Notwithstanding well-documented police lineage, the roots of organized American policing can be traced to 1845. In that year, the city of New York created the first official municipal police department against the backdrop of much public distrust. It is reasonable, then, to mark that historical era as the most probable beginning of formal concern regarding the standards and training expected of those anointed to guard societal liberties. This article chronicles the contributions of many prominent organizations and commissions to police standards and training advancements and concludes with an overview of the organizational controls currently used in the selection and development of police recruits.
International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
Organized in 1893 as the National Chiefs of Police Union, the IACP is the most recognizable and influential police organization. Its constitutional mission reveals a commitment, among other things, to professional recruitment and training efforts. In support of that mission and dating back to 1934, the association publishes a monthly journal, Police Chief, that is widely regarded as the professional voice of law enforcement and training. A comprehensive accounting in this article of all contributions made by this organization to the police profession is impractical. At a minimum, though, it is important to acknowledge its encouraging role in the creation of the National Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (NADLEST; now an international association known as IADLEST) as the official association for Peace Officer Standards and Training organizations.
Wickersham Commission
Concerned with civil unrest and a general absence of prohibition enforcement, President Herbert Hoover, in 1929, appointed the National Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement to conduct the first national investigation of the administration of justice. Under the guidance of George W. Wickersham, a former U.S. attorney general, the Commission’s fourteen published reports (1931) represent the first national effort to synchronize local, state, and federal enforcement resources in the efforts to control crime. Its Report on Lawlessness in Law Enforcement made unexpected references to spiraling police misconduct, resulting in bold recommendations aimed at promoting police accountability through effective recruitment, training, and ethics enforcement.
Even though immediate actions on most recommendations failed to materialize, it is universally recognized that the commission’s views paved the way for future change and progress. Of particular significance, however, was its progressive recommendation to require a college degree for entry-level policing employment at a time when a high school education was perceived as a sufficient education.
President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice
The President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice, also called the Katzenbach Commission after the attorney general and commission chair, is widely regarded as the most influential of all historical commissions for its revolutionary approach to the crime epidemic of the 1960s. Assembled under the leadership of President Johnson and comprised of a diverse body of experts from state and local governments, the commission conducted an extensive investigation into all aspects of crime and justice administration. The commission made thirty-four specific recommendations to improve police operations and relations, but its greatest contributions may well be its emphasis on the value of education (that all police officers should possess a college degree) and additional funding for training and crime prevention efforts.
The influence of the commission’s work is best evidenced from the modern writings of its many advocates. As is true of most initiatives, however, there are voices expressing pessimism that the recommendations have not become entrenched in the realities of modern justice enterprises. One undeniable accomplishment, though, was its visionary approach to crime and justice as a ”system.” Prior to that time, the components were uncoordinated and viewed as distinct and separate units. The commission’s recognition of this disconnect revolutionized policing (and other justice professions) as it created and simultaneously legitimized a criminal justice system.
National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorder
With widespread rioting in urban ghettos and police-community relations on the decline, President Johnson appointed the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorder, also called the Kerner Commission, to formulate a strategic plan. Because of the mounting pressures from community deterioration and an approaching presidential election, the commission hurried its recommendations; as a result, the 1968 report did little more than to echo the recommendations of the President’s Commission one year earlier. Its recommendations for local police planning and training, however, did contribute to riot operations in several instrumental ways. Mainly, it criticized the use of overly militaristic tactics as a control mechanism, opting instead to promote the more humanistic and service-oriented values accomplished through community support and interaction.
National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals
The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, in 1971, funded this commission to determine the basic course of action necessary to reduce crime and societal fear of crime. In its 1973 Report on Police, the commission made many specific recommendations designed to enhance police effectiveness through recruitment, selection, and training procedures. The progressive recommendations most notably focused on the recruitment of minorities, women, and the college educated. Of major importance, however, was the recommendation that every state should enact legislation empowering a state commission to develop and enforce minimum mandatory standards for the selection and training of police officers. At that time, thirty-five states had passed such legislation, yet not all states required compliance with those standards. The commission also designed a highly vocational template for the distribution of training within a 400-hour minimum, with the greatest concentration dedicated to patrol and investigative procedures, and called for a minimum of forty in-service training hours to be completed on an annual basis.
Accreditation
Created in 1979, the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) offers a voluntary accreditation process to all police agencies concerned with operational efficiency and professional standards. The accreditation process is costly and rigorous, and although departments benefit from enhanced professional status, fewer than 5% of police agencies nationally are accredited.
The Beginnings of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Programs
The first state to mandate minimum standards and training requirements for all police departments was New York in 1959. California followed suit with the unveiling of its voluntary version later in that same year. Compared with the complexity of modern requirements, these programs were quite humble, yet were of monumental importance as role models for the nation as a whole, because all states had formed POST organizations by 1981.
Model Minimum Standards for Recruitment and Selection
The International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST) has been proactive in the pursuit of police professionalism. Comprising the directors of the respective state POST organizations, IADLEST promotes a model of minimum standards designed to encourage states to enact standards most consistent with the building of a professional police force. States adhere to these standards in differing degrees, but the composition of the model has been instrumental as a change agent. The following sections do not represent a comprehensive account of all minimum standards, but rather focus on those most derived from the influences of past commissions.
Character Screening
Given the widespread authority allocated to the police, it is imperative that police recruits be equipped with a solid moral foundation. To achieve this objective, police organizations use a variety of screening mechanisms to enhance recruitment success.
One requirement limits police employment to American citizens. The method of citizenship, however, is irrelevant and, therefore, this practice is not one of prejudicial origin. Rather, it is merely believed that enforcement of the law is best entrusted to those committed to American ideals and possessing a fundamental knowledge of its laws.
Law enforcement agencies also conduct investigations into the moral fabric of prospective applicants. Two basic investigations are completed in furtherance of this mission. One, a criminal history examination, is conducted to exclude convicted felons from employment eligibility and any others demonstrating a propensity for continued lawbreaking. Second, people with the best perspective regarding a candidate’s moral character are interviewed. The background investigation ordinarily includes family members, neighbors, teachers, employers, and credit histories. Police recruits are also required to pass a drug test to ensure that those responsible for the enforcement of illegal drug use are not using the banned substances themselves. Drug use not only would compromise the integrity of the police department, but also would jeopardize the safety of the public.
Mental Fitness
Because of the myriad of difficult and unconventional situations encountered on a daily basis, officers must exhibit the capacity to formulate mature judgments. Police organizations use two major requirements to limit employment access to the mentally unstable. First, all applicants are psychologically tested to screen out those incapable of performing assigned duties or of enduring the stressors inherent in police work. It is extremely important that people with mental illnesses or those who are emotionally unstable be precluded from these positions of power and authority. A second initiative that strives to restrict policing duties to those of mental fitness is an educational requirement. At present, the minimum requirement is a high school diploma, but IADLEST strongly encourages all police departments to phase in a baccalaureate degree requirement in an effort to achieve the status of profession at some time in the future.
