What does research tell us about the benefits of policing degrees?

The introduction of degree-entry routes into policing has generated considerable debate within the profession. Supporters argue that higher education equips officers with the critical thinking, ethical reasoning and evidence-based decision-making skills required for contemporary policing. Critics question whether academic study improves operational effectiveness and suggest that practical experience remains the most valuable form of police learning.

Whilst these debates continue, there is now a substantial body of research examining the relationship between higher education and policing. Drawing upon approximately fifty years of published literature, professional publications, doctoral research and contemporary conference presentations, this article examines what the available evidence tells us about the contribution of higher education to policing.

Policing has become increasingly complex

The demands placed upon contemporary police officers differ significantly from those faced by previous generations. Officers are increasingly required to engage with vulnerability, mental health, safeguarding, cyber-enabled offending, serious and organised crime, digital investigations and complex multi-agency working arrangements.

Brown (1974) argued over 50 years ago that traditional ‘black and white’ approaches to policing were already becoming inadequate and that police officers required a broader understanding of society, human behaviour and social problems. More recently, Rogers (2021) has highlighted the challenges presented by rapidly developing technology, artificial intelligence, digital evidence and emerging forms of crime.

In this context, policing increasingly requires not merely technical competence but the capacity to analyse difficult situations, exercise judgement and make ethically defensible decisions in uncertain circumstances.

Higher education, critical thinking and professional judgment

Perhaps the strongest theme emerging from the literature concerns the contribution of higher education to critical thinking and professional judgement.

Brodeur (2010) distinguished between training and education, suggesting that training tends to focus upon operational competence and specific tasks whilst education develops broader conceptual frameworks through which complex problems can be understood and addressed. Education, therefore, is concerned less with what to think and more with how to think.

Bittner (1990:17) made a similar distinction, arguing that education should not be confused with vocational preparation. In his view, education provides the ‘intellectual and moral preparation for people engaged in morally and intellectually demanding occupations.’ Policing clearly falls within this category. Officers routinely exercise discretion, balance competing interests, make ethical judgments and act under conditions of uncertainty and ambiguity.

Research also suggests that higher education increases officers’ ability to handle difficult situations and encourages more creative and innovative responses (Krimmel, 1996). These findings align closely with the rationale underpinning what was called the Police Education Qualifications Framework (PEQF). This framework emphasised autonomy, discretion, critical thinking, reflective practice and evidence-based decision-making.

Contemporary evidence presented at the 2026 Northumbria University conference Police Education: Current Landscapes and Future Directions also highlighted the role of higher education in developing these attributes (Andrew, 2026). Universities, it was argued, are particularly well placed to foster critical reflection, intellectual curiosity and independent judgment.

Higher education and police attitudes

A substantial body of research suggests that higher education influences the attitudes officers bring to their role.

Studies by Dalley (1975), Roberg (1978), Carlan and Byxbe (2000), and Guller (1972, cited by Rydberg and Terrill, 2010) found that officers with higher educational attainment were generally less authoritarian, less rigid and less punitive than their less-educated colleagues.

Additional studies suggest that degree-educated officers are more open-minded, more flexible in their thinking and more willing to engage in continuous learning (Krimmel, 1996; Paoline and Terrill, 2007; Rydberg and Terrill, 2010; Roberg, Novak and Cordner, 2008).

Roberg, Novak and Cordner (2008) also found graduate officers to be more humanistic in their outlook, whilst Caless and Tong (2015) identified lower levels of prejudice amongst highly educated officers. Wuestewald (2006) similarly reported that officers with higher educational attainment demonstrated stronger learning orientations, greater willingness to challenge assumptions and a more egalitarian ethos.

Collectively, such findings align closely with contemporary expectations surrounding procedural justice, legitimacy and ethical policing.

Operational outcomes and the use of force

One of the most frequently cited practical benefits of higher education concerns police use of force.

Paoline and Terrill (2007) found that officers with higher educational qualifications were less likely to use force than their non-degree educated counterparts. Rydberg and Terrill (2010) reached a similar conclusion, reporting that officers holding a four-year degree were significantly less likely to resort to force.

Research also suggests that degree-educated officers may receive fewer complaints and experience fewer assaults from members of the public (Shernock, 1992, cited by Krimmel, 1996).

