Text Of Certificate Presentation Remarks at Press Conference
By Executive Director Louis Mayo

 Thank you Chief ________________, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.  It is indeed a pleasure for me, as Executive Director of the Police Association for College Education or PACE, to be here to recognize the uniquely high professional standards of the _________________ Police Department.  The common essential ingredient for improving the police, recommended by many national commissions, the Federal Courts and other leading authorities is college degreed police officers.

            Although I will briefly discuss the views of many authorities, they are all consistent with my experiences of over 50 years in policing with the last 35 years devoted to working at the national level on efforts to improve local policing, beginning with my association with OLEA group attached to the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice in 1967.

            The President’s Crime Commission described the police role.

Few professions are so peculiarly charged with individual responsibility.  Complexities inherent in policing further dictate that officers possess a high degree intellect, education, tact, sound judgment, physical courage, emotional stability, impartiality and honesty... mistakes in judgment could cause irreparable harm to citizens and even to the community.  The Commission continues.  The quality of policing will not improve significantly until higher education requirements are established for its personnel recommending a Baccalaureate degree for officers.

            The Commission added.

It is nonsense to state or assume that the enforcement of law is so simple that it can be done by those unencumbered by the study of liberal arts.  Officers of any department should certainly be conversant with the structure of government and its philosophies.  He must be well grounded in sociology, criminology, and human relations in order to understand the ramifications of the problems which confront him daily.

            This is further supported by the American Bar Association in their Standards for the Urban Police Function. 

Police need personnel in their ranks who have the characteristics a college education seeks to foster; intellectual curiosity, analytical ability, articulateness, and a capacity to relate the events of the day to the social, political and historical context in which they occur.

            The Bar Association continues.

Since a principal function of the police is the safeguarding of democracy, if the police fail to conform their conduct to the requirements of law, they subvert the democratic process and frustrate the achievement of a principal police function.

            The Federal Courts have stated similarly.

Thus, police officers are left with their more essential task which includes social control in a period of increasing social turmoil, preservation of our constitutional guarantees, and exercise of the broadest discretion sometimes involving life and death decisions of any government service.  The need for police officers who are intelligent, articulate, mature, and knowledgeable about social and political decisions is apparent.  .(A) college education develops and imparts the requisite level of knowledge.  (Emphasis added.)  Davis v. Dallas, 777 F.2d 205, 6th Cir. 1985, Certiorari denied to the U.S. Supreme Court May 19, 1986.
 

            To this we add the numerous research studies that show that college educated officers have much fewer complaints of failure to conform to the requirements of the law and other abuses of authority.

            Finally, I would quote from an editorial from the Atlantic City Press, Towns that put new police officers without college degrees on the street are shortchanging their citizens.

            For those who state that although desirable, it can’t be done, I point to the almost 50 cities and counties which have accomplished this successfully.  It is hoped that through the efforts of PACE all communities can have the professional services of college degreed officers in the near future.  To that end PACE will offer pro-bono technical assistance.

            In conclusion, I would like to quote the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals: "At the conclusion of this chapter, a judgment made at its beginning bears repeating:  The most enduring problems in criminal justice are not technical or financial  -- they are political."

            I commend the _______________ Police Department and City Officials for establishing the recommended college degree standards for officers with the resulting quality of professional service to the people of this community.

            At this time, I would ask Chief _______________ to come forward to receive for the department the PACE certificate which recognizes the high professional standards of this department.