Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 4028 AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: AUGUST 2016 College requirement College requirement for for cops now at one percent cops now at one percent Above are three officers from the Cleburne PD in Texas. That agency is now requiring that applicants have a Bachelor’s De- gree in order to be eligible for employment. In other places like Louisville, Kentucky, things are going in the other direction. Louisville used to require two years of college for potential hires but now will accept a high school diploma. That move, in addition to allowing previous drug use for new hires, is intended to expand the pool of qualified applicants. 1500 hours of training to get a cosmetology license and 600 hours to complete police academy training M any agen- cies, suf- fering with budget cuts and staff- ing shortages, are lowering their hiring standards. But some agencies are taking a different approach, and the Cleburne Police Department in Texas one of them. This is an agency that is requiring more qualifications from new hires, not less. Just one example is their new policy, implemented last year, requiring all applicants to have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Exceptions are only for candidates with at least 24 months with another law enforcement agency and/or 24 months of active duty military duty experience. Rob Severance, the chief in Cleburne, is proud he’s leading his agency in this direction. “Before 2013, the Cleburne P.D. only required that re- cruits have a high school diploma or GED,” he said. “Since last year we now demand a bachelor’s degree and that is better. “Only 1 percent of the nation’s 18,000 or so local law enforcement agencies require four year college degrees to apply for a sworn position while nearly all federal law enforcement agencies require a four year college degree.” Severance went on to note that college degrees prepare officers for the challenges ahead of them as law enforce- ment officers. Today, officers are expect- ed to understand constitu- tional issues, judicial rulings and be able to apply the law evenly. Critical thinking skills and the ability to analyze infor- mation are also important. And Severance is fond of pointing out that it takes about 1500 hours of training to earn a cosmetology license while it only takes about 600 hours to complete police academy training. “Officers must be effec- tive communicators, skilled in resolving conflicts with people from all backgrounds, proficient in the use of tech- nology, and be able to grasp the nature of social problems and the psychology of people with different attitudes to- ward the law,” Severance continued. Nationwide there seems to be little consistency on degree requirements. The departments of New York, Chicago, Houston and Dal- las require some degree of college credit and/or military experience while the Los An- geles, Phoenix, Miami-Dade and Detroit departments don’t. “Earning a degree involves work,” Severance said. “Which means you have to set goals and work through to achieve them and that goes a long way toward experience and maturity. “But it also provides pro- spective officers the opportu- nity to enhance their research skills and critical thinking and brings them into contact with people of different back- grounds and viewpoints.” • Precision molded from Kydex® • Tuckable 360™ C-Clip affords unlimited mounting options • Features a rugged nylon clip • Ambidextrous Slim-Tuk™ Slim-Tuk™ Tuckable™ 360 MSRP Style 137 3999 $ desantisholster.com desantisholster.com 800-GUNHIDE 631-841-6300 Dept #AP86 800-GUNHIDE 631-841-6300 Dept #AP86 431 Bayview Avenue Amityville, NY 11701 431 Bayview Avenue Amityville, NY 11701