But doesn't lowering the standards bring in MORE people into the candidate pool who would be lesser qualified?

 

They were really clear about it, they are LOWERING the standards.

They were really clear about it, they are LOWERING the standards.

 

I know, but I was commenting on your comment about having lesser qualified people in dangerous situations. You seem to agree with lowering the standards and opening the pool up, and I'm saying but doesn't that bring in more candidates that would be lessor qualified, which is exactly what you don't want? Playing devils advocate here.

I know, but I was commenting on your comment about having lesser qualified people in dangerous situations. You seem to agree with lowering the standards and opening the pool up, and I'm saying but doesn't that bring in more candidates that would be lessor qualified, which is exactly what you don't want? Playing devils advocate here.

 

I agree with not requiring college credit hours. I don't agree with lowering the overall standards, if anything, the standards should be increased along with the pay.

I agree with not requiring college credit hours. I don't agree with lowering the overall standards, if anything, the standards should be increased along with the pay.

 

Agree with this 100%.

 

I never understood the thinking that just because someone had college hours or a degree made them a better candidate. Some of the best LEO, Fire Officers, etc. are those that are high school graduates with a ton of common sense.

I agree with not requiring college credit hours. I don't agree with lowering the overall standards, if anything, the standards should be increased along with the pay.

 

Ultimately, I like where you're at on this. It doesn't take a degree or some courses to be a good officer. It takes something else. Quick thinking, problem solving, the ability to talk to people, grace under pressure... I think most folks have these things or don't by the time they're 19 or 20, with or without college.

 

I do like the idea of that helping to broaden the pool of new candidates and then, once they're a part of the local police force, being able to then identify promising candidates for promotion and offer programs, training, education, etc. that will help them be better leaders or administrators. I'm a huge fan of increasing the budget not only for officer pay, but for continuing education for those already on the force in a way that can make higher-ranking members of the department more effective.

 

Does that make sense or am I rambling?

Ultimately, I like where you're at on this. It doesn't take a degree or some courses to be a good officer. It takes something else. Quick thinking, problem solving, the ability to talk to people, grace under pressure... I think most folks have these things or don't by the time they're 19 or 20, with or without college.

 

I do like the idea of that helping to broaden the pool of new candidates and then, once they're a part of the local police force, being able to then identify promising candidates for promotion and offer programs, training, education, etc. that will help them be better leaders or administrators. I'm a huge fan of increasing the budget not only for officer pay, but for continuing education for those already on the force in a way that can make higher-ranking members of the department more effective.

 

Does that make sense or am I rambling?

 

I think you are making sense.

 

And I would hate to burst anyone's bubble but college doesn't mean dung when it comes to being a good, effective police officer. I don't consider dropping that requirement a lowering of standards.

 

Allowing men and women that have sold narcotics on a police force is ludicrous.

 

One huge problem most Police departments are facing is greater intervention by Politicians. That is absolutely the worst thing that can happen and it will cause further deterioration of the profession. Just like there should be a complete separation of church and state, there should be a separation of police departments and politics. Sheriff's Offices fill the role of mixing politics with policing. City police departments should be autonomous to a significant degree.

 

I have an idea that would go against conventional wisdom. If you really want to increase the pool for good police candidates police agencies need to find a way to attract and assign more women in roles where they can use their skill set. This also goes for adding some geeky guys.

 

What I am proposing is hiring a portion of officers that do NOT work the street. They can do investigations, analysis, various technical jobs, and on and on and on. Think of them as Technology Officers.

 

I think this is the perfect way to integrate more quality people in the police field. And as technology increases the difference between a male and female police officer will shrink and shrink. In other words, this is how police agencies can grow with technology and eventually become uniformly diverse.

And on police officers in the future and why sex won't matter, the Science Fiction show Continuum nailed it. From Wikipedia:

 

Kiera (a police officer "Protector" from the year 2077) traverses the time portal with her standard City Protection Service equipment: an advanced suit, handgun, multitool, and cybernetic enhancements. The following features are from what is shown, and sometimes explained, throughout the series.

 

The suit appears metallic, quite akin to an ordinary jumpsuit (i.e., it features a combined shirt and pants), with the following capabilities:

 

It enables enhanced strength.

