Growing up, we were taught that education is everything, and that is an important key to success. For many occupations today, some form of a degree is a necessary requirement to landing the job. Well, the same goes for the police force. More and more police forces are requiring candidates to have at minimum, a college level degree. One department in general would be the Arlington Police Department. “Requiring college degrees attracts better candidates who are more representative of the community,” is Chief of the Arlington Police Department, Theron Bowman, thoughts on the topic. (Heibutzki, Ralph. "Advantages of Hiring College-Educated Officers." Small Business. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2015). But, on the other hand, by having more of a higher
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Because of this, police departments had to adapt, and one way of doing this was by changing the education level requirements. Some departments still allow candidates with nothing more of a high school degree, but as we seen from the Arlington Police Department, more and more are changing the minimum to an associate degree. The relation with higher educated candidates is the bigger upside they will have. By having at least two more years of education, you will gather skills that are necessary to be a police officer. One skill for example would be independent thinking. It is a must that officers have the skill of independent thinking down pat. There are too many situations where any given officer has to think on their toes and make the right decision. “Higher education sharpens the social and reasoning skills that officers need to interact successfully with the communities that they serve.” (Heibutzki, Ralph. "Advantages of Hiring College-Educated Officers." Small Business. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2015). Another strength needed for officers is stronger communication skills. A college background will most likely provide officers with stronger communicating skills not just orally, but written too. College experience will make stronger officers compared to anyone coming out of high …show more content…
Well, it has became any stronger because most police departments are making it mandatory for recruitments to have at least a college degree. This hasn’t been anything new since the Arlington Police Department made the adjustment 30 years ago. When there comes a new change in the requirements, there would also be speculation and criticism as well. One concern was that this change would negatively effect minorities and women of first generation college education. The facts are well evident that the effect is not negative, but positive. “11 and 12 percent of Arlington 's officers are Hispanic and African-American, respectively; 16 percent also are female, which is well above the national average of 12 percent.” (Heibutzki, Ralph. "Advantages of Hiring College-Educated Officers." Small Business. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2015). Also, because of the extra years of education, these officers are learning very important skills such as independent thinking and communication skills. As it shows, recruitments with a college degree have been successful in the past, now in the present, and hopefully the trend continues in the
Because of this, police departments had to adapt, and one way of doing this was by changing the education level requirements. Some departments still allow candidates with nothing more of a high school degree, but as we seen from the Arlington Police Department, more and more are changing the minimum to an associate degree. The relation with higher educated candidates is the bigger upside they will have. By having at least two more years of education, you will gather skills that are necessary to be a police officer. One skill for example would be independent thinking. It is a must that officers have the skill of independent thinking down pat. There are too many situations where any given officer has to think on their toes and make the right decision. “Higher education sharpens the social and reasoning skills that officers need to interact successfully with the communities that they serve.” (Heibutzki, Ralph. "Advantages of Hiring College-Educated Officers." Small Business. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2015). Another strength needed for officers is stronger communication skills. A college background will most likely provide officers with stronger communicating skills not just orally, but written too. College experience will make stronger officers compared to anyone coming out of high …show more content…
Well, it has became any stronger because most police departments are making it mandatory for recruitments to have at least a college degree. This hasn’t been anything new since the Arlington Police Department made the adjustment 30 years ago. When there comes a new change in the requirements, there would also be speculation and criticism as well. One concern was that this change would negatively effect minorities and women of first generation college education. The facts are well evident that the effect is not negative, but positive. “11 and 12 percent of Arlington 's officers are Hispanic and African-American, respectively; 16 percent also are female, which is well above the national average of 12 percent.” (Heibutzki, Ralph. "Advantages of Hiring College-Educated Officers." Small Business. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Sept. 2015). Also, because of the extra years of education, these officers are learning very important skills such as independent thinking and communication skills. As it shows, recruitments with a college degree have been successful in the past, now in the present, and hopefully the trend continues in the