InFocus Survey Results
What We're Hearing About Education and Policing
In August's issue of InFocus, we sent out a survey to our subscribers. Two surveys were distributed: one for law enforcement and one for community members. This survey asked a variety of questions exploring the impact education has on officers and agencies nationwide.
This survey was not an official study. This survey was distributed for illustrative purposes only.
The law enforcement survey received 127 responses. However, not every response contained answers to all the questions on the survey.
We first asked each respondent if they were an active or retired law enforcement professional. Based on that response, the survey was automatically altered to suit the respondent best.
A total of 102 active law enforcement professionals and 25 retirees contributed to this survey, making the data pool a total of 127 individuals. Thank you to everyone who took the time to help us spark conversation!
It's important to note that not all data or answers from the survey are available.
Are you actively working or retired from the law enforcement profession?
What do you believe should be the universal requirement for education to become a police officer?
*Respondents could pick more than one.
We asked respondents if they believe an officer's educational level affects their job performance. We received 115 responses to this question, and 77% agreed it does. Check out a few of the answers we received below.Â
Yes, it [education] helps develop critical thinking skills, enhances discipline and places the individual in an environment where they are exposed to a diversity of people, cultures and perspectives.
While education is always a good thing, I believe that a person's personality and biases are more important when selecting a police officer. On the job training is much more valuable than classroom learning, although classroom learning is also important. I believe the way a person conducts themselves has little to do with level of education beyond high school.
I believe officers should have more than just a high school diploma. This does not mean college or a degree, per se, but a mix of life and educational experiences beyond a simple high school education is immensely beneficial for the officer, the department, and the community.
Do you believe educational requirements impact officer performance?
We wanted to learn more. If the respondent was active law enforcement, we asked about their current agency. If the respondent was retired, we asked about the last agency in which they served. Through this survey, we learned that almost all responding agencies require at least a high school diploma for employment and have kept education requirements the same for the last five years.
What type of jurisdiction are you in and what is your agency's educational requirement?
We received 122 responses to these questions from both active and retired law enforcement professionals. For active law enforcement respondents, we only included responses that answered all three questions (What type of jurisdiction are you in?; What is your agency's educational requirement?; and have those requirements changed in the last 5 years?). Those who didn't were excluded from this data set.
We broke down the active law enforcement responses into jurisdiction types: rural, suburban, and urban. For those who selected two or more or all, we placed them in "state agency or multiple types."
The responses are categorized by selected requirements and whether or not there was a change in that requirement in the last five years.
We received 24 responses from retired law enforcement professionals. We captured what the education requirement was at the agency where they last served. About 66% of these responses indicated that it was a high school diploma. Some indicated a requirement as high as a bachelor’s degree.
The community survey received 73 responses. This survey went to those not in law enforcement. Not every response contained answers to all the questions on the survey. Those who did answer offered thoughtful, qualitative feedback. Thank you for joining the conversation!
When the survey was issued, we were interested in learning more about these respondents. We asked where in the United States they lived, their personal education level, and what they thought about education in policing.
In summary, we received answers from around the country, mainly in suburban and urban areas. A majority of the respondents had a master's degree or higher.
What state do you live in?
How would you describe your community?
 What education level do you believe should be required to become a police officer?
Most community respondents agree that an associate’s degree should be the educational requirement to become a police officer. However, notably and interestingly, close to the same number of respondents believe a bachelor’s degree alone or a combination of the police academy and some education—high school and above—are sufficient.
Below are some comments respondents made when asked why they believe in a certain educational requirement.
Some [police recruit] candidates cannot afford college. Academy training with career development programs can go a long way in terms of building great police officers.
An associate's degree provides additional instruction on general education topics that may not have been taken or mastered by high school students, e.g., English Composition, Psychology, Reading Comprehension, Math, Computer Science, and Personal Finance. Information learned in these classes can help the perspective officer be successful when performing law enforcement tasks. The associate's degree courses can also be built upon if the officer decides to become an administrative or command officer later in their career. I believe a minimum requirement for any public safety/law enforcement command-level officer should be at least a bachelor's degree.
Associate's degrees will often provide training in language arts, which is crucial to policing. The associate's degree (and/or military) allows for a maturation significant to policing. If two years of honorable military service are present, the associate's degree can be waived.
These results lead to what we are talking about in September's issue of InFocus: training. While education offers valuable foundational knowledge, training establishes and refines the skills needed to be a professional and effective police officer.
Discover more in September's InFocus.