NCJ Number
75431
Date Published
1975
Length
25 pages
Annotation
Law enforcement students in a community college were surveyed to determine their future plans, and law enforcement organizations in the State were surveyed to discover the availability of positions and the characteristics sought in new recruits.
Abstract
At North Hennepin Community College in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 204 students who listed law enforcement as their major field responded to questions concerning their characteristics and plans. The results showed that 40 percent were already employed in law enforcement or in a closely related field, and the remainder expected to work for a law enforcement agency at a later time. Overall, an interest in the occupational area outweighed all other factors for both men and women in motivating enrollment in the program. Another survey questionnaire was sent to 147 police chiefs in Minnesota. The 87 surveys that were returned indicated that in 1975, the agencies had a total of 237 openings, and that individuals with no prior law enforcement experience could have filled 88 percent of these. Of the persons hired to fill the positions, 70 percent had some postsecondary education. Furthermore, respondents predicted a 32-percent drop in the number of new openings between 1975 and 1980, although the State's police officers training board indicated only a 7 percent decrease. Characteristics sought in new recruits included job interest and ability, morality, emotional stability, understanding of people, intelligence, and personal appearance. The respondents felt that occupational alternatives to narrowly defined police work included security work in private industry and at public police agencies, in records management, community service officer positions, and dispatcher jobs. A few footnotes and three tables are included. (Author abstract modified)