Culturally responsive professional peace officer framework: a community college’s response to educating the next generation of police officer candidates

From Sir Robert Peel’s 1829 argument for a professionally trained police force to President Barack Obama’s 2015 Task Force on 21st Century Policing, the discussion on quality and content of peace officer pre-professional education is ongoing. With an increase in police officer incidents impacting the BIPOC communities across the Twin Cities, the degree to which law enforcement education programs address topics of cultural relations and anti-racism has come into question by community and government agencies. In response to the public’s call for action for law enforcement education reform, Inver Hills Community College developed a pre-professional peace officer education framework which altered their programs to mirror this paradigm shift. The current programs: the Culturally Responsive Professional Peace Officer Associate of Science degree and certificate, integrate a culturally responsive and social justice curricula, experiential teaching and learning, and program mission, vision, and core values aimed to equip the next generation of police officer candidates.