The Police Force

Throughout history the police force has severely changed, with the first forms of policing appearing in the Anglo-Saxon period in England; where the king would provide protection to the civilians for a tax (Mawby, 1999). Centuries later and the principles of protecting the people are generally the same. However, in recent times crimes and perpetrators are becoming more sophisticated; the need for higher abilities to control and manage these complicated situations is becoming more prevalent. It can be seen that the entry requirements into the police force are also dramatically increasing over the decades. This paper aims to critically assess the effectiveness of higher education requirements by outlining the advantages and disadvantages and how it can be improved further. To gain a further understanding a brief history of the constant debate will be analysed.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, in Berkeley, California, Police Chief August Vollmer expressed his encouragement for police to acquire a formal university education (Carte, 1973). Unfortunately it wasn’t until the late 1960s that significant debate arose from police leaders about the effectiveness and benefits of formal qualifications, and how it plays a role in police professionalism (Roberg and Bonn 2004). The first major debate in Australia occurred in 1990; when the National Police Professionalism Implementation Advisory Committee (NPPIAC) recommended that to achieve national professionalism in police services, a university qualification should be included in the education requirements (Trofymowych, 2008). Although the topic has been debated for almost a century only minimal requirements have been applied. In Queensland the current education requirements f...

... middle of paper ...

...e early 1990s; it is recommended this should be the requirement instead of the current 18 months of tertiary education. The belief that the current 18 months is sufficient enough is very lacking. The main point which has been seen is to increase the ‘professionalism’ of an individual, however it is hard to believe that a person will be professional if they only achieve half a university degree then quit. A nationwide requirement needs to be set out as a minimum for the security of Australia; it is believed that the advancement of skills, methods and training can only be achieved through higher levels of education. It is unclear if police will ever attain ‘professional’ status; however it is believed that with the correct structure and implementation, higher education will play the deciding factor. Although it is also believed that there is still a long way to go.