It is bulletproof and fireproof.

It can trigger complete invisibility; it also has camouflage capabilities.

It has electric charge generation that can work as a close-contact taser incapacitating a person

It is capable of emitting a field of force that can deflect bullets in a larger area

It has advanced computer processing capabilities with built-in screens for data and function access in the wrists and front thighs. The wrists have thumb slots so that they can act like a touchscreen smart phone. The wrists can act as tasers as well as hack outdated technology from the past, such as ATMs, security cameras, and such.

Also, the bulletproofing and invisibility are extended to the exposed parts of the body (head, hands and feet), perhaps by some sort of field generation.

 

The handgun takes the form of only a gun handle when not activated, but projects a barrel, finger guard and a holographic function display when activated. It has several different kinds of ammunition (e.g., normal bullets, explosive bullets, various tracking beacons or darts) that can just be selected. It appears that the gun never needs reloading so the ammunition is probably somehow generated or manufactured by the gun itself and it also has user identification so that it will emit a lethal charge to the user if he/she is unauthorized.

 

The multitool is a handheld device about as big as the gun handle. It can emit a particle spray that can almost instantly make any organic material (including fingerprints and bodies) visible and analyzable to Kiera's cybernetic sensor enhancements (or those of the suit) at least in a volume as large as a mid-sized room. It can also emit frequencies that can open electronic locks, appears to be capable of opening mechanical locks (the method is not clearly shown, the device is just touched to the lock) and has a medical injector that can apply various drugs (e.g. truth serum, stimulants and tranquilizers).

 

Kiera is cybernetically enhanced with visual implants that give her data directly overlaid on her visual field, sensors with functions that include biometric detection of close-by people (which can, for example, assist in determining whether a person is lying), other environmental metrics (e.g., precise measurement of various things around Kiera), heat detection and telescopic vision (can clearly see fingerprints on surfaces), and a memory implant that constantly records Kiera's sensory information (at least vision, hearing and smell are mentioned) so that she can recall any recent events with perfect clarity. Her sight and hearing can be live streamed in HD to people who have the tech capability and access. Additionally, when Kiera's suit is in proximity, she gains additional functionality, including complete personnel information on targets, and forensic data processing and computing. However it is not always clear whether a particular function is due to her implants, the suit, or the multitool. It is important to note that none of the enhancements are readily visible, so that Kiera appears as a perfectly normal woman of the twenty-first century.

I think you are making sense.

 

And I would hate to burst anyone's bubble but college doesn't mean dung when it comes to being a good, effective police officer. I don't consider dropping that requirement a lowering of standards.

 

Allowing men and women that have sold narcotics on a police force is ludicrous.

 

One huge problem most Police departments are facing is greater intervention by Politicians. That is absolutely the worst thing that can happen and it will cause further deterioration of the profession. Just like there should be a complete separation of church and state, there should be a separation of police departments and politics. Sheriff's Offices fill the role of mixing politics with policing. City police departments should be autonomous to a significant degree.

 

I have an idea that would go against conventional wisdom. If you really want to increase the pool for good police candidates police agencies need to find a way to attract and assign more women in roles where they can use their skill set. This also goes for adding some geeky guys.

 

What I am proposing is hiring a portion of officers that do NOT work the street. They can do investigations, analysis, various technical jobs, and on and on and on. Think of them as Technology Officers.

 

I think this is the perfect way to integrate more quality people in the police field. And as technology increases the difference between a male and female police officer will shrink and shrink. In other words, this is how police agencies can grow with technology and eventually become uniformly diverse.

 

I have more postsecondary education than most folks and you're not bursting any bubbles over here. Quite frankly, my college experience was wonderful and I wouldn't trade a day of it, but from an educational standpoint it had little practical effect except as a requirement for getting into graduate school. Now, the non-practical or indirect or tangential rewards of my college education are innumerable. Far too much is placed on a college education from a training/practical standpoint and it shouldn't be.

 

I really enjoy your outside the box thinking when it comes to recruiting new law enforcement by broadening the pool in the ways you describe. I feel like there's a lot more work to be done in bringing police departments into the 21st century but that the funding and the foresight isn't there. But as you say, a lot of that is on local politicians and foresight is generally not a specialty of city councils and statehouses.

