An examination of police academy cultural competence education and training on new police officer performance

Abstract

Community colleges educate and train significant numbers of U.S. police officers; however, an erosion of public trust and confidence in the police has overcome communities nationwide (Fagan, 2008; Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2015). High-profile law enforcement-related deaths of unarmed Black citizens have further heightened calls for police education reform nationwide. Community colleges are uniquely positioned to bring about social change, particularly in police reform and race relations (Dennis, 2020). Many states mandate diversity, implicit bias, or cultural competence curricula for police academy students; thus, new officer cultural competence education and training begins in the police academy and establishes community expectations for law enforcement behavior and performance (Oakley, 2020). Effective cultural competence education and training of new peace officers could contribute to facilitating trust, legitimacy, and just policing demanded by communities nationally. This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study examined the cultural competencies of new police officers who completed a police academy but had less than 3 years of police experience at the time of data collection. The study explored two different geographic regions of the United States, demonstrating socioeconomic and cultural differences. The findings of this study can inform community college and professional policing personnel and contribute to the social transformation of law enforcement.