Inquiry Research Proposal

            

Dear Readers,

            I am interested in doing an inquiry into the differences between the education received from a Criminal Justice degree and the education received at a Law Enforcement Academy. I also want to inquire whether a degree in Criminal Justice is necessary and what the education from an Academy adds to a college education. Does someone go into “the Academy” better prepared to learn because they have an educational background in Criminal Justice? I want to find out whether Police Officers who have received a degree in some type of Justice or Law Enforcement perform better or advance faster than those who have only received an education from some type of Law Enforcement Academy.  

            I want my inquiry to be a compare and contrast between college degrees in Justice and Police Academies. My interest in this inquiry comes from my interest in the field of Law Enforcement. I am currently doing an internship with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and I want to become a Police Officer after I graduate from college. I am currently pursuing a Criminal Justice degree and after college I will go straight into the Academy for about six more months of education about Law Enforcement. I am curious to know if this is too much education on one single topic, or maybe not enough.

            I already know some of the differences between “the Academy” and a college degree. I know, for example, that in Police Academies, students not only learn the academic side of the job, but also the physical side of the job. Students have classes on the law, driving techniques, weapons training, tactics, etc. In college there is not usually a class that teaches students how to disarm someone or what to do in a high speed car chase with a criminal. College is more academic, whereas “the Academy” seems very hands-on training.

            What about a college degree makes one person advance to Detective or Sergeant or Captain faster than someone else without a college degree? I want to explore whether it is just the “’novelty” of a degree that makes people think that someone is more qualified or if they actually have more knowledge about the job and therefore are better prepared to do the job.

            I plan to research some of the statistics for people who have successfully completed a Law Enforcement Academy course and how many of those people have a college degree. I will find statistics on how many of the people that advance through the ranks of Law Enforcement agencies have college degrees and how many agencies require college degrees for advancement. I also want to know how many agencies require a college degree for new hires.  

                                                                           Sincerely,

                                                                                Rachel Pilkington