http://www.coursepedia.com/index.php/blog Blog Description en-us http://www.coursepedia.com/index.php/blog/blogdetail/bid/12459 21-Jun-2020 <p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Following several deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police, President Donald J. Trump issued an<span> </span><a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-safe-policing-safe-communities/" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">executive order</a><span> </span>on June 16 that calls for increased training and credentialing to reduce the use of excessive force by police.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">The order did not mention the need for police to get a college education, even though higher education was identified in the 2015<span> </span><a href="https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/blog/president-s-task-force-21st-century-policing-recommendations-print-action" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing</a><span> </span>as one of six effective ways to reduce crime and build better relations between police and the communities they serve.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">As researchers who specialize in<span> </span><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=IcyJ9IEAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">crime</a><span> </span>and<span> </span><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=vREZA8gAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">punishment</a>, we see five reasons why police officers should be encouraged to pursue a college degree.</p> <h2 style="color:#434343;margin:0 0 0 0;padding:0 0 0 0;" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 23px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-rendering: optimizelegibility; font-weight: 700; color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">1. Less likely to use violence</h2><br class="spacer" /> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Research shows that, overall, college-educated officers generate fewer citizen complaints. They are also terminated less frequently for misconduct and less likely to use force.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Regarding the use of force, officers who've graduated from college are<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611109357325" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">almost 40% less likely to use force</a>. Use of force is defined as actions that range from verbal threats to use force to actually using force that could cause physical harm.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">College-educated officers are also less likely to shoot their guns. A study of officer-involved shootings from 1990 to 2004 found that college-educated police officers were<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854807313995" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">almost 30% less likely to fire their weapons in the line of duty</a>. Additionally, one study found that police departments that required at least a two-year degree for officers had a<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611115604449" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">lower rate of officers assaulted by civilians</a><span> </span>compared to departments that did not require college degrees.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Studies have found that a small proportion of police officers – about 5% – produce most citizen complaints, and<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2010.01.003" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">officers with a two-year degree</a><span> </span>are about half as likely to be in the high-rate complaint group. Similarly, researchers have found that officers with at least a two-year degree<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854813486269" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">were 40% less likely to lose their jobs</a><span> </span>due to misconduct.</p> <h2 style="color:#434343;margin:0 0 0 0;padding:0 0 0 0;" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 23px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-rendering: optimizelegibility; font-weight: 700; color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">2. More problem-oriented</h2><br class="spacer" /> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">The 2015<span> </span><a href="https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/blog/president-s-task-force-21st-century-policing-recommendations-print-action" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">task force</a><span> </span>recommended community and problem-oriented policing strategies as ways to strengthen police-community relations and better respond to crime and other social problems.<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1089" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Problem-oriented policing</a><span> </span>is a proactive strategy to identify crime problems in communities. The strategy also calls for officers to analyze the underlying causes of crime, develop appropriate responses, and assess whether those responses are working. Similarly, community-oriented policing emphasizes building relationships with citizens to identify and respond to community crime problems. Research has found that when police departments use community-policing strategies, people are<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15614263.2017.1303771" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">more satisfied with how police serve their community</a><span> </span>and view them as more legitimate.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Community policing and problem-oriented policing require problem solving and creative thinking – skills that the college experience helps develop.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">For example, internships and service-learning opportunities in college provide future police officers a chance to develop civic engagement skills. It also gives them the chance to get to know the communities they will police. Among students who participated in a criminal justice service-learning course working with young people in the community,<span> </span><a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1016537.pdf" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">80% reported a change</a><span> </span>from stereotypical assumptions that all of them would be criminals to a better understanding of them as individuals with goals and potential - some not so different from the students' own dreams. Almost 90% said they had come to understand the community, which they believed would serve them in their criminal justice careers.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Among street-level officers who have the most interaction with the public, having a bachelor's degree significantly<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/PIJPSM-04-2019-0044" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">increases commitment to community policing</a>. These officers tend to work more proactively with community members to resolve issues and prevent problems rather than only reacting to incidents when called.