In the wake of the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, Oregon State legislators have introduced a bill that mandates police officers to complete higher education requirements.
The bill would require Oregon law enforcement departments to stipulate hiring requirements. Police divisions with less than 50 officers would require two years of education beyond high school. Departments with more than 50 officers would require a Bachelor’s Degree, according to the Associated Press.
“In many respects, I think the issue is much bigger than a four-year or two-year requirement,” said Professor William Terrill, who teaches criminology and criminal justice at Arizona State University.
“If they have two years of education, and they get six months of academy, we’re still putting someone out there, with half a year of training, with a gun and the ability to take a life and handcuffs with the ability to take liberty.”
In recent years police departments have struggled with officer education requirements. Numerous people have said raising the education requirements would make it difficult to employ people from diverse backgrounds, which would lead to staffing shortages, the story said.
“Merely requiring a high school degree is hugely inadequate for the complexities associated with a very complicated and important position in America,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington-based think tank.
Nationwide, 80% of agencies require only a high school diploma or GED, 10% require a two-year degree and 1% require a four-year degree, reported a 2016 Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics report, which surveyed more than 2,700 agencies across the country.
Research indicates that officers who have a higher education are more likely to resolve conflicts without resorting to coercion, the article said.
While police training teaches how to handcuff, employ a Taser and other tactical and mechanical skills, it does not focus on critical thinking exercises, according to Terrill.
According to a survey by the National Policing Institute, some law enforcement officers pursue higher learning independently to achieve upward mobility; a third of officers have at least a four-year degree.
About 70% of Portland Oregon’s sworn police officers hold four-year degrees, and 46% of applicants have two-year degrees, according to Portland Police Bureau Capt. Greg Pashley.
“The combination of the pandemic, George Floyd’s murder and the narrative of policing has made policing less attractive than ever,” Wexler said. “The recent killing of Tyre Nichols only adds to the concerns that people are having about the policing profession.”
