Is Policing A Craft Or Profession Essay

There are virtually an unlimited amount of aspects about police work that places them in harm’s way every day. The debate still continues over whether policing is a craft or profession. As stated in Law Enforcement in the United States by James A. Conser, “A craft usually involves the development of skills that are generally learned through experience, not in a classroom (Conser, 2011, p.216). Conser also states, “the following are the typical characteristic identified criteria of profession: extensive preparation through education and training, a specific and specialized body of knowledge, a code of ethics (Conser, 2011, p.215).

According to the article Cops and College: Do Police Need Book Smarts by Burns states, “it found that in

encounters with crime suspects, officers with some college education or a four-year degree resorted to using force 56 percent of the time, while officers with no college education used force 68 percent of the time. "Force" included verbally threatening suspects, grabbing or punching them, using mace or pepper spray, hitting suspects with a baton, handcuffing, throwing to the ground, or pointing or firing a gun at them” (Burns, 2010). This statistic shows that if the police officer has some college education that they are most likely to not use force as for the officer who does not
have any college education.

This maybe due to the education level of the officers and they may know how to use some other tactics in order to defuses the situation.

Willis from Ideas In American Policing Improving Police: What's Craft Got to Do with it, states, “Experience, not scientific knowledge, is the foundation of effective police work. By encountering a variety of situations and people over time, patrol officers learn valuable practical knowledge and develop specific skills (Willis, 2013). Willis is saying experience is more essential for a police officer. If a police officer gets the hand on training in the field that’s the way the officers will learn how to deal with the situation if it was to occur again.

I don’t believe that a police officer should only be craft or profession but both. Policing profession just allow officers to have a more developed way of thinking, they would be able to find the different ways of dealing with certain situation due to their express in college. Just as stated in Street Smart vs. Book Smart Perin goes on by saying, “The officer with effective skills in adaptation can demonstrate controlled responses during emotionally charged and possibly dangerous conditions to maintain order and calm. In college, the variety of classes required and the diversity of other students and staff allow students to learn how to adapt to a number of situations. The ability to "decide how to best respond" to situations occurs in written work, as well as,

group discussions (Perin, 2009).
As stated in Cops and College by Wasilewski and Olson, “Usually, and given enough time, the rookies become seasoned and street smart, too, and learn there is wisdom by the ton to be gleaned from those who’ve perfected their craft from decades of trial and error. Honoring diversity means honoring the varied experiences of a wide range of backgrounds and points-of-view” (Wasilewski and Olson, 2014). I also agree with the authors because not every situation will be the same and no one is perfect, officers will make mistakes any other person and will learn from their mistakes.
In Conclusion I believe in the world of policing one should not be more craft then profession but to have some balance between both craft and profession.