Police training

[minx]

I've been thinking about police training/enforcement.

And yes, it is a daydream, so we're not going to talk about corrupt influences or corporate profits right now.  Let me dream a bit!

What if police training was designed more like a college degree?  I'm talking in terms of time to enter the force, not an actual degree.

If you were accepted, you'd have 4 years of training in different fields related to police work.  So everything from physical fitness to gang violence and in-between.
When you left, you'd have a diverse set of training that would include how to interact with different aspects of the public, crime prevention techniques, physical fitness training, training on any weapons you or others with you would be carrying, medication skills, and restraint skills.

From there, one could move on to specialize in more specific areas of law enforcement in their communities.

I envision having a department where everyone knows the basics of law enforcement and how to interact with the community, but where certain officers specialize in different parts of the community - much like Defund the Police envisioned, if you're neighbor has loud parties every Tuesday, you can work with a community relations officer to fix the issue without having to call 911.  But if the neighbor is running a meth lab, the police would send out someone who is trained to handle a drug dealer or potentially unstable criminal.  


The cost of the program would be paid from federal and state funds, and participants would be guaranteed a decent salary upon graduation.  And just like other professionals, they'd get a license that would need to be updated and renewed every 3-4 years.  Renewal would require continuing ed along with weapons training.

I'd say that if something like this was put in place, it would take a while to see if it worked, so any community agreeing to try the program and take the cash would have to commit to at least 10 years - long enough for the first graduates to be on the streets for several years, and for the second crop to exit training.


My pipe dream for today.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

What are the requirements to become a LEO? Asking because I mostly don't know and what I do know is that it can vary greatly depending on the actual job- local constable to beat cop, detective to swat, campus, county, city, state, fed 1, fed other, fed the other, fed x. fed xx. and beyond.

I know some departments require a degree in "criminal justice" and also 12 months of academy training and thennnn a year as a LEO Light (like a rookie ride along guy) and/or a certain amount time on the ground with experienced officers.



Also, I hope you have a plan to pay the salaries of the guys you want and they training they have to have, because most spending that much time in education and training are going to be seeking at least double the going rate. The question is- Would it even matter? I wonder what data exists to show my example above vs a good ol boy PD where you are sworn in like deputies in John Wayne movies.

[minx]

Damn good question there hombre. I suspect the answer is 'it depends', because I'm sure it's a patchwork of different things.

Seems like there should be a baseline standard that would apply regardless of where you worked. After the baseline, things would split into the size of the town/city. So someone training in NYC would have a different set of training than the dude in Mayberry.

I don't think a degree of any sort is needed to begin training. It wouldn't disqualify you, but not needed. Definitely some sort of basic aptitude test to show that you can at least read and write (along with doing simple maths).

And yeah, salary is an issue. I'd say that during training they'd pretty much be in the same boat as a college student - have to either work outside of training hours, or get a grant/loan for living expenses. And yeah, I'd say they could qualify for federal student aid, and federal loans -same as a standard college student would. This is a form of higher education, even if all of it won't be in a classroom.

But after graduation is the trick seeing as most people think every county/city employee is already paid far too much and refuse to raise taxes even one cent to pay for a road repair they really, really want. Can't see them agreeing to fork over the money that a well-trained and educated officer should be paid. And like teaching, it should be a job you go into because you love helping others, so the pay is secondary.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

I would require the degree. That alone would eliminate half the goons. And the thing about the pay being secondary I can see your point but as with teaching, society should value these jobs to the point of paying them adequately instead of expecting lower salaries based on some shitty definition of altruism.

[minx]

100%!! I am so sick of the line that you don't go into xxx because you want to get rich. You go in because you love the work.

My mom was a teacher, and I have tons of friends who are teachers. For the most part, they loved their students, they loved watching them learn new things and grow into better people. But they hated the rest of it. And the paperwork that has to be completed grows exponentially by the minute.

I've always said that if any adult member of the public had to take over a classroom for a week, they'd have a whole new understanding for how hard the job is.

[Dave's Not Here Man]

Or in a dispatch center, or an ambulance, fire truck, police car...

[minx]

Yup. Hell, even being a cashier at Target. Let's see them ring everything up and bag it in under 3 minutes all while smiling and making small talk.

[k9krap]

I was a cashier at Woolco. Oh my dog! Not only are people idiotic, rude and nasty; but they’re also perverts. I had a manager tell me to put on a store smock because he caught a man ogling my cleavage when I bent over the counter. I cannot imagine dealing with the public these days.

The worst place the made me work was the pet department. You would think I’d like it, right? No way! Cleaning those fish tanks and bird cages? It was horrible. I was so afraid of hurting the birds when I moved them to clean the cage, that they’d escape and commit suicide by diving at the windows.

[minx]

I worked at a lumber and home improvement store when I was 17. Holy Hell, those were some assholes. People screaming at you because their credit card was rejected over a .50 bag of nails. Listen dude, I'm not in charge of your damn bank! Others would yell at you for 'cutting the line' on Sunday morning when the sale circular came out. Never mind that I was wearing my little cashier apron with my name tag - clearly a short 17yo girl in the late 70s was out to build her own deck and wanted in the door first!

At least I wasn't at the customer service desk - my sister worked there and said it was a whole nother level of insanity. She got the joy of calling the bank to see why a card didn't go through and got the answer "Do you have the card right now?" Um, yes. "In your hand?" Um, yes. "Do you feel safe cutting it up? If so, we'll give you $50 for it"

Back then $50 was a bunch o bucks. She said she would have stabbed the guy with the scissors too for that much money

[Dave's Not Here Man]

You all make me laugh.... how about this? When I was 17 I was selling shoes at Kinney Shoes. Now in those days you didn't walk in and pick a box any box. I was a SALESMAN in a suit at a very tender age and had to tell the black ladies that they weren't going to fit their size 14 foot in a 10 size ladies shoe no matter how many profanities they yelled at me. Yeah, I still get a random twitch from that every now and again.

[minx]

OMG, you were AL BUNDY?