This commentary is by Christina Rainville, a practicing lawyer for more than 30 years and former deputy state’s attorney for Bennington County. Her first novel, “The Courage to Tell,” is available on Amazon. Her second novel, “Dare to Live,” will be published late this year. She lives in Florida and summers in Jamaica, Vt.
I do not know how restrictive the federal Covid relief funds are, but, if possible, one good use would be to put funds into Vermont’s police forces. Not in the usual way, because the usual way is not working and has not been working for some time, as police positions across the state have gone unfilled for years with no applicants, leaving our Vermont communities underserved and our police officers overwhelmed.
Instead, the Legislature should put money into reforming how we educate future police officers. Instead of the mere 16 weeks of training Vermont offers its police recruits, put the money into two-year associate degrees for basic recruits as other countries, like Germany, do. Lower the age of applicants from 20 years old, to 18, and get them started in criminal justice college, full-time, right after high school or receipt of their GED.
As a condition of this free education, there should be a requirement — just as there is in the U.S. military — that they serve for a number of years on a Vermont police force.
Then, after they have been on the force for a few years, offer them an additional two years of college, part-time while they continue to work, so they can get their bachelor’s degrees in a related field. Upon completion of the B.A. degree, they can be promoted to more senior positions in the police workforce.
Again, as a condition of this free education, they should be required to stay on the force for an additional number of years.
Education is how Germany transformed its brutal Nazi police force, which was notorious for systemic horrific abuses, into the postwar model that is one of the most respected police forces in the world today. The 16 weeks of police training offered in Vermont is ridiculously insufficient to send our police officers, some who are so young that they cannot even legally order a beer, into the dangerous and complicated situations they handle every day.
In contrast, Germany divides its police forces into three categories:
1) The most basic positions require two-and-a-half years of police academy.
2) The more advanced positions require three years of college in criminal justice.
3) The most advanced positions require a law degree and two years of training at a police university.
Vermont, obviously, does not have the problems that Germany had in 1945, but there can be no question that an education benefit for Vermont’s police would provide many benefits for Vermont. To begin with, better-trained officers will be better officers. Plus, there will be many more applicants who apply because they want the college degree, which will eliminate staff shortages across the state, and could bring better applicants and more diversity to the system.
Also, Vermont could require semester-long classes on important issues of the day, like working with people with mental illness or other disabilities, advanced de-escalation measures, and learning to cope with the stress of their very stressful jobs.
And, in college, recruits will be exposed to different communities, cultures, religions, and people of color than they may have met in high school, which, along with extensive training, will help them to treat all members of the Vermont community with the same dignity and respect.
I do not mean to suggest that one cannot be a good police officer without a college degree. I worked with many officers as a prosecutor, and some of the officers who had not attended college did their jobs well. But I believe that all officers would benefit from advanced education far beyond the required 16 weeks of police academy, and that our communities would benefit as well.
Germany transformed its state and local police forces into highly respected partners in their communities by requiring extensive education. The United States should follow that example, and Vermont, which often leads the nation, is a great place to start.
