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Are College Educated Police Safer?
The sad truth is that we don’t push our best and brightest to become cops. Let’s change that, and then we’ll really see better policing.
When a photo emerged of white Police Sergeant Bret Barnum hugging 12 year-old Devonte Hart, who is black, during a Ferguson inspired protest, it immediately went viral. The reason? Because it provided such a striking contrast to recent images of police—particularly when it comes to their interactions with African American males—from the shooting of unarmed teen Michael Brown to the even more recent shooting of unarmed 12-year-old Tamir Rice. The role of race in these cases and those of other unarmed black men has been debated at length. But what is not up for debate is the lack of diversity among law enforcement. And I don’t simply mean racial diversity.
The sad truth is that we as a society don’t expect, nor do we encourage, our best and our brightest to become police officers. Young people who are perceived as smart and compassionate, and who exhibit leadership qualities are encouraged to go into politics, the non-profit world, possibly business, or perhaps law, but only to become lawyers. Rarely, if ever, are they encouraged to wear a badge. This reality crystallized for me when I was discussing an allegation of police brutality with a friend who is white, male, rich, and tilts conservative. He told me he feared the police, something I found hard to believe. His reasoning? “Every time I’ve ever been pulled over I remind myself I’m dealing with a high school dropout with a gun.” His words.
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