Dialogic Journal: Article #2 "Education and Training the future Police Officer"

Education and Training the Future Police Officer

FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin

By Michael Bueger, Ph. D

Before Reading: 1. I am reading this piece because, after long research, this article seems to relate to my topic the most. This is the only article that I could find that relates to a Criminal Justice DEGREE in any way.

2. I hope to learn whether or not a Criminal Justice degree proves useful and necessary in a law enforcement career or if training in a Police Academy is sufficient.

Quote	Explanation
“It is time for a new dialogue between the law enforcement and academic communities to better integrate education with the training and service needs of agencies” (page 1)	I chose this quote because it addresses a problem with the Criminal Justice education community. By saying that there needs to be better communication, the law enforcement agencies (here, the FBI) are saying that the Criminal Justice degrees aren’t meeting the needs of the agencies.
“…an increasing number of Police agencies require the 4-year bachelor’s degree as a hiring credential.” (page 2)	This quote shows that maybe the 4 year Criminal Justice degree may be more useful/necessary than previously thought, since it is now being required by an increasing number of agencies.
“Speaking broadly, the law enforcement profession apparently had not known what to do with a college education. Although college educated persons have succeeded in Policing, ‘education’ seems to remain tied in an abstract way to professionalization and more optional than necessary” (page 2)	This quote basically answers my whole inquiry question – the Criminal Justice degree still remains more optional than necessary.
“…Nor has the Criminal Justice degree proven itself valuable as a preparation credential” (page 2)	This quote explains that no one has proven that a Criminal Justice degree actually helps someone become a better Police Officer, whether it is necessary or not.
“…experiential learning [Police Academy education] is the only real preparation for Police work. (page 3)	This quote shows that even though you can learn a lot about Police work from a Criminal Justice degree, really, the only hands-on , practical training comes in “experiential learning”, in the Police Academy.
“The Criminal Justice discipline continues to fight a battle for legitimacy within the educational community, seeking to shed the early stigma of ‘Handcuffing 101’.” (page 3)	Other educational disciplines don’t take Criminal Justice seriously because all they think Criminal Justice education is, is how to shoot people and arrest people. In fact, they are only naive. A Criminal Justice education relies more on research methods and statistics and professional strategies than anything else.
“…in a well-developed system, the collegiate process would feed well-prepared individuals into a Police training process that capitalizes on their education, thus creating a complementary approach to improving Police Services.”	In the end, the college degree fits into the Police training well. The Police Academy does the majority of the proper training for Police Officers, but the Criminal Justice college education prepares the student well for intense training. The degree doesn’t necessarily prepare the individual for a Police career but for training for a Police career.

After Reading: 1. This reading is extremely useful for my inquiry project. It addresses the exact question that I want to answer in my paper.

2. This reading addresses the pros and cons of a Criminal Justice degree and how it helps or doesn't help in a Police Training Program.