Book Description

The monograph consists of an examination of the rationale for higher police educational standards, a report of research relevant to the impact of upgrading efforts, a critique of current educational programming, and the explication of a model criminal justice curriculum appropriate for both police and other criminal justice system personnel. Three distinct but related rationales are developed relevant to educational upgrading. The rationales involve police ability to control crime, perform their order maintenance function, and properly exercise discretion. The research reported includes an assessment of current police recruit educational levels: patterns of employment of collegiate recruits; the impact of the Law Enforcement Education Program, police cadet programs, and agency reward programs; the influence of agency characteristics in attracting and retaining collegiate recruits. and the impact of the development of educational programs in law enforcement and criminal justice. An examination of present educational programming postulates several major deficiencies. A model curriculum is proposed which provides a broad theoretical orientation to the entire criminal justice process. The model consists of guidelines for twenty criminal justice courses. Each guideline includes both selected related readings and a content outline.