Joining the Conversation Step #1

Rachel Pilkington

English 1103

Prof. Megan Keaton

3 April 2013

                                                    The Academy Graduation Debate 

By: Rachel Pilkington

Characters:

Officer Rachel Pilkington

Officer Peter McDermott

Officer Diana Hulse

Officer Michael Bueger

Officer Charles Tenney

Officer Richard Harris

Officer Frank Morn

It is the day of graduation from a major Police Academy. The new Officers are having a debate. Four of the seven new officers went to college and earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice before going to the Police Academy. Officer Pilkington, Officer Bueger, Officer Tenney, and Officer Morn were the four that got a college education. The new Officers are arguing over whether those four wasted their time in college or it was a benefit for them. They are comparing a Criminal Justice education with a Police Academy education to see if they work well together or not and if a degree was necessary. This has become a heated discussion between the new Officers. All intellectual weapons have been drawn.

RACHEL: I don’t think getting my degree was a waste of time. Maybe I wouldn’t have done as well in the Academy as I did.

MICHAEL: You’re right. It wasn’t completely a waste of time. I think the relationship between college and the Academy could be better though.

RACHEL: What do you mean by better?

MICHAEL: In a perfect system, college would feed into the Academy. College should educate students and prepare them to enter the Academy for further training.

DIANA: Yeah, I agree that college should do more to prepare students for college. But, colleges can’t train students to learn about criminal investigations or traffic stops or tactical skills. There are some things that they can’t prepare students for. Is there supposed to be a class called “Tactical Skills and Physical Training”? That would be weird in a college atmosphere.

MICHAEL: What is wrong with a class like that? I think it would be a good addition to some of the Criminal Justice curriculums in college. A little PT [physical training] never hurt anyone!

FRANK: Criminal Justice has a long History of being a “less than challenging” field of study. Do we really want to make that worse by adding a class that is a cross between fighting and P.E.?

RACHEL: Who cares what other people think? This is about furthering the field of Criminal Justice and better preparing Officers to work in the field.

MICHAEL: I understand that people might look at it like a “Handcuffing 101” type of class, but honestly, that it really what we need.

PETER: What we need is a healthy relationship between colleges and law enforcement agencies!

MICHAEL: I couldn’t agree more!

CHARLES: No, what we need are longer, more efficient Academy curriculums.

RACHEL: Really? We just got out of the Academy, it is our graduation day! Do you really think that, that should have been longer? You want more of the Academy!?

CHARLES: It’s not that I want more of the Academy. I just think that law enforcement agencies should provide enough training so that a college degree isn’t necessary. They should provide enough education in their training programs to be as effective as a college education in Criminal Justice.

RACHEL: Yes, I understand that. The only problem is that a college degree is four years long and the Academy is only 6 months long. In order to fit in four years of education, the Academy would have to be at least two years long. I know I don’t want to go to a two year Academy program and the there is no funding for Academy programs like that anywhere-federal, state, or local level. I think I have to agree with Peter and Michael, a healthy relationship is the only way.

RICHARD: Something that I disagree with are the exams and the rigorous process that one has to go through in order to even be considered for an Academy class. Polygraphs, medical exams, physical fitness tests, and written exams, it is way too much. If you are going to require someone to get a degree, at least make it easier for them to get a job. It is not fair to someone to pay for four years of college only to realize that they can’t be a Police Officer and their Criminal Justice degree is just a useless piece of paper.

DIANA: What do you believe that we should do to eliminate this problem?

FRANK: We can’t eliminate all of these things. It is a rigorous process to eliminate people that aren’t cut out for this type of work. We want good, noble people in the Police Force. If someonehas to take a Polygraph and go through a background investigation than we can be certain that they are good, honest people that are surely cut out for this line of work.

DIANA: I agree with you, Frank that we need to make sure we are getting the right kind of people to be Police Officers, however, I agree with Richard as well. It is too much to go through with no guarantee or a job.

Charles jumps out of his seat and starts rambling.

DIANA: Oh, he strikes again!

CHARLES: Like I said earlier, it should be left to law enforcement agencies. If it were left to the law enforcement agencies, then there would be no risk, just a couple wasted months. If law enforcement agencies were solely responsible for the education and training of their new recruits then it would be like any other job application process – no risk.

MICHAEL: What do you guys think of law enforcement agencies only requiring an Associate’s degree instead of a Bachelor’s degree?  Two years is better than four years and its better than nothing. It is a happy medium between a four-year degree and no education prior to the Academy.

RACHEL: I think that Michael has it here!!

PETER:  Diana and I agree.

RICHARD: I just think that education needs to stay within the Police Department hiring the new recruit.

FRANK: I’m caught in the middle. I am in favor of a four year degree, but I do think it’s a happy medium. I think that sometimes after four years of college, come Officers get burned out before they even start the Academy.

CHARLES: I’m with Richard. I think that it needs to stay in the Department.

RACHEL: This is something that has been debated for a long time and is going to be debated for a long time after this.

Diana hushes everyone talking because their graduation is starting.

DIANA: Hey, graduation is starting!

Something to be considered is that everyone is graduating on this day. The four that went to college and got a degree and the three that didn’t get a college degree are all in the same place now. They all made it through the Academy. Maybe it was harder for some than others and maybe a college education helped prepare some of them. Maybe some of them wouldn’t have made it through the Academy without first having been prepared by a college education.