sleeperkid
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Jun 16, 2025 7:07 AM
sleeperkid
8701
715
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xavierag
In Norway once you are hired you are required to obtain a three year degree in policing. Sweden is similar
lamontcranston
Dont forget they have won discrimination cases for rejecting applicants that score *too hire* on IQ tests.
triggrhaapi
Literally there was a court case that set the precedent that police departments can weed out smart people.
Xt3rminat3
Also, make it a combination of law and psych classes with a focus on conflict resolution. There are too many cop seminars about kill or be killed.
spattr
That's a lot of years listening to a police academy classmate making siren sounds with his voice.
HillOfBeans
drduffer
Been saying this on here for years. Police
Officers need to be treated like the other professionals who hold peoples’ lives in their hands, like doctors and nurses, for example.
Currently, the minimums to be a police officer in Texas requires you to be 18, a HS graduate or its equivalent (GED), pass a 6 month training course and pass a certification test.
They absolutely need a degree, preferably a bachelor’s, and a license with rigorous training and testing.
ClownishAntics
I'd also accept a 2 year course and anabolic steroid use being a fireable offence
albaboss
I went to a party at my brothers and this dude was being a HUGE douche (wasted, screaming at his GF, he actually left her there). Then my bro tells me he’s been taking a ton of testosterone and just become a huge asshole. Surprise surprise he’s also a cop
CgnCalling
Thankfully it takes 1 year of beauty college for hairdressers so that nothing really bad happens when they are let loose on society
PsoasComplainer
What needs to happen at a Federal level: Every. single. fucking. person. with a Domestic Violence conviction needs to be disallowed from owning or using firearms. That's it. Gets guns out of proven shitty people's hands, and purges law enforcement at all levels from those who would repeat that behaviour on the populace.
CelestialSea
What's needed is for a body OTHER THAN the police to handle screening and leadership at the top levels who aren't career cops. As long as police pick who they work with things will get worse, because they want to work with people who will support them, no matter what. A body that chooses people based on their empathy, compassion, and intelligence rather than blind loyalty, with the support of leadership, would have police forces fixed in a decade or two.
mijour1
Police dogs get more training, Think about that
Sebastopol140
Police academy you said ?
manhands
Pay them more, too. It’s such a shit job right now that only the bullies find it worth.
modis
BuT tHeN wE wOn’T hAvE eNoUgH cOpS!
This proves the point. Too much power in the hands of those with too little training.
iusedtodream
First test: throw a handful of acorns. Whoever doesn't lose their shit can pass to the next test, which will be writing their full name and simple multiplication.
samanthadlcruz
6 months? - it's around 8 weeks here and only 2 hours of that is actually about "law"...
johnnyhavok
Also have all lawsuit payouts come out of the police pension fund. The problem will start sorting itself out pretty quick.
RoachTypePerson
I'm a barber. My schooling is 3x as long as theirs. I don't even get a gun.
TheGermanWhoHatesAmerica
Welcome you discovered most of the other first worlds education program for police, consisting of a physical and psychological screening before the actual education of 2 to 4 years minimum.
Dannoboyo
If you are too intelligent, you can't be a State Trooper in my state. They don't want smart people, they want people who can follow orders without questioning them, my droogies.
Xalten2
Yep. There was actually a lawsuit over that. Dude applied but was rejected because he was "too smart". So he sued (and lost). Thing is, police departments generally "promote from within" so the brass is no smarter.
IAmNotNSAsodonotbeparanoid
Mahoney!
Cranbananarama
Physically and mentally fit for the job? No? What about a disdain for your fellow man and a willingness to unload if you hear a noise? Yes? You're in!
