Educate to Elevate

Academics have pushed our department to a new level of professionalism and innovation

by Theron Bowman, Chief, Arlington Police Department, Arlington, Texas

If we expect to meet the growing demands of community policing, we must increase the education of our officers. For 16 years, the Arlington Police Department has recognized the importance of a college education. We require a four-year degree, not just for new recruits but for officers who want to advance in the department. Our officers contend that their education provides them a broader understanding of society and an improved ability to communicate, which translates into better problem-solving skills and a higher level of service to citizens.

The requirements have pushed our department to a new level of professionalism and innovation and increased our pool of female and minority candidates, providing us with valuable diversity. Police work always has demanded that officers address a variety of
problems and situations. Still, law enforcement has changed dramatically since 1983, when I joined the Arlington Police Department. Then, the department was more authoritarian. Decisions on policy were reached at the top, supposedly freeing officers from the burden of thinking for themselves. Today, officers are more autonomous. We expect them to understand and
apply the law evenly. We expect them to grasp the nature of social problems and the psychology of people with different attitudes toward the law. We expect officers to professionally and effectively handle disputes involving people from varying cultural, racial, and socio-economic backgrounds.

Community policing takes it one step further in requiring officers to be more than enforcers of the law. They must think and act proactively, not just reactively. Community policing relies heavily on problem solving and on developing partnerships with residents and business owners. The "us versus them" attitude is no longer acceptable. We push officers to be innovative and to create programs and resolve dilemmas by working with the community. Officers must wear different hats when assertively
handling an obstinate suspect and when cooperating with citizens to prevent crimes or solve a problem. Today's idea of community of policing demands more of officers. Higher education helps sharpen the skills that officers need to successfully interact with the community.

A Degree of Benefits

Only about 50 state and local police agencies nationwide require officers to have a four-year college degree. That's a small number, considering that in most other professions a college education is practically inherent.

Many people preparing themselves for a successful career view college as their first step. Employers consider college degrees when screening job candidates. In short, degrees are expected in today's marketplace. We at the Arlington Police Department believe the same philosophy should apply to law enforcement. In fact, raising educational standards for police officers long has been advocated as a way to improve the quality of police service. The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement
Agencies, Inc.,  notes that higher education is not an "absolute answer," but stated in its 1994 Standards Manual that "Officers who have received a broad general education have a better opportunity to gain a more thorough understanding of society, to communicate more effectively with citizens, and to engage in the exploration of new ideas and concepts."Numerous studies conducted since the 1970s have suggested that a college education enhances law enforcement. Benefits of higher education in policing include:

• Better behavioral and performance characteristics
• Fewer on-the-job injuries and assaults
• Fewer disciplinary actions from accidents and force allegations
• Less use of sick time
• Greater acceptance of minorities
• Decrease in dogmatism, authoritarianism, rigidity and conservatism
• Fewer citizen complaints
• Promotion of higher aspirations
• Enhancement of minority recruitment.

Despite these findings, there has been little change in the past 20 years in educational standards for police officers. Among the reasons cited for not requiring college degrees of officers is the belief that college education has no correlation in law enforcement and that it will reduce the pool of candidates. We have found exactly the opposite in Arlington.

The Arlington Experience

Arlington, between Dallas and Fort Worth with a population of 340,000 over 100 square miles, is the third largest city in north Texas. It hosts more than 6.5 million visitors each year and is home to national attractions, such as Six Flags Over Texas and The Ballpark in Arlington, home of the Texas Rangers.

The Arlington Police Department has been a nationally accredited agency since 1989. We have an authorized staff of 589 sworn and 175 non-sworn. We began phasing in college degree requirements in 1986. First, we required new recruits with no prior police experience to hold at least a bachelor's degree. Recruits with a minimum of two years experience and an associate's degree were also eligible for employment. The requirements did not apply to current officers, but the stipulations prompted many of them to seek their first degree or to further their education. About 75 percent of Arlington officers hold at least a bachelor's degree.

In 1999, we updated the policy to require that all new recruits, regardless of previous experience, hold a bachelor's degree. We also required officers who had been "grandfathered" to seek a higher education to qualify for promotion.

Other educational milestones:

*        In 1991 a Bachelor's degree was required for deputy chiefs.
*        In 1995 a Bachelor's degree was required for lieutenants.
*        In 1999 a Master's degree was required for assistant chiefs.
*        In 2000 at least a four-year degree was required of any office

seeking a promotion. Also, assistant chiefs were required to hold a Master's degree.

In our recruiting efforts, we quickly realized that college students preferred to work where their college education was a consideration. This was especially true in "protected-class students," racial and ethnic minorities and all females who often were first-generation college students. In fact, people from protected classes have made up about two-thirds of each of our recruit classes since 1986. At conferences around the country, Arlington police officers of all levels hear other departments complain of struggling to recruit new officers. Although the Arlington Police Department has more demanding educational requirements, applicants continue to pour in. In 24 months (June 2000 to last June) we hired 161 officers. We are in the last phases of a plan to hire about 42 more officers (as of last June) before the end of this year; and the pool of quality applicants continues to replenish itself. Enhancing our educational requirements has not hampered our efforts to mirror the community. In fact, as of May of this year, 11 percent of Arlington officers are Hispanic, 12 percent are African-American, and 5 percent are of American Indian and Asian or Pacific Island descent. Also, 16 percent of those officers are female, well above the national average of 12 percent.

