Police education and training: Where are we? Where are we going?

A sample of four hundred police departments was surveyed to determine attitudes toward and implementation of six recommendations of the 1967 President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice. The recommendations were for campus recruiting, recruit training, in-service training, increased salaries, and higher educational requirements for both police officers and their supervisors. Only one of the recommendations, in-service training, was both regarded positively and implemented. Campus recruitment, recruit training, and increased salaries all evoked positive attitudes but little evidence of implementation was found. The recommendation that general law enforcement officers and their supervisors be required to have at least a bachelor's degree was regarded negatively and generally has not been implemented.