A Reasonable Way To End The Cop Shortage
Win, Win, Win, Win, etc.
In many large cities there is a shortage of police officers. Worse, many of those cities are lowering their standards (never a good idea – See Public Education), simply to get recruits.
Consider for a moment, that there are large numbers of military vets who leave the U.S. armed forces with latent skills that might be useful and appreciated in civilian life.
You may be aware that there are military support specialties like mechanics, computer jobs, logistics, procurement and operations that new vets can fill in the civilian world. However large numbers of veterans who served and protected our country did not learn transferrable skills for the civilian job market prior to leaving the services. These might include, but not be limited to: infantry, trainers, military police, and special forces in categories including both enlisted and officer personnel.
Wouldn’t it be a good idea if the Defense Department could set up Military Exit Classes for service members who have elected not to re-up. The curriculum might be about 3 months and would focus on the basics of civilian or government law enforcement. Local, more specific law enforcment rules and procedures would be provided by the hiring authorities.
This would be a recruitment plus for vets when applying to thes various agencies. And, also important, it would provide an experienced pool of candidates for law enforcement with skills, discipline, and respect for the chain of command that might not be found in the general applicant pool. The idea would benefit both the vet and the agencies. And, the physical and mental entry requirements would not have to be lowered.
The costs of such an exit program is likely to be reasonable, especially when compared to the benefits. It saves costs on the hiring end and produces Grade A products.
In summary, the major benefits are twofold:
1. For law enforcement, the agencies will be exposed to more experienced, disciplined and motivated recruits for jobs that better match requirements with skills and proficiencies.
2. For the Vets, their military experiences will help them transition to civilian careers and advancement in those fields (just as it does in the military).
This strikes me as a Win, Win, Win, Win. The Vets win with better oppotunities, local law enforcement wins with new and better rectruitment, Military recruiting wins with thier new recruits seeing an exit path at sign up, and the communities win with higher caliber officers.
If any of you readers like this idea and you know someone in the federal government who might develop and implement such a plan, please forward it and let me kow if it gets any response.
Best,
Bob
Great idea!!!
Agree. Vote for Bob! Lowering requirements is a prescription for a bigger problem than the one one we think we have now. In fact, raising the requirements to include two years of college, or equivalent skill training in the armed forces would make feel much better about law enforcement.