Classrooms to Streets

A person's commitment to the rigorous demands of a college education indicates that person's dedication to the pursuit of excellence. College imparts not just extensive academic knowledge but real-life experience to help officers deal with the community. College exposes students to people with different backgrounds, languages, ideas, beliefs, attitudes and goals.

Patrol experience has no substitute, but police departments increasing realize that skills learned in the classroom qualify as essential for today's officers. In that regard, Arlington officers are expected to be computer-literate. They conduct community meetings using PowerPoint presentations. They must be able to read and interpret statistical data. Sergeants and lieutenants often conduct surveys to determine citizen priorities and expectations. Supervisors must analyze trends using precise research methods. When front-line employees submit requests to my office for changes in policy or procedure, they are often accompanied by thorough documentation.

Such processes have become the norm in our department; and, because recruits come to us with academic training and basic computer skills, our department can spend more time teaching the essentials-police issues and tactics.

We believe that a competent, professional staff continues to build on its academic education by remaining open to experiment and to what is new in law enforcement. Still, if educational standards for law enforcement personnel have not changed drastically across the board, it is likely due to the demands and expectations of police chiefs. Our experience in raising our standards has proven to be nothing but beneficial. Having a college-educated police force has most decidedly contributed to the degree of quality that our residents have come to expect.

Assistant Chief Tommy Ingram

Operations Bureau

Master of Liberal Arts, Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice It took six years to finish the second half of my first degree because I was working full-time on rotating shifts. Back then, my degree was a personal goal because the department did not require one. I've found that higher education has enabled me to relate better to the community by giving me a greater understanding of other people's perspectives and problems that affect their neighborhoods. It also expanded my own perspective, broadening the scope of options that I may not have considered before. After promotion to my current position, I enrolled in graduate school. It has dramatically enhanced my research and writing skills, furthering my ability to better serve the community.

Detective Liz Edmonds-Hayes
Domestic Crimes Unit
Bachelor of Science

I investigate a wide range of crimes, including sexual assaults and family violence. The extensive amount of writing required for obtaining my degree in journalism equipped me with the communication skills that I rely on in my job as a detective. I am called upon daily to express myself in writing in the form of arrest warrants, case reports, search warrants and written statements. My college experience has helped me to concisely and effectively prepare and file cases, which leads to a higher probability of successful prosecution. It is my hope that the outcome of such cases will benefit not just the victims and their families, but the community as a whole.

Deputy Chief Lisa Womack
Community Services Division

Master of Public Administration, Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice My education has helped me tremendously in the areas of problem-solving and community involvement. My MPA focused on service delivery from a local government perspective, which has been beneficial in developing community-policing strategies. I am working toward a Ph.D. in sociology.

Officer Dolores Chavez
Patrol
Master of Liberal Arts, Bachelor of Science

While I was attending college, I interacted with students of all nationalities, cultures and socioeconomic levels. The experience was
valuable in that it afforded me the opportunity to better understand and interact with other ethnic groups that make up a large part of the community we serve.

Sergeant Lauretta Hill
supervisor in Personnel and Recruiting Unit

Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice with a minor in sociology My experiences in college prepared me to interact with applicants from various backgrounds, ethnic groups, and socioeconomic classes. Because I am responsible for hiring new officers, I constantly interact with the community. I attend career fairs around the state and teach the hiring process to residents in the Citizens Police Academy. I also speak to high school classes to prepare them for careers in law enforcement.

Lieutenant Carolyn Allen
Internal Affairs Section
Bachelor of Science

My degree is in education and I have a state certification for teaching. I have held several positions in the department and my degree has proven to be extremely helpful in each one. I served as a School Resource Officer for about three years before my promotion. My degree has given me the foundation that is needed to support the department's implementation of "Geographic Policing," which focuses on problem-solving, promoting open communication, and working with the community. It has also provided me with the skills necessary to effectively present information to and communicate with various community groups about their needs and concerns.

Sergeant Lonnie Wright
Patrol
Bachelor of Theology

I was motivated to go to college when I realized the direction the department was taking in requiring degrees for promotion. Many of my colleagues already had degrees and I recognized that with technology developing at such a fast pace, a college education would help me keep up my career as a law enforcement officer. It's been difficult having a full-time career and raising four children. But I realized that to be the best officer and the best pastor (I am also an ordained minister) I needed the best training. Since receiving my degree, I have been promoted to sergeant, my salary has increased and my self-esteem has improved as well. Knowledge is power, and the more knowledge I can obtain, the more power and control I have over my future.

Officer Corinthia Campbell
Narcotics, formerly Patrol
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

As a patrol officer, I constantly strove to improve community relations as part of my duties of community policing. My college education prepared me for concise and educated decision making. Working patrol taught me to improvise and think quickly. Being exposed to a mixture of lifestyles and cultures in college helped me adjust to others and taught me the importance of being tolerant. Life experiences have also taught me that most situations aren't as they first seem and another perspective may be needed to solve the problem. One thing that life constantly reminds me is that a combination of experience and education
is unbeatable.

THIS ARTICLE WAS PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED IN "COMMUNITY LINKS"
http://www.communitypolicing.org/publications/comlinks/