Whilst policing outcomes are influenced by a wide range of organisational, operational and contextual factors, these findings suggest that higher education may contribute positively to interactions between officers and the public.

Communication, engagement and understanding communities

Policing is fundamentally a people-oriented profession. Success frequently depends upon an officer’s ability to communicate, negotiate, persuade, de-escalate and build trust.

Brown (1974) argued that the most important skill possessed by police officers is the ability to relate effectively to people under both normal and abnormal circumstances. Newburn (2022) similarly highlights the importance of communication, conflict resolution, negotiation, questioning and de-escalation in modern policing.

Role-play and experiential learning approaches commonly used within university settings may contribute significantly to the development of these skills. Rao and Stupans (2012), for example, found that role-play exercises support the development of communication, decision-making and problem-solving abilities.

Such findings indicate that higher education can contribute not only to academic knowledge but also to many of the interpersonal competencies increasingly demanded of contemporary police officers.

Evidence-based policing and innovation

Higher education is also associated with innovation and evidence-based practice.

Drawing upon Lee and Punch (2004), Davis and Silvestri (2020) argue that higher education can challenge organisational groupthink and encourage critical reflection. Universities expose students to competing perspectives, alternative explanations and empirical research, thereby encouraging the questioning of assumptions and established practices.

Wuestewald (2006) similarly found that highly educated officers were more willing to challenge assumptions and engage in organisational learning.

As evidence-based policing continues to gain prominence, these attributes become increasingly valuable. Modern police organisations must adapt to changing patterns of offending, technological innovation and evolving public expectations. Higher education may therefore play an important role in fostering the intellectual flexibility required to support organisational learning and reform.

Knowledge retention and professional competence

One of the most interesting contemporary findings emerged from research presented at the 2026 Northumbria University conference (Andrew, 2026).

Using a standardised assessment based upon core College of Policing concepts, the study examined retained knowledge across different police entry routes. Drawing upon responses from 357 participants, the research found that higher education routes demonstrated stronger retained knowledge than traditional training pathways.

Participants from graduate-based routes displayed particularly strong understanding of concepts such as legitimacy, vulnerability and problem-solving.

While the study acknowledged the difficulties of directly measuring police performance, it nevertheless provides contemporary evidence suggesting that higher education may contribute to deeper retention of core policing knowledge.

Higher education and professionalisation

The relationship between higher education and professionalisation is another recurring theme within the literature.

Many professions, including medicine, nursing and teaching, have increasingly relied upon higher education as a means of establishing professional standards and legitimacy. Similar developments can be observed within policing.

HMIC (2002) famously observed that: “No other profession within this system would allow new staff to practise after so little training or without the achievement of a recognised qualification.”

Bittner (1990:168) was equally forthright regarding the importance of education within policing. He argued that:

‘…it must be made clear as unambiguously as possible that education does matter in police work.’

and further observed that:

‘…no occupation can hope to achieve dignity, seriousness and importance if it refuses to take higher education seriously’ (ibid:207).

Drawing upon Fleming (2014), Davis and Silvestri (2020) argue that evidence, education and ethics have become defining characteristics of contemporary professional policing.

Contemporary challenges and ongoing debate

Despite the positive findings outlined above, the relationship between policing and higher education remains contested.

Research presented at the British Society of Criminology Conference in Nottingham during 2026 highlighted wellbeing concerns among some Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA) recruits. Participants reported significant pressures associated with balancing operational policing, shift work, probationary requirements and degree-level study simultaneously (Collins et.al., 2026).

The findings highlight the differing demands associated with educational pathways into policing and may inform discussions concerning the respective advantages and challenges of routes such as the Professional Policing Degree and the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship.

Researchers have also identified continuing cultural resistance towards academic learning within parts of policing. Drawing upon Hallenberg and Cockcroft (2017), Davis and Silvestri (2020) highlight evidence of indifference and hostility towards officers undertaking higher education, alongside broader tensions between experiential ‘craft’ knowledge and academic knowledge.

Additionally, some studies suggest that highly educated officers may experience frustration when organisations fail to make effective use of their knowledge and skills (Paoline, Terrill and Rossler, 2015; Roberg, Novak and Cordner, 2008).

