As staffing challenges persist, police agencies are lowering minimum education requirements to increase applications. Yet, as this PSO Perspective discusses, doing so has important benefits and drawbacks for staffing, community relations, officer professionalism, and performance. In turn, agencies must take these trade-offs into account as they navigate potential workforce solutions.
Tradeoffs of Lowering Minimum Education Requirements for Police Staff. Michigan State University Police Staffing Observatory, PSO Perspective, Vol. 3(1), 2026.
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