College Education Benefits Law Enforcement Essay

Understanding these theories can help balance against the instinct I think I would otherwise have that the rules governing police behavior hinder effective law enforcement behavior. I can see myself having the desire to expedite things by bending or tweaking rules in order to accomplish my goals. Knowing what that would do to the ability to prosecute an offender, will make it that much easier for me to make the correct decision, the legal decision, when working in the field.

Likewise, I feel as if an enhanced education will help me avoid the use of inappropriate force with suspects. I do not think any police officer enters the profession thinking that he or she will use inappropriate force against a suspect. However, with the badge comes a tremendous amount of power, and it has been proven time and time again that power corrupts. I can see how even good officers allow their personal prejudices and biases to cause them to treat suspects as inferior people, and how those same biases and prejudices could make an officer more likely to use force.I think this could happen without an officer even being aware that he was driven by bias or prejudice. Ignorance drives bias and prejudice, and education combats ignorance, so I believe an enhanced education could only benefit me.

Finally, it must be recognized that today's law enforcement officer may need advanced scientific, psychological, or forensic skills that officers have not traditionally needed. If I want to advance from being a patrol officer to a detective or other specialized officer, I need an adequate background for the new subject area. Having an enhanced education when I enter into the profession means that I will not have to pause in the pursuit of my career goals in order to obtain….....