SCRANTON, Pa. — Future cadets to the Pennsylvania State Police Academy won't be required to have college credits or a degree. On Monday, Gov. Josh Shapiro made the announcement, joined by State Police Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris.
"We certainly value the education that people applying have. This is not in any way, shape, or form anti-education. It's the opposite," Col. Paris said on Monday.
Michael Jenkins is the criminal justice department chair at the University of Scranton. Jenkins says many municipal police departments don't require a degree, so it makes sense for the state to do the same.
"I think when you reduce any standard, including an educational standard, you're going to widen the pool of applicants who are potentially suitable for hiring within that agency, so I can see why the state police felt that reducing the college credit requirement for their applicants would help to expand the pool of people who might be eligible," Jenkins said.
Jenkins believes that potential applicants with college credits or a degree to the State Police Academy will still have a leg up on others.
"Generally speaking, studies do show that having a college education does result in better outcomes in the different things that we'd want in policing—the use of force, for example," Jenkins said.
Jenkins doesn't think this change will deter students from seeking a degree because it's still the standard for many other criminal justice fields.
"Many students come into the criminal justice (program) say they want to work for the FBI. Some might say state police, others might want to go to law school."
The state will revisit the change in requirement after a few cadet classes cycle through the academy to see if it has made an impact.
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