These challenges should not be ignored. However, most researchers treat them as organisational and cultural issues rather than evidence that higher education itself lacks value.

What degree of confidence can we place in these findings?

The evidence reviewed here is derived from peer-reviewed journals, academic books, professional publications, doctoral research and contemporary conference presentations. Collectively, it spans approximately fifty years of policing research and covers topics including police attitudes, use of force, communication, occupational culture, organisational learning and professionalisation.

Importantly, similar findings appear repeatedly across different studies, research methods and periods of investigation. While perfect consensus does not exist, the consistency of many findings strengthens confidence in the overall conclusions.

Conclusion

The available evidence suggests that higher education contributes positively to policing through the development of critical thinking, reflective practice, communication skills, ethical reasoning and evidence-based decision-making. Degree-educated officers are consistently found to be less authoritarian, more open to learning and less likely to rely on force than their non-degree educated counterparts.

Research further suggests that higher education supports stronger understanding of diversity and vulnerability, encourages innovation and organisational learning, and contributes to the broader professionalisation of policing.

Whilst researchers continue to debate the precise relationship between education and operational police performance, the overall balance of evidence is broadly supportive of higher education’s contribution to modern policing.

More than three decades ago, Bittner (1990:319) argued that ‘the quality of our police must be upgraded by inducing police officers to take courses of higher education.’ The literature reviewed here, together with contemporary research presented during 2026, suggests that this argument remains highly relevant as policing continues to evolve in response to increasing social, technological and organisational complexity.

References

Andrew, T. (2026) Police Education: Current Landscapes and Future Directions. Presented at the Northumbria University Conference, City Campus East, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1 July 2026.

Bittner, E. (1990) Aspects of Police Work. Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press.

Brodeur, J.P. (2010) The Policing Web. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Brown, L.P. (1974) The Police and Higher Education: The Challenge of the Times, Criminology, 12(1), 114-124.

Caless, B., and Tong, S. (2015) Leading Policing in Europe. Bristol: Policy Press.

Carlan, P. E., and Byxbe, F. R. (2000) The promise of humanistic policing: Is higher education living up to societal expectation? American Journal of Criminal Justice, 24(2), 235-245.

Collins, R. and colleagues (2026) Mental Resilience Among Police Constable Degree Apprentices. Presented at the British Society of Criminology Conference: Building Resilience and Hope into Criminology and Criminal Justice, Nottingham, 7-10 July 2026.

Dalley, A.F. (1975) University and Non-University Graduated Policemen: A Study of Police Attitudes, Journal of Police Science and Administration, 3, 458-468.

Davis, C. and Silvestri, M. (2020) Critical Perspectives on Police Leadership. Bristol: Policy Press.

HMIC (2002) Training Matters. London: Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.

Krimmel, J. T. (1996) The performance of college-educated police: A study of self-rated police performance measures. American Journal of Police, 15(1), 85-96.

Newburn, T. (2022) The inevitable fallibility of policing, Policing and Society, 32(3), 434-450. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2022.2037557

Paoline, E. A., Terrill, W., and Rossler, M. T. (2015) Higher Education, College Degree Major, and Police Occupational Attitudes. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 26(1), 49-73.

Paoline, E. A., and Terrill, W. (2007) Police Education, Experience, and the Use of Force. Criminal Justice and Behaviour, 34(2), 179-196.

Rao, D. and Stupans, I. (2012) Exploring the potential of role play in higher education: development of a typology and teacher guidelines, Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 49(4), 427-436.

Roberg, R. R. (1978) An analysis of the relationships among higher education, belief systems, and job performance of patrol officers. Journal of Police Science and Administration, 6, 336-344.

Roberg, R., Novak, K., and Cordner, G. (2008) Police and Society (4th Ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Rogers, C. (2021) Policing Structures. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.

Rydberg, J., and Terrill, W. (2010) The Effect of Higher Education on Police Behaviour. Police Quarterly 13(1), 92-120.

Wuestewald, T. (2006) The Changing Face of Police Leadership, The Police Chief, 73(4), pp. 1-7.

Dr Daryl Kenny served as a police officer between 1988 and 2019. Following retirement from policing, he joined the University of Winchester in 2020 and is currently a Senior Lecturer in Professional Policing. His research interests include police education, professionalisation, police leadership, workplace learning and evidence-based policing.