Should College Be Required?

Frank Borelli Editor-in-Chief Officer.com I recently attended a meeting which included officers from agencies all over a given state and from varying levels of rank.  Chiefs of Police, retired Chiefs, retired Sheriffs, Captains, Lieutenants, Sergeants and the rest were all represented.  One topic of conversation in the course of the meeting was the requirement some agencies have for college education.  The agency in question requires a two-year degree (Associates) and would not wave said requirement. That same agency was apparently considering whether or not a citizenship requirement was necessary.  Yeah... you read that right: the same agency was pondering doing away with the requirement for its officers to be American citizens.  Hmm...  It made me wonder: are we putting too much emphasis on the value of a college degree? I went to school with some people who were amazingly smart.  I'm talking freshman in high school who were taking calculus.  But some of them didn't have enough common sense to tie their shoes or close a door when they got out of a car. I don't believe that college education is the end-all-be-all determining factor in applicant qualification.  In fact - and this is just my own personal attitude - I'd rather have the guy next to me in uniform be a military service veteran than a college graduate.  Book learning doesn't teach you how to handle combative individuals.  Book learning doesn't teach you the courage required to go hands-on with such folks.  Book learning has a purpose: to share and pass knowledge that can be used in the line of duty (or profession).  However, the mastery of such knowledge doesn't, in any way, reflect an equal mastery in the application of it. I know a Chief of Police whose education is Doctorate level.  I have the utmost respect for him; not because of his degree but because he uses his knowledge to better himself and his leadership skills as a Chief.  I'd work for him every day of the week and twice on Sunday - and wouldn't hesitate to go through a door with him.  I've known other Chiefs who had Masters degrees and it seemed like the more book-smart they got the less street-smart they became.  It was almost as if their head could only hold so much information and the added book-smart material pushed out the older street-smart experiences they'd had. So, what are your thoughts?  Should college education be a requirement to be a police officer?  If you think that it should, then let me ask: should any of it be waivered in light of military service or past police experience?  I am curious as to what you all think about this.  

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