Police Education and the University Sector: Contrasting Models from the Australian Experience

Abstract

University education for police officers continues to be heralded as a major component in the reform of police organizations and police culture. Interestingly, the extensive research literature from the United States over the past 30 years remains ambivalent about the extent to which education achieves these objectives. Individual officers doubtless gain personal and professional benefits, but the relationship between higher education and police effectiveness, professionalism and accountability remains unclear. Nevertheless, the Australian experience since the late 1980s is that concerted efforts to provide university programs for police almost invariably arise from periods of crisis in police organizations and the recommendations of official inquiries into those organizations. Two educational “reform” models have resulted, one based on liberal education and the other on a paradigm labeled “professional policing.” These now constitute the main (contrasting) paradigms for police education and training across different states. The case study concludes that the relationship between university education and preparation for policing is likely to remain problematic.

Notes

1. In fact, the Advanced Certificate was jointly shared with the police service by two universities located in the state’s capital city. The program offered by each university was very similar and the contractual obligations between the universities and police were the same, including an equal number of recruits randomly allocated to each university (about 500 each). Both universities credited the program towards the first year of their respective criminal justice degree programs. Given that the experiences of the Queensland University of Technology appear to have been the same as Griffith University, the authors throughout refer only to the latter institution with which they are familiar.