I think you are making sense.

 

And I would hate to burst anyone's bubble but college doesn't mean dung when it comes to being a good, effective police officer. I don't consider dropping that requirement a lowering of standards.

 

Allowing men and women that have sold narcotics on a police force is ludicrous.

 

One huge problem most Police departments are facing is greater intervention by Politicians. That is absolutely the worst thing that can happen and it will cause further deterioration of the profession. Just like there should be a complete separation of church and state, there should be a separation of police departments and politics. Sheriff's Offices fill the role of mixing politics with policing. City police departments should be autonomous to a significant degree.

 

I have an idea that would go against conventional wisdom. If you really want to increase the pool for good police candidates police agencies need to find a way to attract and assign more women in roles where they can use their skill set. This also goes for adding some geeky guys.

 

What I am proposing is hiring a portion of officers that do NOT work the street. They can do investigations, analysis, various technical jobs, and on and on and on. Think of them as Technology Officers.

 

I think this is the perfect way to integrate more quality people in the police field. And as technology increases the difference between a male and female police officer will shrink and shrink. In other words, this is how police agencies can grow with technology and eventually become uniformly diverse.

 

Wouldn't this be next to impossible Guru? Considering that police departments/ law agencies are a sub-unit of local, state, and federal government.

Wouldn't this be next to impossible Guru? Considering that police departments/ law agencies are a sub-unit of local, state, and federal government.

 

Think of this way, the Chief of Police ultimately has to answer to the powers that be but beyond that the politicians have no business trying to micromanage anything that happens within the Police Department.

 

In other words, hire a quality Chief and let him run the show.

 

And any Chief needs to have enough time already to retire so that he is always in a position to tell the politicians to take this job and shove it in addition to throwing the politicians under the bus if it is called for.

 

You never want to be in a situation where you have unethical people in charge of highly ethical people.

I have more postsecondary education than most folks and you're not bursting any bubbles over here. Quite frankly, my college experience was wonderful and I wouldn't trade a day of it, but from an educational standpoint it had little practical effect except as a requirement for getting into graduate school. Now, the non-practical or indirect or tangential rewards of my college education are innumerable. Far too much is placed on a college education from a training/practical standpoint and it shouldn't be.

 

I really enjoy your outside the box thinking when it comes to recruiting new law enforcement by broadening the pool in the ways you describe. I feel like there's a lot more work to be done in bringing police departments into the 21st century but that the funding and the foresight isn't there. But as you say, a lot of that is on local politicians and foresight is generally not a specialty of city councils and statehouses.

 

 

I agree with you to an extent, furthermore, foresight means little without funding. I've seen first hand several departments(even small ones in wealthier communities) trying to cut budgets. It's a never ending struggle for both sides that truly stunts the growth of a police force.

Think of this way, the Chief of Police ultimately has to answer to the powers that be but beyond that the politicians have no business trying to micromanage anything that happens within the Police Department.

 

In other words, hire a quality Chief and let him run the show.

 

And any Chief needs to have enough time already to retire so that he is always in a position to tell the politicians to take this job and shove it in addition to throwing the politicians under the bus if it is called for.

 

You never want to be in a situation where you have unethical people in charge of highly ethical people.

 

I agree with you there. Kenton Counties PD seems to be running well from what I've heard. I could be wrong but it seems like Spike Jones(former Covington Chief) was handed the keys and told they trusted his judgement. From what I know of him and seen so far, that was the smart move if true.

I agree with you there. Kenton Counties PD seems to be running well from what I've heard. I could be wrong but it seems like Spike Jones(former Covington Chief) was handed the keys and told they trusted his judgement. From what I know of him and seen so far, that was the smart move if true.

 

I only know of Spike but I have heard a lot of good things about him.

I only know of Spike but I have heard a lot of good things about him.

 

Same, including just today a Covington native reaching out to him for something their sons been dealing with. My understanding was he was very understanding, that means a lot to folks down the line.

 

From what I've heard, read he's a guy that gets it and folks recognize that.