Not Enough Training
For a variety of historical and constitutional reasons, there are no federally mandated training minimums for our nation’s law enforcement officers. This creates a patchwork of training requirements that vary state by state. Minimums can range from about nine months of basic training in Connecticut to no required basic training in Hawaii.
“You can become a cop in six months and don’t have to have the same amount of training as a cosmetologist.
That’s insane. ”
Required hours of training in other professions.
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Hours of police training required in other countries.
TRAINING REQUIREMENT HOURS AROUND THE GLOBE
The US Bureau of Justice Statistics 2013 study found that, on average, police officers across the country receive less than six months of basic training, slightly more than the 20-week average that is legislatively required. For perspective, one college credit equals 37.5 hours of actual time.
While our research is ongoing, in 2020 we continued to examine the police training requirements of more than 100 countries. The United States has among the lowest police training requirements by far. (Notable lower training standards include Iraq, Afghanistan, and Papua New Guinea).