Munchman347
Cop shops resist extensive and detailed training requirements for the same reason the military does. They know 80 to 90% of the bottom of the barrel scrapings will fail and they won't be able to justify spending millions of tax dollars on Tactical Military gear...
usingYourMomAsAHat
Its almost the same amount of time required to become a security guard in a shopping mall in Norway. You were always a police state put in place to protect the rich from the poor
lucivjov
That’s the Canadian system, just FYI. Police foundations for 2 years + another emergency related certificate/degree at minimum if you want to get accepted.
zFUBARz
Is it nationwide or provincially mandated
WellHelloMrFancyPants
As a former Police officer i can state this is a great idea...plus raise the age limit. I was too immature at 21 to have that amount of power.
wannasee
Force them to take psych evals to prove they are of sound mind - and after each traumatic incident. Make them take out malpractice insurance out on their guns so they have to be held accountable for every bullet they shoot. Make them sit for a law and ethics exam to ensure they actually understand how the law also applies to THEM. Make social work and mental health classes part of their education curriculum so they understand how to actually help and support their communities.
wannasee
And set a limit on time engaged in active duty before they have to leave - if we acknowledge burnout as a part of the job then we shouldn't be putting the burnt out apples on duty - they rot the barrel too.
clonedeeznuts
They aren't taught the law. They are taught to be above it.
SchroGrey
Almost as if it's about building up a militia to control the population a political entity in charge doesn't like more than about upholding the law
Sooner70
Hell, just requiring a 2-year degree and a squeeky clean record would be a huge step up.
Tangurena
My police academy was a single semester program. Some people do silly things to rebel against their parents. My parents were druggies, so growing long hair didn't bother them (it was too much work in the morning, so I quit that), later, I did the police academy thing.
Timesarrows
Demilitarization of Police Means Disrupting the Army-to-Police Pipeline https://jacobin.com/2020/06/military-police-veterans-ptsd-recruitment
HelikaformerNubisKnight9
Isn't that mandatory to get the job? US police is weird.
lizardbones
i cant say too much about the police in ontario, but requiring any sort of post secondary education did make it better. Though i expect that to be going downhill now that police arent required to have the degree anymore
ThinkThisOut
Squeaky clean doesn’t seem fair… dude gets caught with a joint in college shouldn’t be a full disqualification
Sooner70
It's a disqualification for a lot of jobs. Why not this one?
ThinkThisOut
I struggle to send that point cause I don’t smoke… but the people that I know who do don’t seem to let it impact their job performance
Sooner70
Irrelevant. Those who enforce the laws should be beyond reproach. Untouchable. And it's still illegal at the federal level so every person who's lighting up is willfully violating federal law. That's the fed's take on it, and I don't see why LEO should be held to anything less.
Steps1000
Realistically, the joint shouldn't be a problem at all but we aren't there yet. Consequences of a long fought culture war to demonize people who use it and the US's general cultural supremacy.
azgrak1
Requiring liability insurance for police just like doctors have to have would be a huge step. Taxpayers should not carry the financial burden for police atrocities.
SheepySleepySmuggler
It depends what outcome you want - liability insurance doesn't stop medical malpractice and it won't stop police shootings. It just makes the cost of the respective jobs more expensive and given that payouts for police shootings are already significant, I doubt it will result in any change of culture that isn't already happening (i.e. areas where police are accountable will continue to strive to be more accountable but areas where police shootings are tolerated by unions, management and....
SheepySleepySmuggler
...politicians, the status quo will remain other than adding another vested interest (the insurance industry) to the existing mess.
revolutionofevolution
Doctors used to rally around each other and protect even the worst of their own just like cops, until it became clear that this was harming trust in they're own practice and cost of insurance, and they became the strongest advocates of reform. It turns out people stop protecting assholes when they are a liability to them and not just others. Jesus Christ dude, your analogy counters your own fucking point.
SheepySleepySmuggler
Ok, let me try another angle - making this an economic problem rather than a training problem will mean that the people or organisations with the most money will get the outcome that they want. If that's not clear, look at American law enforcement's approach to protecting property versus protecting people.
Sooner70
When I've seen insurance stated as a requirement, the idea is not insurance for police in general, but insurance for Each Individual Cop - By Name. The point being that if A COP becomes uninsurable, he becomes unemployable.
SheepySleepySmuggler
And you think the police unions will allow it to be truly individual? Yes, it may be paid per officer, but between unions and politicians being "pro-cop", getting it to truly be per individual will be difficult in the areas that need to change. And it doesn't address the lack of training that is the root cause.