advisory Comm ission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals that said that a four-year degree should be required by all law enforcement by 1981 six themes emerged from analyzing the data regarding why these departments actually have the degree requirement. 1. It is our tradition and part of our institutional, organizational and community culture and we are valued. It’s our tradition. We are the only agency in the state that still requires a four-year degree. We have always required this and I believe we hire exemplary wad with more maturity and a strong sense of direction than those without the degree. It’s really a huge part of our culture. We hope to keep our four-year educational degree requirement forever.With the high percentage of college graduates in today’s society, I don’t believe this requirement is unreasonable. It’s our goal to continue to pursue the ‘most capable’ applicants for our department One of the best things I did 17 years a go was to convince the governing automobile trunk to pass the four-year degree requirement. Since then the department has hired 140 of our 160 officers (bright, educated and professional). After neat Chief in 1992, I felt strongly that this would have a very positive impact on the department and it has. Very well-respected, very few discipline problems or concerns. 2. The degree carries with it a level of expertise, knowledge and perseverance that represent us in our communities well.The requirement for a bachelor’s degree generally assures that an applicant can read and relieve; has been exposed to complex create verbally materials requiring some level of analysis; has developed some level of minute intellection and communication skills, and has achieved at least some measurable relatively long-term goal in their lifetime. A bachelor’s degree limits the number of applicants who, most probably, would not be selected anyway. It also increases the quality of the a pplicant pool (education-level wise), which makes for a better police officer and increases the minimum age of the applicants, making them more experienced in life. It also shows that you have people at the very least, had the ‘stick-to-it-ivness’ to persevere through four years of college. It also eliminates the need for education reimbursement for officers engage bachelor’s degrees. We believe that it provides us with a more mature, well-rounded and worldly candidate who has more experience interacting with many different people from all walks of life” 3. Education levels of the police force should mirror the education level of the communities they serve. To reflect the demographics of the community we serve. According to the Census, Wilmette has one of the highest education levels in America. We want to be representative of those we serve in race, gender, education level and foreign language. This is also a successful dodging for maintaining high salar ies and benefits. We wanted to ensure our police officers’ education level closely mirrored the education level and demographics of our community. Over 70% of adult residents in our community have a bachelor’s degree. 4.A precept in excellence and qualityâ€the degree makes a difference in performance. The department instituted this educational requirement in 1993 due to the belief that educated officers will be better decision makers and have better communication skills, both in oral and written form Department belief of excellenceâ€higher quality of service to community, existence leaders in profession Quality candidate, self-thinking and less supervision. Enhanced knowledge, skills and abilities as well as communications skills (oral and written); critical thinking and analytical skills; broader viewpoints; more tolerant; foundation of criminal justice concepts; self-discipline; and time management.We believe that a better educated work-force is necessary in dealing with the public and are higher educated. We also believe that education enhances communication skills which are necessary in police work. A higher educated person is a more rounded individual, which leads to a better police officer To have a better qualified work force 5. A belief that the mandatory degree promotes professionalism both in their communities and for the immaculate police field. We believe that this should be the standard if we are to continue to develop and promote a professional police organization Academics have pushed our department to a new level of professionalism and innovationTo significantly improve the quality of police services via intelligent, articulate and professional personnel To establish professional standards at entry-level We are located in a city with a university with a strong criminal justice program. We have several members of our police and fire commission who are associate with the university. The four-year degree requirement enhanc es our professionalism. 6. Officers with a college degree are more mature and have stronger goal- reaching abilities. I feel that a person demonstrates his/her desire to be a police officer by completing four year of study in criminal justice. They prove not only a strong desire to become a police officer, but possess the ability to set a goal and achieve it.It also demonstrates that ability to learn. That is why a four-year bachelors degree in criminal justice, criminology or law enforcement exists. It is specific to those who set a goal for law enforcement and achieve it. Increases odds of mature/smart candidate. Maturity, dedication, experience and age of applicants are more suitable for employment. Police Chief’s Explanations as to Why They study So Few Departments in the U. S. Actually Require a Four-Year Degree Only three out of the 36 police chiefs surveyed stated that they were not satisfied with their department’s educational policy. However, over 90% were s atisfied with their departmental policies requiring college degrees.Aside from the following two realities many police leaders encounterâ€one being that the college degree is not mandated as a requirement by most licensing boards, and it may be prevented because of civil service regulationsâ€five themes emerged regarding police chiefs explanations as to why they believe so few departments actually require degrees: 1. It’s all about money and over-all job satisfaction that one perceives a college-degree should bring. We have issues retaining officers and we frequently lose them to higher paying positions outside the field of policing. University instructors, technical school instructors, social work have all been attractive to our officers.Governments are reluctant to pay the higher wages for an applicant with a degree. virtually agencies cannot pay adequate salaries for advanced degrees. Higher degreed people are not satisfied being a police officer. Money. Most depart ments cannot afford to start our a patrol officer at what a college graduate could make It certainly can hurt the applicant pool, depending on the salary Possibly they believe their pay-rates are not high enough to attract college graduates. Lack of pay for many smaller agencies 2. The degree requirement decreases applicant pools. Although some did not agree, the majority of police chiefs surveyed stated their department’s mandatory degree equirement has reduced applicant pools. It reduces the pool of potential applicants at a time when suitable applicants are hard to find. There remains a high percentage of law enforcement executives and government officials who believe a four-year degree is not a necessity in preparing an individual for a law enforcement career. Because of the difficulty in finding a sufficient number of qualified candidates simplification in applicant pool is significant 3. The chiefs in this studied strongly valued education, however education overall is under-valued in policing. Most chiefs say they value education, but stop short of making it a requirement. Education is under-valued in policing.The four-year degree requirement make recruiting tougher and it creates challenges for retaining personnel. ” I still believe that the majority of police leaders are, as a law-enforcement culture, anti-education for police officers 4. Police leaders who have not attained a college degree may not find one necessary. Therefore, this presents itself as a great challenge, one of change magnitude overall education standards. Administrators may not believe a college degree is necessary, especially if they have not earned one\r\n'