Why are cops allowed so much authority and the use of weapons if they don't even have a degree?

Question

Why are cops allowed so much authority and the use of weapons if they don't even have a degree?

Answer 1

This question is asinine for two reasons, and here they are:

1) You're assuming that all cops don't have degrees. Many have Associates or Bachelors in Criminal Justice, and your conclusion of them "not having a degree" more than likely comes from a bad confrontation with a cop.  Maybe you got a speeding ticket when you felt you shoulda got a break, who knows, a lot of people don't like cops and have grudges against them.

2)Even if one doesn't have a degree, they've completed Police Academy, which in many cases meets or exceeds the difficulty of a college degree.  They're taught how to avoid things like being shot and jumped and killed.  They don't teach you that in college.  Maybe some lame, self-defense karate teacher can swindle you for a couple hundred dollars to teach you how to duck a punch, but you can't just go out and learn survival skills.

So whatever your grudge is, drop it.  You wouldn't want to live in a world without cops.

edit: Take this into account.  I know two people, one went into Law Enforcement immediately after high school .  The other went for a four year degree in advertising.

While my buddy in LE did great work and climbed the Police ladder, earning promotions and bigger pay checks, the girl I knew in advertisement flip flopped between degrees, not having a fun time, and ended her four years with a business degree she never wanted.

Now, four years later, the cop is working a job he loves making at least 80,000 dollars a year.  He has a boat and a nice house, and lives very comfortably.

The girl works in an office, with her nice big degree, making around 35,000 a year at a dead end job she hates and feels stuck in .  Oh, and she has about 100,000 dollars in student loans to pay back.

Answer 2

It doesn't take much brain to chase people or pull a trigger.

Answer 3

Did you get a speeding ticket or something?  Get over it.  You just don't like the fact that you got caught.  The police are there to protect you and your children.  Very rarely do the officers have to draw their guns.  You are watching too much NYPD Blue or something.  Those guns are there to protect. They don't have authority, they are enforcing the laws that WE have voted for.

Answer 4

they are the power and protection of the state for the benefit of the people.and they are trained and do have associate degrees in most states

Answer 5

They all have their training. Not everything needs a piece of paper to do it. Next time something bad happens to you and you need the cops tell the operator you need their degrees before they come.

Answer 6

Umm..I don't know where you get your information, but at least 95% of police officer need at least an associates (or equal to) to even take the test for the academy.  I guess you live in thatr 5%

Answer 7

Power justifies the means, degrees do not.

Answer 8

Their occupation is not based on eduaction, it's based on protection.

My uncle is a cop, and because I know a bit more about the job than most people, I have the upmost respect for them. They may not have the college degree that people consider the standard for working, but cops recieve a special and unique sort of education different from other training because they perform a very special duty. Cops have the authority because they are the only people strong, brave, and loving enough to protect the community.

The sad part of this is that many educated people with 'degrees' who consider themselves 'smart' don't realize the importance of a cop's duty and don't have any respect for police officers.

Answer 9

Degrees are preferred in police officers, but why do you feel that college education would prepare someone to use a weapon and authority?  Police academy serves that purpose.

Answer 10

they give guns and authority to anyone nowadays.

Answer 11

What makes you think nobody who is a police officer has a degree in anything? That's rather a generalized statement. And what makes you think that people who do have degrees are any better at making judgment calls?

Answer 12

I don't think it takes a degree or smarts to gain a position of authority.

Answer 13

Let me guess you have or are working on a degree and think that well make you so very special i never received a degree I received probation from a boy's camp

Bet the farm I could buy and sell you a doz times

Many people in the office doing file clerk work were decreed and i got to the point i would not hire those kind

Answer 14

Trina I has the wrong idea, but to give my thoughts, when I applied to be an officer, I have 18 college credited hours from the military, the dept i applied for required atleast 60 hours. One would think that military would get a "head of the line" treatment, no. I was denied. Your info is wack at best. Every officer I ever met has a minimum of an accosiates. As was said earlier, degrees dont equal brains. Some of the smartest people I know never even steped foot in a college class room and they have jobs that should be for a college kid. Now to touch back on trina's statment, she must not know a thing about the military but what the news says. The military teaches us higher level skills then a school can, and im not talkin about how to shoot. In my case, I learned how to shoot, learned a good PT schedual, leadership, how to use radios, first aid and I know things that a Navy Corpsman knows, buisness etiquet, respect and many other things.

Answer 15

Are you like an Education Bigot now?

ONLY people with Degrees are "Smart"?

Degrees educate you , but don't make you smart.

They do tend to make you more arrogant.

Perhaps that's your problem.

Answer 16

what does a degree have to do with shooting a fire arm?plus police do not have much power at all for thir gun, just self defence of them and someone else.

Answer 17

Lots of police do have degrees.  But they don't make army men have a degree either.  Can you imagine how much we would have to pay them if they all had to have a degree?  Also it a trade that is taught through on the job training.  College is not the best way to learn everything, some things you learn best from doing in the real world.

Answer 18

Because they are there to protect, so they pu themselves in harm everyday to protect and enforce rules, they may not have degrees but hey have at least 60 college credits or military background, you know someone with a degree probably wont go to Iraq and fight, so they give those who have heart and courage a chance to protect and a degree does not define a person. GO Navy

Answer 19

because cops are everything to everyone. All you need to do is pass boot camp and take some courses and your in. But the question is.. is it worth dying for?

Answer 20

ask yourself the same about our military

Answer 21

disturbing isn't it? i do hear they are beginning to choose those who have bachelors degrees over those who don't.

Answer 22

Cops have training that civilians don't have.  Most have to attend an academy to get training to become an officer in the first place.

Also, who would enforce the laws if it were not for law enforcement?

Answer 23

most cops are cops because they picked on when they were little and want power and most abuse that power

Answer 24

well i didn't know that a degree was required to have a weapon.   cops do have training and education in being a cop.  that is called specialized training and that is good enough, in my opinion.  you can't stop some folks from misusing authority.  meanwhile others will handle it marvelously and with great honor.

Answer 25

a degree in what exactly? cops do have specialized training in their field, even if it isn't a "degree". are you suggesting we give commerce grads and art history majors guns?

Answer 26

How much brain power does it take to write a speeding ticket?

Answer 27

Because stupid people run the government, sorry Republicans...

Answer 28

degrees do not equal brains.  Everyone at my job has a post-grad degree of some sort, and I can tell you first hand that half of them are brain dead.

Answer 29

And not only that they are totally rude. I went to the troopers the other day to have the tint on my car windows checked to make sure they were legal... and they female trooper behind the counter treated me like a piece of **** and I was nothing but pleasant to her. I'd love to see her out of uniform someday....

Answer 30

Do you have a degree? cos you sound like an idiot. Which degree would you recommend to prepare you to arrest a drunken, drug crazed, knife wielding, sociopath on a sunny Saturday afternoon in July.

Answer 31

Why is that some of you guys hate cops so much. Ok, so they give you tickets for, well breaking the law (speeding, etc). But I'm sure that if you were in mortal danger there is usually the thought that you would like a cop there. They put their lives on the line everyday for little pay. And most of them nowadays are required to have a degree in criminal justice, computers, and even psychology. Unfortunately, bad apples slips through the cracks and become cops, but they are rare now thanks to the rigorous psychological testing that they have to go through. My dad is a cop and has been called every name in the book, has been shot at numerous times, and several of his brother officers have been shot and killed. Most cops are smart AND educated. They are trained on how to properly use that authority and how to effectively and wisely use their weapons.