Robert Peel: A Career As A Police Officer

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Did you know that in the next ten years police will be one of the fastest growing occupations? Although it has not always been this way. During the early history of policing people were expected to be able to maintain law and order amongst themselves. This system worked well for a while in rural and less populated areas. But as the population grew rapidly in countries such as England and the United States it became clear that there was a need for greater police force (52). People feared that the police would become another sort of military and resented the idea. In response Robert Peel created the principles of policing, which would include how a good police officer should conduct himself. Peel also made it so there was a clear separation between …show more content…

There are many qualifications that come with being a police officer. All of these qualifications depend on the agency but in most cases this is what it takes. In order to be considered a person must be at least 21 years of age with no felony convictions, must be a United States citizen, and hold a valid driver’s licence. There are also health and physical requirements such as the physical qualification test (PQT) or the physical ability test (PAT). Some common tests that come with PQT and the PAT are the 75-yard pursuit run, push -ups, sit-ups, and the 1.5 mile run (“Recruiting”). If a person receives a zero in any of the four categories it is an automatic fail regardless of the scores in the other categories (“Recruiting”.) Chief Jeffrey Shook stated in an interview that, “Currently the standard to get into the academy is 32 sit ups, 19 push ups, and 14:34 for a one and a half mile run and to graduate the academy the standard is 40 sit ups, 33 push ups, and to run one and a half miles under 11:58.” While some people enter this field through academies, Chief Jeffrey Shook stated that, “The trend most recently is to get into a criminal justice program and attain your OPOTA Certificate with a 2 year degree.” Along with physical qualifications there are also emotional qualifications. While talking to Chief Shook about the attitude that is right for the job he said, “Positive attitude and the knowledge that you are doing the right things for …show more content…

Before college or any other programs there are lots of classes that a person could take in high school that could prepare for the police field. Some of those classes would be, politics, current issues, psychology, sociology, and political science (53). Getting a high school diploma is the minimum requirement for most police officers. But in reality most agencies would prefer a person to have a bachelor’s degree, associate’s degree or even a certain amount of postsecondary education credits (“How to Become a Police Officer”). A bachelor’s degree is needed for advanced law enforcement positions such as the FBI. Even though a college degree is not required for most departments, it has been seen as of late that departments are looking for applicants with a degree. While a person can attain a degree from a college, a degree can also be received from a police academy. An entrance exam is given to applicants and it must be passed in order to enter into the academy. There are different tests that can be given such as, Asset, Compass, and the Law Enforcement Examination (“How to Become a Police Officer”) In a police academy a person would learn things such as search and seizure, traffic laws, firearms training, physical conditioning, and driver’s training (“How to Become a Police Officer”). The police academy can be completed in six months in most cases. It is important for an

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