Last I looked at the numbers, in comparison to other countries: France has 340 officers per 100k pop, at roughly 1 officer per 1⅛ square mile. Germany has 381 officers per 100k pop, at 2⅓ officers per square mile covered. The US has 238 officers per 100k pop, at 1 officer per 5.5 square miles. We have higher rates of crime because we lack a deterring police presence. We only keep enough police to make arrests, and obviously not enough to avoid the police being overwhelmed by any real social upheaval - as has been recently demonstrated. To have the deterring coverage of France to Germany by population, we would need 336,600 to 471,900 more officers. To have that coverage by square mile, we would need between 2,589,482 to 8,073,665 more officers.

They don't make very good money, Osok.

Unless you're a commissioner or on the force for a decade or two.

wow how much schooling did you take

Your median officer salary is really low.

I didnt see Blame put anywhere Humm no advice how to fix it then @mtpockets59 ???

Germany also has a huge training program. I think it's like, what? 2-3 years?

@osok Me or Maw?

Where in the US it's more like 3-6 months.

The turnover rate is likely much higher.

so pay better you need better smart officers. look too be a fed angent you need a bach degree

whitherws sorry

We consider college training, which I don't. And frankly, I am not sure one can be trained sufficiently to pull a dead child out of a trash can or refrigerator that was improperly secured.

name one police dept where that a requirment

Here in detroit you only had to be able to do 60 pushups in under 1 min and that would get you in but that was back in the day...

i went to school for CJ only few years but i know more then most officers do

Most of the training involved with policing is actually quite in-depth. In the US it likely could use some refreshers every few years, as I think police forget certain parts over time.

@osok Was just wondering if you asked me the question, I didn't want to answer if it was to someone else. I have a dual BA (History/Communications Theory).

nice

Kind of like how you have to get first aid credentials renewed every few years.

Sadly, I enjoy my minors more than my majors: Ethical Philosophy, Religion, and Political Science. LOL

look the system isnt work that well whats the harm in try n something diff

They necessarily, literally have to summarily suspend constitutional rights in order to do the job. That's been legislated. The problem is that that necessity is so important that it needs to be protected to a degree that almost guarantees abuse.

Depends on how you can change the system.

ok i get it

Cops here have to get 60 days training in a year in addition to other qualifications.

need to renew just to work on a car so yea i 100% agree @Maw

should be more

As it is, most officers don't get more than about 3 hours worth of policing in per day.

It's mostly paperwork, yes.

And it's soul-drainingly boring.

i heard that some department wont hire if the iq is to high

my ASE would expire every 4 yrs why doesn't a cop have something like that?

When I was an OTR truck driver, my knowledge of police work schedules and protocols was handy. I always knew when they would not be on the road because they were doing the 2 to 3 hours of shift paperwork to go home, or the hour of set up to leave the shop after they started their shift.

They have standards and certifications out the wazoo. Problem is you can't certify for behavior. Only demonstration of knowledge.

Pretty sure that they do judge you based on behaviour.

its a hard job and thank god they want to do it

They do give you practical realistic scenarios in which you have to make the right choice in order to be deemed fit to serve.

@Zuluzeit They have to take psyche profiles here to get a badge.

Apparently not to the degree they should. It's subjective.

That's a separate argument, but I agree.