Dear Next President,

In the news you see the police and dramatic police involved shootings. This news is rallying people together. An example is the Black Lives Matter group. That group was put into action after many Black men were shot and killed by the police. People have been calling the police actions unfair and unthoughtful profiling of African-Americans. This is not what anyone wants, including the police who are not intentionally acting this way. Police officers are caught in the crossfire between the racist cops and the media. The media shows the police having too much power and abusing that power. It has led to the conclusion that there are police officers incapable of doing what the job asks of them. Police have not college requirements to enforce laws, but lawyers have to go to school for twelve years just to fight for it.

When my sisters and I see police shootings on the news, we have deep conversations about it. We talk and have conversations on how we agree that the police departments need more college requirements. According to EKU.org I found out that only ⅓ out of all the police agencies look for college graduates. The ⅓ look at both 60 hours, they also look for people that go to college for 2 to 4 years. There was a study shown on the website that showed that the police officers that went to college had better morals. They think outside the box. They also missed fewer days, they have better thinking abilities, they had better thinking, less accidents and fewer injuries on the job.

Some of the only information that I found while researching for a contradicting point of view is they were all repeating what I already found. EKU.org was also a website that had this information. They found out the police officers that did go to college would avoid very difficult problems. They do not use as much force as a person that did not go to college. People say that it is a big deal and that it is a big part of the job to use force, but the media and people would say that the police should use force only if necessary.

With all this information what will the President of the United States do? What can you do? The reality is that officers experience is one that many people don’t take into consideration. In the past being a police officer was a praised job. Similar to being a firefighter, teacher or other careers in which they are designed to help improve and guide our communities. Their job includes several duties that many don’t have the capacity of performing. It’s not just giving out tickets and watching over the roads, it's protecting our community from threats. They often have to be in situations where their lives and other lives are in danger. Their new reality is no longer being praised in the community, but making sure they are behaving the way society wants them to.

That is why you, the President of the United States of America, should make it so the future police officers are required to go through some form of higher education. So that all of the police officers can go and get the education they need to succeed and protect all citizens. The future protectors of your country should be acknowledged for what they are willing to do for our communities. Just as lawyers do. They get twelve years of the best teaching and what do police officers get, 2 or 4 four years top. They should get the experience that they need to be prepared and informed in current issues that we are having, whatever they might be. They could also be trained with real life situations so that when it is truly time for them to shoot someone or if they are in a hard situation. They can come out being the hero society knew they once were.

Sincerely,

Gabriela Silva