</p> <h2 style="color:#434343;margin:0 0 0 0;padding:0 0 0 0;" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 23px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-rendering: optimizelegibility; font-weight: 700; color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">3. Enables officers to better relate to the community</h2><br class="spacer" /> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Higher education has been shown to<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15614263.2011.563969" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">enhance</a><span> </span>the technical training that police get in the academy or on the job.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">For instance, as college students, aspiring or current police officers participate in internships, do community service or study abroad. All of these things have been shown to increase<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315605917" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">critical thinking</a>,<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00091380903449060" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">moral reasoning and openness to diversity</a>. College also leads to more<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/24732850.2018.1510274" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">intercultural awareness</a>. Taken together, all of these skills are<span> </span><a href="https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1041&context=sociologypub" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">essential for successful policework</a>.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Research has also shown that police officers themselves recognize the<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/13639510710833893" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">value of a college degree</a>. Among other things, they say a college education improves<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10511253.2016.1172650" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">ethical decision-making skills</a>, knowledge and understanding of the law and the courts, openness to diversity, and communication skills. In one study, officers with criminal justice degrees said their education helped them gain<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1108/13639510710833893" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">managerial skills</a>.</p> <h2 style="color:#434343;margin:0 0 0 0;padding:0 0 0 0;" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 23px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-rendering: optimizelegibility; font-weight: 700; color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">4. Helps officers identify best practices</h2><br class="spacer" /> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">A college education helps officers become better at<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00459" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">identifying quality information and scientific evidence</a>. This in turn better enables them to more<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/police/paw019" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">rigorously and regularly evaluate</a><span> </span>policies and practices adopted by their departments.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">For example, many departments employ<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1098611118784007" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">de-escalation tactics</a><span> </span>that aim to reduce use of force. A critical step in knowing whether an approach is achieving its intended goal is evaluating its impact. Officers who have an understanding of scientific methods, as taught in college, are better positioned to adjust their department's policies.</p> <h2 style="color:#434343;margin:0 0 0 0;padding:0 0 0 0;" style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 23px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-rendering: optimizelegibility; font-weight: 700; color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">5. Builds better leaders</h2><br class="spacer" /> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Bringing about meaningful police reform requires<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-016-9204-y" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">transformational leadership</a>. Higher education, including graduate degrees, can enhance the<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/police/pav045" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">leadership potential</a><span> </span>of criminal justice professionals and support their promotion through the ranks.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Police officers with at least some college experience are more focused on<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854812458426" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">promotion</a><span> </span>and expect to retire at a higher rank compared to officers with no college. It should come as little surprise, then, that police administrators, including police chiefs, are more likely to hold<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/police/paz029" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">college and post-graduate degrees</a>. Leaders with a graduate degree are<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0011128716642253" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">twice as likely</a><span> </span>to be familiar with<span> </span><a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716220902073" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">evidence-based policing</a>, which uses research to guide effective policy and practice.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Higher education and police reform efforts are at a critical juncture.</p> <p style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 18px; vertical-align: baseline; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: "Libre Baskerville", Georgia, Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial;">Educated law enforcement professionals will be better equipped to lead much-needed reform efforts. State and local agencies and governments can do more to encourage officers to seek a college degree, including through incentives, like the<span> </span><a href="https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-public-affairs-and-community-service/criminology-and-criminal-justice/about-us/news-and-events/tuition-waiver-law-enforcement.php" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Nebraska Law Enforcement Education Act</a>, which allows for a partial tuition waiver or the<span> </span><a href="https://www.mass.edu/osfa/initiatives/pcipp.asp" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Quinn Bill in Massachusetts</a>, which provides scaled bonuses depending on the degree an officer holds or<span> </span><a href="https://www.fop.net/CmsPage.aspx?id=81" style="color: rgb(85, 87, 104); text-decoration: underline; outline: none; white-space: pre-wrap; overflow-wrap: break-word;">tuition reimbursement scholarships</a><span> </span>like those offered by the Fraternal Order of Police. Colleges and universities can help officers acquire the skills needed to help to reestablish trust between our communities and those who are sworn to protect and serve.</p>