NCJ Number
93525
Journal
Australian Police Journal Volume: 37 Issue: 4 Dated: (1983) Pages: 152-156
Date Published
1983
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Although higher education for police has been advocated by observers and commentators outside the police profession, police practitioners generally do not see a need for such education.
Abstract
The prevailing antiacademic ethos among many senior police personnel focuses on the 'practical' value of vocational-oriented training in preference to the broader 'theoretical' orientation emphasized in higher education. Further, practitioners generally overemphasize the 'law enforcement' dimensions of a traditional reactive model of policing (in both training curricula and operational strategies) in preference to the proactive 'order maintenance' strategies required of contemporary policing. This factor has traditionally influenced the police profession to discredit the value of higher education for officers. Police practitioners are generally reluctant to accept the growing body of empirical evidence indicating the functional link between higher education and more effective police operational performance. Police practitioners need to develop a more comprehensive and enlightened view of what is involved in policing. College courses in liberal arts and social sciences have a comparative advantage in teaching certain analytical skills, intellectual perspectives, and personal values essential for the development and implementation of appropriate and effective policing. Higher education increases a person's awareness of potential resources and approaches for dealing with the problems of social control. This perspective is applied to Australian police training.