Mickelson 1

Britton Mickelson
Professor Cupello
CJ 1010 F16
11/28/2016

The price of an education.

Do officers today have all the tools they need to perform their Job? Do they have the
mental stamina to resolve any and all conflict they encounter? Do the communities that they
serve want local officers to be educated? Do they want them to keep the peace? Depending on
who you are and what your back ground is, you may answer yes or no to some of these
questions. Some may feel that local law enforcement is too militarized for a particular
community. Others may feel that the police hold too much power or not enough. But regardless
of how you feel, How will you help resolve your concerns with law enforcement officers?
Personally I have felt for years that officers in general are not well educated, but rather
well trained. In my mind the difference between an educated officer and a trained officer is
straightforward; One enforces the law and the other understands the law and abides by it. A good
example of this was in the small community of Tenaha. Officers in this local community would
pull individuals over and search vehicles for so-called drug interdiction. If any kind of currency
was located the officers would seize the funds/valuables and threaten the individuals with false
money laundering charges and other serious felonies. Some like Jennifer Boatwright were
threatened far worse, that if they did not part with their cash and valuables, their children would
be taken away from them and put in foster care (Yeomans, 2015). When she complained to the
district attorney she was warned that if they contested the officers actions that they could be
indicted on felony charges (Yeomans, 2015).

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Were the officers in the story trained or educated I would argue they were trained.
They were train to understand, what they could do while preforming a drug interdiction.
However, Im sure now that neither the officers involved nor the district attorney want to push
the legal boundaries of this law to what they previously have (Yeomans, 2015). Many victims of
these drug interdiction were minorities who felt profiled. I would guess that law enforcement
officers in the community of Tenaha are more cautious of employing their right to search anyone
suspected of wrong doing.
So how do we improve our law enforcement agencies? It seems that opinions of law
enforcement in varying cities/communities are overall changing. Overall Law enforcement
officers [in general] are experiencing greater challenges within their communities as a result of
the growth of multiculturalism. De-escalation of events may be achieved if officers are educated
to effectively relate to the diverse members of their communities (Wood, 2016). So how do we
create bonds between officers and communities they serve? Some suggest that, Law
enforcement officers are [to be] assigned long-term, to particular areas of the community so that
they develop connections and relationships through consistent interactions (Wood, 2016). So
that they can engage in informal conversation with homeowners or storekeepers which in turn
could help the community in which the officer serves, to soften the negative views of police
(Wood, 2016). But is this happening No. Some Claim that the education provided at
academies has not reflected this evolution, and that all police academies educate through the
behaviorist style of learning wherein information is provided by lecture and the student transfers
that information to the field. So in short that newly educated police officer is given minimal
training and little training experience.

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To better illustrate this, most of the training the officer receives is Task orientated. Some
contend that Ninety percent of academy learning is task oriented (Wood, 2016). Furthermore,
that less than 1% of police departments and sheriffs offices have a four-year degree (Wood,
2016). At the academy the education supplied to officers is not focus on problem solving, but
rather on pedagogical style of teaching.
So lets revert back to the community of Tenaha where officers were pulling individuals
over and preforming drug interdiction searches. They were trained and given the task to search
for anyone vehicle who may have drugs or were up to no good, but did they fully understand
what they were doing? Did they foresee the public losing faith in their local law enforcement? I
would argue, No. In fact, in cases like Tenaha, most officers who are educated and understand
what they are doing would never entertain the prospect of facing criminal prosecution and either
a misdemeanor or felony conviction, [This case] serves as an important reminder to police
officers that they are not to abuse the publics trust (Yeomans, 2015). Additionally, educators
insist that significant societal changes demanding that law enforcement officers assume the role
of problem solvers within their communities. Accordingly, the educational curriculum for law
enforcement officers needs to reflect these contemporary demands. To promote community and
officer safety, officers should now be required to receive academy education focusing on critical
thinking and interpersonal communication skills (Wood, 2016).
Now lets be practical, most officers are underpaid and overworked and we as a
community expect maximum performance with minimal pay. In fact, most officers cannot except
gratuities of any kind (POZO, 2005). Some argue that an officer's oath to uphold the law might
become subordinate to his desire to please his best-paying clients (POZO, 2005). But I would
stand on the opposite side of the spectrum and argue that when a community shows gratitude

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toward law enforcement, that law enforcement, in its why will show gratitude back. So I think if
a young man or woman is able to go through the academy and pass certain progressions. That the
community would at least give the that officer the opportunity to get their education and help
them better their wages. In fact, I think it would help build a civic friendship. Personally I think
that most officers like military vets would appreciate the opportunity to get an education. It
would serve to increase the rift between police officers, their bosses, community leaders and
citizens (POZO, 2005).
In conclusion I feel something needs to give, I feel if tax payers, offer law enforcement
officers the opportunity to not only be trained but to get an education. That we as a community
will benefit and tension between different cultures and citizen will eventually dissipate. But for
now the community needs to tolerate what we have until something changes, and what we have
now is well trained task oriented officers, that have minimal schooling and are obligated to
handle simple and difficult circumstances. So in short you get what you pay for, it you want
something better thantha, then pay for it. Thats the price of an education.

Bibliography
POZO, B. D. (2005). One Dogma of Police Ethics: Gratuities and the "Democratic Etiios" of
Policing. Totowa: Criminal Justice Ethics (AKA Institute for Criminal Justice Ethics).
Wood, C. S.-M. (2016). Improving Law Enforcement Cross Cultural Competencies through.
Saint Leo: School of Education and Social Services, Saint Leo University.
Yeomans, G. C. (2015). WHEN COPS ARE ROBBERS: RECONCILING THE WHREN. N/A:
Columbia Law Review.