Emily Woltkamp

epotfolio: http://emilywolt.weebly.com/

Criminal Justice 1010

Term Paper
December 7 2014

Book Smarts or Street Smarts

When it comes to the education of our police officers, are street smarts better than book
smarts? There are many of us who have debated the merits of higher education and police work.
This very topic can lead to defensive responses one way or another. While being highly
controversial, especially for those without degrees, it has valid issues of concern behind it. We
need to have some honest debates on whether those who protect our communities should be
required to have education beyond high school and the academy requiring more education then
most entry level jobs.
Many instructors criticize the recruitment of officers who have college degrees saying
that the importance of street smarts and common sense versus book smarts is very different. The
value placed on behavior and street smarts is high. When officers enter the field training
program, they are often assigned with a veteran officer. These officers often state to forget about
what you learned in the academy, kid. Things are different in real life. Is it really necessary for a
police officer to obtain book smarts, or are they better off learning their education on the streets?
Or should policing become a profession, like nursing and social work, where being a norm
university graduate is the norm?
During a recent study for the Police Quarterly, it showed that officers with some college
education are less likely to resort to force than those who never attend college. The study found

no difference when it came to arrests or searches of suspects but did find that in encounters with
crime suspects, officers with some college education or a four-year degree resorted to using force
fifty six percent less of the time. In regards to force, this includes verbally threatening suspects,
grabbing or punching them, using mace or pepper spray, hitting suspects with a baton,
handcuffing, throwing to the ground, or pointing or firing a gun at them. William Terrill, an
associate professor of criminal justice at Michigan State and a co-author of the study, stated that
they found that a college education education significantly reduces the likelihood of force
occurring. The difference is real. It truly is because the officer was more educated, not because
the suspect was more resistant.
According to Michigan State, there is the big three decision making points for police
officers which includes arrests, searches and the use of force. When researching these three
areas, the study confirmed that education did not make much difference when it came to arrests
and searches. Officers that are high school educated, tend to be more hot headed, meaning they
see themselves as an authority figure who can make someone do whatever they want them to do.
If they want to push them to the ground and arrest them, they can because the power is yours. On
the other hand, an officer with a four year degree is more likely to have the appropriate skills to
problem solve. They allow a citizen to have an alternative means of compliance. Taking a course
in communication allows an officer to communicate in a wide spectrum of ways using problem
solving skills instead of immediate action. While taking a public speaking class, an officer can
also gain quite a deal of confidence. Also by taking a course in English, they can improve their
ability to use their language clearly and appropriately.
Our police officers are tasked to conduct a job with powers that no one else has
anywhere. At any other high paying job fields, many are required to have degrees with no such

equal power. As a police officer, they take away peoples freedoms, they use force, and at times
they even take a life. Should we give someone that much power when they dont even have as
much education as everyone else? However, this does not mean that police officers are not
intelligent and capable. Officers spend more than twenty five weeks in initial training, plus two
years as a probationary officer, where they learn the technical side of policing.
When officers participate in a college education they demonstrate a self-initiated
willingness to be responsible in how they work and live. Completing class work, especially when
juggling work and a family, requires a huge amount of determination. A student must keep track
of assignments and take on the responsibilities of their work. If they turn in their homework on
time and study as much as they can, it shows that a person has great dedication to everything
they have at hand.
During the early 1900s, only about one in every ten officers were graduating from high
school. In the 1930s, several high profile national commissions were recommending that all
police departments consider higher education as one of their requirements for employment as a
way to professionalize the police force and improve its public image. Later on in the 1960s, civil
rights activists, students and minorities, began to clash with the police. By 1970, the government
started to provide federal funding so that colleges and universities could create curriculum for the
police. Although many provisions were made, the police departments were slow to change.
During the Bureau of Justice Statistics study, as of 2003, only eight percent of police agencies
require some college and only one percent require a four year college degree.
In my opinion, I believe that officers need a college education for the reasons I have
stated above. I highly believe that having a college education can benefit a human being by
creating a better, more mature adult. A college education can teach someone the skills and

abilities that a person needs for the rest of their lives. Although it can be beneficial to have street
smarts dealing with certain areas of life, I also believe that book smarts can give a person
something more that street smarts can not. I dont however believe that an officer needs a four
year degree but achieving an associates allows enough general skills that are still very beneficial.
As the police department grows in leadership, I think that a higher degree should be
obtained before entering into that higher position. Just like any other line of work, I think that
salaries should be adjusted depending on what degree an officer possess, with an associates
receiving less than those with a bachelors. This concept is the same in other fields. Just like in
teaching, the more skill gained, the more money earned.
When doing my research on this topic, I mostly found the debate suggesting that a higher
education for a police officer should be required. I hope to find more people who are opposed to
this idea and to be able to talk to them on their ideas. I believe that William Terrill says it best.
Irrespective of experience, college is going to give you bang for the buck right out of the gate,
William Terrill says. By having an education, youre actually speeding up the process of
experience and youre getting the effect of better policing in the form of less force.

Works Cited
Bostrom, Matthew D. The Influence of Higher Education on Police The Police Chief: The
Professional Voice of Law Enforcement.
http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/

index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=722&issue_id=102005. Reviewed in
2014
Bear, Daniel. Should all police officers really be university-educated? The Guardian. http://
www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/mar/24/police-officers-university-education.
Reviewed in 2012.
Burns, Melinda. Cops and College: Do Police Need Book Smarts? Pacific Standard: The
Science of Society. http://www.psmag.com/legal-affairs/cops-and-college-do-policeneedbook-smarts-21852/. Reviewed in 2010.
Dial, Nick. Should LEOs Have a College Degree?. Law Enforcement Today. http://
www.lawenforcementtoday.com/2013/08/26/should-leos-have-a-college-degree/.
Reviewed on 2013.
Perin, Michelle. Street Smarts vs. Book Smart. Officer.com. http://www.officer.com/article/
10233439/street-smart-vs-book-smart. Retviewed in 2009