The Memphis, TN police department is dropping the requirement that applicants have gone to college according to this story in the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Struggling to hire enough officers, Memphis has done something eminently sensible.
“The big fence was the college requirement,” said department spokesman Sgt. Vincent Higgins. “And we’re knocking down that wall.”
Memphis’ Police Director contends that higher education is neither necessary nor sufficient for good police work. “Just because a person has a college education doesn’t mean they are going to make a good cop,” Goodwin said. “And just because you don’t have a college degree doesn’t mean you’re not going to be a good cop.”
There are many businesses in the United States that could learn from this. Whether or not someone has a college education is a poor screening device for most jobs.