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Law enforcement professionals bear responsibility to maintain order, to prevent and solve crime, and to protect life and property. In performing such tasks, they possess a unique and significant burden, the authority to deprive others of their liberty and, in extreme cases, their lives. Preparation for such duties and responsibilities has evolved to include formalized training. A review of the literature revealed a perception that the academy curriculum is insufficient preparation for the realities of the field. As a result, the new graduates must learn the ropes while on the job. This study focused on how new investigators contended with discrepancies between what was formally prescribed and what was required of them in the field during their first year on the job. The types of sources and means of learning were explored along with the reasons for their selection or avoidance. Subjects for the study were the graduates of the 1991 Agents' Basic Training Class of the Naval Investigative Service who were assigned to the Washington D.C. area, and their field training agents. A series of in depth interviews of each subject was employed as the data collection vehicle and a grounded theory approach was taken as the framework for interpretation of the findings. A model was developed depicting the formal learning process in individual, interpersonal, and impersonal components, shadowed by a parallel informal process activated when discrepancies arose. The results provide an understanding of the processes by which the new agents compensated for discrepancies between formal training and the realities of the field, what sources they used, and why. Additionally, this study helps describe the current state of affairs relative to the informal learning that occurs immediately following a formal basic training course. Such information could also be useful in curriculum development for future basic classes and in-service courses in other law enforcement agencies. In addition, the findings add to the understanding of the contribution of learning mechanisms in the transmission of organizational procedures, norms, values, and culture. / Ed. D.

This research focuses on the association between law enforcement training and implementation of hate crime legislation. The Anti-Defamation League's state hate crime statutory provisions and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Hate Crime Reporting by States data are examined. Section one includes the following: What Constitutes Hate?, The History of Hate Crime Legislation, and Issues Facing Hate Crime Legislation. Section two surveys literature on both Hate Crime Legislation and the training of law enforcement officers. Section three discusses the Anti-Defamation League and FBI data in detail and explains the methods used to test the association between law enforcement training and reporting of hate crime legislation. Findings yield a statistically significant association between law enforcement training and reporting of hate crime legislation.

This paper focused on many aspects of higher education, and how this complex topic is affeccting law enforcement today and will continue to affect it in the future. The role of police officers has changed over the preceding two hundred years from watchman to professional peacekeeper. Experts attribute this change to increases in societal awareness of crime, the implementation of civil service protection, and educational advances.

In the study of Training and Selection of Police Officers: Toward a Community Police Model the researcher relied on data gathered using questionnaires distributed in a broad geographical range and among a diverse but relevant respondent population. Samples were obtained from police officers, and candidate officers in training and citizens from the southeastern and northeastern sections of the United States. Overall accuracy of survey documents is believed to be high. Survey documents were tested using a Chronbach's alpha test for validity and were constructed around a Likert type scale for responses. Analysis of data was accomplished using a one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) Tukey post hoc test with a .05 level of significance. Outcomes suggested a relationship between more conservative belief patterns among police officers and their post secondary education levels. Additional possibilities were noted in the overall training systems related to the police respondents as in alignment with current needs for traditional policing but, not necessarily adequate for community policing needs. These views also proceeded along educational lines. In addition, outcomes of researched based secondary education models constructed during the research, and even European models for police selection and training may offer some solutions for police in the United States. Other valuable points found during the study were indicators that careful personnel selection and college education when found in predominance among members, seemed to positively alter the general working environment of one police agency involved in the study. / Political Practice / D.Litt. et Phil.(Police Science)

In the study of Training and Selection of Police Officers: Toward a Community Police Model the researcher relied on data gathered using questionnaires distributed in a broad geographical range and among a diverse but relevant respondent population. Samples were obtained from police officers, and candidate officers in training and citizens from the southeastern and northeastern sections of the United States. Overall accuracy of survey documents is believed to be high. Survey documents were tested using a Chronbach's alpha test for validity and were constructed around a Likert type scale for responses. Analysis of data was accomplished using a one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) Tukey post hoc test with a .05 level of significance. Outcomes suggested a relationship between more conservative belief patterns among police officers and their post secondary education levels. Additional possibilities were noted in the overall training systems related to the police respondents as in alignment with current needs for traditional policing but, not necessarily adequate for community policing needs. These views also proceeded along educational lines. In addition, outcomes of researched based secondary education models constructed during the research, and even European models for police selection and training may offer some solutions for police in the United States. Other valuable points found during the study were indicators that careful personnel selection and college education when found in predominance among members, seemed to positively alter the general working environment of one police agency involved in the study. / Political Practice / D.Litt. et Phil.(Police Science)