Is Policing A Craft Or Profession Essay

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There are virtually an unlimited amount of aspects about police work that places them in harm’s way every day. The debate still continues over whether policing is a craft or profession. As stated in Law Enforcement in the United States by James A. Conser, “A craft usually involves the development of skills that are generally learned through experience, not in a classroom (Conser, 2011, p.216). Conser also states, “the following are the typical characteristic identified criteria of profession: extensive preparation through education and training, a specific and specialized body of knowledge, a code of ethics (Conser, 2011, p.215). According to the article Cops and College: Do Police Need Book Smarts by Burns states, “it found that in …show more content…

This maybe due to the education level of the officers and they may know how to use some other tactics in order to defuses the situation. Willis from Ideas In American Policing Improving Police: What's Craft Got to Do with it, states, “Experience, not scientific knowledge, is the foundation of effective police work. By encountering a variety of situations and people over time, patrol officers learn valuable practical knowledge and develop specific skills (Willis, 2013). Willis is saying experience is more essential for a police officer. If a police officer gets the hand on training in the field that’s the way the officers will learn how to deal with the situation if it was to occur again.
I don’t believe that a police officer should only be craft or profession but both. Policing profession just allow officers to have a more developed way of thinking, they would be able to find the different ways of dealing with certain situation due to their express in college. Just as stated in Street Smart vs. Book Smart Perin goes on by saying, “The officer with effective skills in adaptation can demonstrate controlled responses during emotionally charged and possibly dangerous conditions to maintain order and calm. In college, the variety of classes required and the diversity of other students and staff allow students to learn how to adapt to a number of situations. The ability to "decide how to best respond" to situations occurs in written work, as well as,

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