In North Carolina to be a police officer the only requirements are that the person must be 20 years of age, a US citizen, have a diploma or GED, and finish BLET (North Carolina Department of Justice ). According to neuroscientist Dr. Sandra Aamodt “The brain is not fully finished developing until about age 25” then continuing to explain that the prefrontal cortex, the part that helps with behavior and decision making, is only about half way developed at age 18 (Aamodt). By requiring officers to hold some sort of bachelor’s degree the average age a person could realistically become an officer would be around age 23 or 24. This would not only allow the brain more time to develop, but also allow time for a person to gain more life experience. Most people straight out of high school have lived in a bubble their entire lives. College would allow them to experience diversity and formulate their own views and opinions. Yet, I must address the biggest flaw in this idea which is money. By states requiring officers to hold degrees they would have to compensate them more. Most states do not the extra money that this change would ultimately require. It would still be interesting for one or two states to implement and see what effect the change …show more content…
The basis of community based policing is that the police only can only do so much and to truly be effective they need the trust and collaboration of their communities. It has been proven that the relationship between civilians and police directly effects things such as whether a crime is even reported (Groenewald and Peake). The use of community practices will help foster a greater trust. A person is far more likely to rely on and cooperate with an officer they see as a friend and part of the community versus the almost militaristic style that some departments use