Strategy #22
Increase Law Enforcement
Educational and Career Development Opportunities in the Community
Increase public awareness of law enforcement educational opportunities; improve depth and diversity of current administrative and criminal justice curricula, specifically including more traffic safety focus.
Background
Complexity of duties and advancing technology will continue to increase the need for more educational preparation. The more educated “white collar” criminal will require a well-trained investigator. As traffic management becomes more complex and technical, the educational focus must be adjusted accordingly. Most community colleges currently have associate’s degree programs in administration of justice or criminal justice programs, and many award certificates of achievement with options in police and correctional services. (Transfer of credits to a four-year college or university can lead to a bachelor’s degree in the criminal justice field.) Although POST (Police Standards and Training) certification is required nationwide, the standards vary from state to state. Therefore, consistency and standardization in law enforcement training should be considered as a priority in law enforcement education.
Actions
- Knowledge and performance standards (including physical fitness) need to be established statewide, then nationwide.
- Use experienced sworn and non-sworn law enforcement employees and qualified civilians as instructors.
- Broaden the base of law enforcement curricula at the college level to include traffic safety and related subjects in this battery of courses. Such courses should cover crash investigation, emergency medical response, basic computer skills, problem solving, leadership, interpersonal communications, cultural diversity, and public speaking. When possible, other practical courses might be made available, including DUI detection, SFST’s, breath analysis, and commercial motor vehicle enforcement.
- Establish consistent written and performance tests to prove that the student has achieved mastery of the information and tasks.
- Increase available technical curricula to teach the investigative techniques necessary to solve more complex crimes.
- Create an exchange program for high tech expertise.
- Create internship programs for students in the specified study areas to increase exposure to and experience in law enforcement activities.
- Split the Academy into halves - basic classroom instruction in the first half and advanced enforcement activities in the second. Allow those with an associate’s degree or POST certification from an approved educational institution to enter the academy at the advanced portion of the class.
- Promote law enforcement as a career in educational institutions and provide assistance when possible.
- Provide incentive programs (financial and otherwise) which encourage higher education for personnel.
- Have classes available online or on CD-ROM for distance learning.
- Increase Law Enforcement Explorers program visibility and availability, emphasizing traffic safety and training.
- Provide advanced supervision and management courses to enhance career development opportunities for in-house personnel.
Benefits
- Broader area of contact for recruiting.
- Better prepared entry level and promotional candidates with a higher probability for success.
Enhances the public perception that traffic enforcement reduces crime.
- Less cost to the agency by allowing the candidate to “pre-train.”
- Less cost to the agency by shortening agency paid training time.
- Improved public and community relations.
- With standardized POST requirements and an accepted degree, study could be done at any approved institution and employment sought anywhere nationwide.
- Improved morale for employees eligible for promotion.
- Improved performance by employees.
Other Considerations
- Difficult to obtain standardized curricula.
- Difficult to create standardized, semester-type academy.
- Difficult to maintain the quality of candidates.
- Several issues complicate instructor availability. It is expensive to train the trainer. It might be difficult to find enough qualified employees in the area to teach. It is also difficult to obtain additional funding to pay instructors. Agencies may need to pay overtime to teach or reduce “on-duty” time to accommodate teaching time.
- Some items may increase cost.
- Curriculum changes may require outside approval.