RT Article
T1 Officer perceptions of ideal police candidates: view on college, military, and work experience
JF Criminal justice studies
VO 38
IS 4
SP 444
OP 463
A1 Stickle, Benjamin F.
A1 Jossie, McKenzie L.
A1 Anderson, Eric
A1 Nagel, Darien
A2 Jossie, McKenzie L.
A2 Anderson, Eric
A2 Nagel, Darien
LA English
YR 2025
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1944991301
AB Police agencies continue to face persistent recruitment challenges and evolving expectations for officer qualifications. Understanding how current officers perceive potential candidate backgrounds provides insight into the cultural and professional values that shape the policing workforce. This exploratory study examines officer perceptions of three common pre-employment experiences – college education, military service, and work – using open-ended responses to a scenario-based survey of 130 law enforcement officers. Participants described perceived strengths and reservations associated with each background. Military experience was most frequently characterized as favorable (49.2%), often linked to discipline, structure, and maturity. Work experience was positively viewed (41.5%) as a source of practical skills and real-world preparedness. College education elicited more mixed perceptions, with some officers favoring (21.5%), while others were critical of its relevance to the realities of policing (53.1%). These findings highlight how officers conceptualize desirable qualifications, offering practical insight for agencies seeking to align recruitment messaging and training priorities with workforce perceptions. The study reflects professional attitudes rather than formal hiring decisions, underscoring the importance of distinguishing between perceptions and validated predictors of officer performance.
K1 Education
K1 Employment
K1 Military
K1 Experience
K1 hiring
K1 Police
DO 10.1080/1478601X.2025.2584758