Police Training or Police Education: View on the Matter

Abstract

In any transformational processes taking place in society, the problem of the law enforcement system’s unhindered functioning plays a key role. In the light of recent high-profile events related to the activities of the police and other law enforcement agencies of Ukraine, the issue of the high-quality training of police officers has become extremely important. Different views on the course of police reforming, on the possibility or impossibility of forming a reliable specialist – a police officer in a short time are widely discussed in society. That is why it will be useful to attract the positive experience of foreign countries, which will lead to increased interest in studying trends and dynamics of the police system, finding new, flexible, and effective approaches to ensure certain changes and innovations. The paper presents an analysis of the results of reforming police training systems in foreign countries (USA, Europe, and Asia). The material for the study was the doctrines and views of modern scientists on the models and areas of the police institutes’ improvement; statistics characterizing the results of the reforms. It was determined that in modern psychological and legal practice, there are at least three approaches to assessing the need to increase the level of police officers’ training. It was emphasized that reforming the law enforcement system makes new demands not only on the personality of the police officer but also on the educational conditions of personality formation. It was argued that the content and technology of new police education should be aimed at creating such psychological conditions for the personality development of future professionals, which will ensure the formation of professional competence and actualization of the personal potential of police officers. Particular attention was paid to the consideration of reforms in the structure of the National Police in post-crisis situations. The question of the need to conceptualize the qualification requirements for a police officer and the creation of a modern model of police education was raised.