Christine Gardiner, MA

"My research has found that college-educated officers are better at documenting the investigative process. Having officers that can produce precise, informative, and accurate reports translates to better investigations, higher court case filings, fewer evidentiary constitutional challenges, fewer false confessions or wrongful convictions, or more successful prosecutions. Additionally, police managers stated that college educated officers are better able to use technology efficiently and may be less resistant to organizational change and more open to new policing methods as well as better problem solvers. These are important considerations given today's emphasis on intelligence-led and evidence-based policing strategies."

“Increasing education requirements for officers is a promising idea to further professionalize police and improve the practice of policing,” Gardiner says. “Changing education standards at the state level is smart because most agencies set their minimum standards equivalent to state standards and because it will level the playing field for all agencies in the state. It is important to provide financial backing to ensure future officers from all backgrounds can afford to enroll in college and agencies can afford to pay them.”