[JIM O]

Maybe that's all you need in your area to be a cop I doubt it. Most cops today need a college degree, pass physical tests, specialized training,etc. I would be careful of your generalizations you sound like a typical demo snob.

[biggredd1]

To be a cop in dayton, ohio, all you need to do is “flunk” a test and you are in!

[absolootezer0]

http://web1mdcs.state.mi.us/HRJobSpecifications/JobSpecifications.aspx

scroll down to the state trooper job specs and check out the education requirement.
high school diploma/ ged.
then you just gotta make it through the academy.

[WaterBoard]

The majority of police departments don't require a college degree, they accept applicants that can't pass written tests, accept obese applicants, have criminal backgrounds, and histories of drug use.

Don't make the occupation to be more than what it is.

Examples:

KANSAS POLICE DEPARTMENT

Minimum qualifications: U.S. citizen, valid drivers license, at least 21 yoa, HS/GED, non tobacco user.

Los Angeles Police Department

Graduation from a U.S. high school, G.E.D. or equivalent from a U.S. institution, or a California High School Proficiency Examination (CHSPE) certificate is required.

Detroit Police Department

Minimum education requirements require police force candidates to hold at least a high school diploma or earn an equivalent certification like a General Education Development (GED).

Miami Police Department

High School Diploma or GED (accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education)

Boston Police Department

You must have graduated (or are about to graduate) from high school or possess an equivalency certificate

[WaterBoard]

1) “LAPD May Relax Its Hiring Rules; Chief Bratton proposes ending zero tolerance of past drug use and bad credit. Some fear that lower standards would bring problem officers.”

Wendy Lee, Times Staff - Writer, Los Angeles Times, August 29, 2005.

2) “A little past coke use OK, says LAPD hiring policy. Police recruitment rules draw the line at meth, heroin,”

BY KERRY CAVANAUGH, Daily News.com 11/01/2006

3) “The Austin, Texas, Police Department has established a prior-use drug policy that revolves around the experimental versus the habitual user.

4) ‘Mile High Cops - Denver - 52 of 80 new police recruits admit to prior drug use -

“Jesse Katz of the Los Angeles Times recently obtained redacted versions of the applications filled out by Denver’s 80 new police recruits last year. Fifty-two of them—that’s 65 percent—confessed to prior drug use. In
surveys of the general population, by contrast, only about half of 18-to-34-year-olds admit to having used an illegal drug.”

[Gene Eric]

There’s a perceived imbalance between the heroism and the spoils of the LEO vocation. When the heroism is overshadowed by the spoils, the taxpayers are going to react, and often with cynicism.