Police Chiefs’ Opinions on the Utility of a College Education for Police Officers

Abstract

This paper explores police chiefs’ opinions about the utility of a college education for police officers. Arguments for and against requiring a college degree for local police officers have been discussed in the literature for years, but mostly involve measures of officers’ performance and opinions. The data used in this study come from survey responses of a sample of 98 police chiefs in western and central parts of a mid-Atlantic state. The association of variables, such as number of officers in the department, the extent to which the department gives hiring preferences to those with more education, the department’s involvement in community policing strategies, and the chief’s level of education with the chief’s opinion about the favorability of college education for police officers is explored using regression analyses. In addition, an interaction effect between a police chief’s level of education and his or her department’s involvement in community policing on the level of a police chief’s agreement with statements favorable to having college-educated officers is tested. Policy implications are discussed, with an emphasis on how police chiefs play a role in shaping educational standards for police officers.