NCJ Number
139600
Journal
American Journal of Police Volume: 11 Issue: 2 Dated: (1992) Pages: 55-64
Date Published
1992
Length
10 pages
Annotation
A survey of all 254 municipal, county, and State law enforcement agencies in Colorado gathered information regarding the education of police officers, education policies related to recruitment and promotion, and education after employment.
Abstract
The survey used the same instrument as that published by the Police Executive Research Forum in 1989. Findings revealed that the level of education in the police service in Colorado is higher in every category than is found nationally. Thirty-nine percent of Colorado officers reported 4 or more years of college, including 5 percent with graduate degrees. Twelve percent of the officers were female, and equal percentages of males and females have 1 or more years of college education. Eighty-six percent of the agencies required at least a high school diploma or General Education Development certificate for police recruits, 12 percent required 2 years of college or an associate's degree, and 2 percent required a bachelor's degree. Seventy-seven percent had no announced policy regarding education and promotion, but 23 percent provided some competitive promotion advantage to officers who have earned college credits. Tuition assistance and the ability to attend classes on duty were each provided by 67 agencies. These findings and other research revealing that the officer's level of education was the single personal characteristic with the officer's success indicate that some level of college education may become a de facto minimum requirement. Tables, notes, and 5 references