Abstract
Today, in an increasingly competitive job market, a growing number of employers require applicants to possess a bachelor’s degree as a minimum education standard of employment eligibility. This suggests that an individual with a higher education background is better equipped with the skills, training and competency above other applicants to be successful in his or her profession. Law enforcement, however, has remained one of the career professions that does not require any higher education requirement for employment eligibility. Yet there is reason to think greater education requirements may benefit in the professionalization of law enforcement, and may help officers in their line of duty. Currently no state in the U.S. has established that law enforcement officers should have higher education degree as a minimum requirement for enrollment. In California, the minimum education requirement for law enforcement officers is a high school diploma or GED. However, because agencies have the ability to set their own hiring standards, a small percentage of law enforcement agencies have actually required more stringent education backgrounds in higher education, from completing some college, to an associate’s degree, to even a bachelor’s degree. This thesis was aimed at furthering the discussion on whether increasing the hiring education standards for law enforcement agencies within California would have a notable impact. In this study, 42 law enforcement officers from across the state were surveyed about their agency’s requirements, and their thoughts on the feasibility, costs, and benefits of increasing the minimum education standards. The results of this survey were in line with several of the reports found in the literature. They show that officers perceive several benefits to the having a higher education background that can improve their performance on the job. However, it is unclear whether there is political feasibility to make such a significant change happen across all agencies in California. Law enforcement agencies and associations, such as the ones represented in my survey, are more likely to be hesitant or reluctant to change. These findings can help guide further research as to how to adequately define and measure “better policing,” and whether education has an impact on that. Finally, I would recommend that California find better opportunities to collect data among law enforcement agencies, which can be anything from mandatory surveying to greater oversight at a head agency.