It should be the long term goal of every criminal justice agency in the United States to confront the need for fundamental changes in personnel policy.

In defining the criminal justice system, society dictates the mission of the police, the courts, and the corrections system and what is, and is not, acceptable policy within these interwoven systems.

One of the largest and most visible elements of the criminal justice system is the police.

Responsible for active law enforcement, the police are currently slaves to a growing 911 system and are forced into a rapid response role.

Because of demand, the police are now more reactive than ever. With protection by civil service and unions, the police are shielded from outside influence and at the same time stifled by a system that rewards the hardworking and the lazy, the educated and the uneducated, to the same degree. It is this current system that is in great need of fundamental change.

The first and most important thing we need to do to bring about change is that we need to hire educated personnel. Agencies should focus their energies on hiring officers who understand and can create proactive, problem-solving initiatives – qualities written about by Herman Goldstein – rather than hiring officers who are only familiar with working in a reactive rather than a proactive manner.

Currently, the civil service systems defines the way most criminal justice agencies, including the police, work. This system does not allow for extra rewards based on education. Everyone in a civil service job is seen as equal. The only way for advancement is through standardized testing.

Because of this, many agencies get a large quantity of "lowest-common-denominator" employees. These individuals are not motivated to do a better job, because they are not rewarded for their unique skills or personal educational accomplishments.

What is the incentive for finding a better way to do something if the only way you can move up is via a standardized test that the person next to you may have crammed for? Why pursue education, pro-activity, a better work ethic, or creativity if it’s never rewarded?

Most criminal justice agencies are under the mistaken belief that just having more personnel will solve their problems. More police, more case workers, more judges, more bodies of any type will make things better.

Hiring a half dozen or two dozen morons does not make the system work any smoother. Hiring one highly educated individual with the foresight to see the big picture, however, can make all the difference in the world. The "eventually-anyone-can-be-trained" argument does not hold any water. The system does not have that much time to waste.

Personnel improvements are only going to effect crime prevention and crime control if the entire hiring system is redefined.

The line officers should be required to be as educated as the administration, because some day they will be the administration and be the ones defining policy.

Without individuals who are willing to put criminal justice theory into practice through policy, we will continue to be stuck in the rut that we find ourselves today.

Steven D. Hanks is a police officer in Monroe, Ohio.

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites