No. I became a cop as soon as I could.
Well see that's the point I was trying to get to. LEOs should now be required to have a BS degree in law enforcement before becoming a LEO. The course needs to be structured around today's world. Most degrees LEOs earn, (here in ma) ended up not being worth the paper they were written on. Not saying you per say so cool your jets, but they were getting credits for "life experience" and given degrees without a single bit of classroom work, none.
And BTW LEOS should NOT be allowed to be in a Union as there simply must be a way to weed out those who don't belong there.
In exchange for this I would gladly consider all Leo's skilled white collar employees and not only held to a much higher standard of conduct but to a much higher level of compensation as well.
The LEO of the future needs to be handled in this manner.
If all LEO's had bachelors degrees and masters degrees we would need to be paid what that is worth on the market. The taxpayer could never afford to pay those salaries. I had a 2 year degree and for the most part it was what I needed to get in the door in 1979. I started as an Army MP in 1973 so I was involved in some form of LEO just a year out of High school.
As for a 4 year degree it meant nothing then except it opened doors to jobs outside of Police work and to Federal LEO jobs where people skills for the most part are not required. I knew a good chief who had NO degree. Unfortunately he was as smart if not smarter than the City Manager who had a Masters. It took a good year but he finally got the Chief fired. What an embarrassment! Not the fired Chief but the chity manager.
It's what is in a guys head before he ever applies. The degrees may get you a deputy chiefs job or a chiefs job but then you don't really need any street skills. You need the skills it takes to keep from getting fired by a retard chity manager or mayor with a political agenda. I would like to say the smarter guys had 4 year degrees but it only meant they stayed in school longer. Now to get to Sergeant you need a 4 yr. degree. Here again, you don't have to be the smartest, you only need to stay in school longer to get to the next level.
Common sense and the Golden Rule are the primary things a person needs to be a good cop. If you treat people fair and with respect your job is half done. The degrees impress other people who have degrees but Joe Citizen doesn't care about the degrees. They only care about the officer's people skills, common sense and being treated fair. Most of all they want the officer to offer a solution, help them get their property back and bring the bad guys to justice. Many citizens will bend over backwards to help you catch the bad guys. You need to be there when they offer the help and be prepared to do something about it.
Of course this means that the citizen has to meet the officer half way as well. Folks who yell " kill the pigs" have failed that hurdle and no matter how hard the officer tries, he or she will never be successful in their eyes.
WE did have a union. It was to fight for the things unions commonly fight for but the primary function was for wages and benefits. If we did not have a union, we would have all been under the poverty level with no benefits. Our process of eliminating under qualified officers was a good process and for every example I am aware of, successful.
Of course, Iowa is a right to work State and the Iowa legislature has done a good job of defining Labor Laws that are basically fair to both sides. If the legislative process is screwed up a Union won't change that. It only makes the "Union" thing worse. If you want more control over the Unions, get more control over your legislature or stop complaining.
Just my observations.
kwg
