176 lines
9.3 KiB
Plaintext
176 lines
9.3 KiB
Plaintext
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June 1990
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RESEARCH FORUM:
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FBINA GRADUATE SURVEY
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During 1988, the Institutional Research and Development Unit
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(IRDU) at the FBI Academy surveyed FBI National Academy (FBINA)
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graduates. The purpose was to gather information from State and
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local law enforcement officers by examining career patterns
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after graduation, as well as their perceptions of the NA Program.
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The data gathered could then be used by FBI managers to tailor
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training programs to meet the changing needs of these law
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enforcement practitioners.
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The respondents work at all organizational levels from
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senior executives to lower ranking officers. Of the 6,333
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graduates who attended the National Academy from July 1981, to
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December, 1987, 807 were surveyed using a stratified random
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sampling technique. Usable responses from those surveyed
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totaled 642, for a response rate of 80%.
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RESPONDENT CHARACTERISTICS
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Survey responses showed that 95% of FBINA graduates who
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attended the Academy during the 6-year period are still pursuing
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law enforcement careers. Eighty-six percent are between the ages
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of 30 and 49; 59% have 11 to 20 years of law enforcement
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experience, while 38% have more than 20 years of experience.
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Sixty-eight percent of NA graduates have 3 or more years of
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college credits.
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In fact, the increase in education level since attending the
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FBINA is quite dramatic. For instance, 18% of the senior
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executive officers held advanced degrees while attending the
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FBINA, as compared to the 30% who presently hold advanced
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degrees, a 12-percent increase during the 6-year period. A
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9-percent increase (from 30% to 39%) in the number of advanced
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degrees earned was recorded for those in middle management, and a
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13-percent increase for all other ranks.
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Respondents indicated that they transferred FBINA credits to
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another college or university (28%) or used the credits for
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mandated police training requirements (24%). NA graduates with
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3-4 years of college transferred credits more frequently to a
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college or university, while those with a high school education
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or 1-2 years of college used credits more frequently for mandated
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police training requirements.
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CAREER PATTERNS
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A large portion (40%) of those surveyed did not experience a
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job change since attending the National Academy Program. This
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figure is due in large part to responses received from senior
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executive officers (two-thirds did not change jobs). Those
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senior executives who did change jobs (13%) moved to another law
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enforcement agency.
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Jobs changed for middle managers because of lateral
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transfers and promotions, while for those in all other ranks, the
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order of frequency for job changes was promotion, lateral
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transfer, and movement to another law enforcement agency. Thus,
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senior executive officers and those at the lower ranks are more
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apt to move to another agency than are middle managers.
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In examining job changes by education level, FBINA
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graduates with ``3-4 years of college'' were promoted most
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frequently. Those with ``over 4 years of college'' were promoted
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more frequently than were those with ``high school'' and ``1-2
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years of college.''
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With regard to lateral transfers, there is a progression
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from lower to higher education levels. One-tenth of those with a
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high school education received lateral transfers, while
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one-fourth of those with advanced studies were laterally
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transferred.
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A similar progression is noted in the movement to another
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law enforcement agency from 3% at the lowest education level to
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10% at the highest level. Law enforcement officers with higher
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educational levels are being transferred or promoted more
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frequently than those with lower levels of education. Those with
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higher levels of education are also moving to other law
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enforcement agencies more often.
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PHYSICAL FITNESS
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FBINA graduates increased their participation in exercise to
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promote better physical fitness. Twenty-seven percent indicated
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their departments sponsor a health/fitness program; 22%
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participate in such programs; and 15% have been instrumental in
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developing a fitness program for their departments.
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PERCEPTIONS OF THE FBINA
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Respondent perceptions of the FBINA Program show that
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association with other attendees is the most highly rated,
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followed by knowledge gained from academic courses. The area
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having the lowest average rating is college credits earned. Each
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of these areas was examined from the perspective of rank and
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education. Variations in patterns of response are not noteworthy.
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The primary benefits cited by FBINA graduates center on
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performance and understanding of their organizations and the
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communities they serve. At each rank level and each educational
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level, the respondents more frequently indicated an improvement
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in their performance as the one best way FBINA attendance has
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assisted them in attaining their career goals. The area selected
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next in frequency at all levels of analysis was ``better
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understanding of community and/or organizational problems,''
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followed by ``improved performance and received promotion.''
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COMPUTER USAGE AMONG GRADUATES
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During the time covered by this study, a computer classroom
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was set up at the Academy and computer-based training was made
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available to students. Respondents were asked how often they
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used computers for a variety of purposes, ranging from conducting
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investigations to preparing budgets. For each activity,
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respondents indicated their level of usage prior to attending the
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FBINA and at the time of the survey. Responses ranged from
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``several times each day'' to ``never'' on a 5-point scale.
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Data were analyzed from the perspective of three groups: (1)
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Those who attended the FBINA before computer training was
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available; (2) those who attended while computer training was
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available but elected not to take the training; and (3) those who
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attended while the training was available and who did take the
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training. These three groups were compared on the frequency
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with which they used computers before their attendance at the
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FBINA and at the time of the survey.
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Examination of data gathered clearly indicates that computer
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usage for a variety of law enforcement applications is
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increasing. After attendance at the FBINA, increased use of
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computers by graduates were for preparing memoranda and reports,
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administrative recordkeeping, and conducting and managing
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investigations. In the area of report and memoranda preparation,
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for those who attended prior to computer course availability, the
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combined increase in computer usage for those who do use
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computers is 18%. For those who elected not to take computer
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courses even though the courses were available, the increase is
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7%, while for those who elected to take available computer
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courses, the increase is 25%.
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In the area of administrative recordkeeping, for those who
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attended prior to computer course availability, the increase is
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7%, while only a 2% increase is shown for those who elected not
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to take computer courses. Those who elected to take computer
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courses offered showed an increase of 30%.
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In the area of conducting and managing investigations, the
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increases are 9% (for those attending prior to computer course
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availability), 0% (for those electing not to take computer
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courses), and 21% (for those taking computer courses).
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SUMMARY
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Ninety-five percent of survey respondents are still pursuing
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law enforcement careers, and many have increased their levels of
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education since graduation. The survey also shows that those
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with higher levels of education are more likely to be promoted or
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be laterally transferred. The most highly rated benefits of
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FBINA attendance are knowledge gained from academic courses and
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association with other attendees. The FBINA appears to be
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succeeding in promoting increased knowledge and exchange of
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ideas among State and local law enforcement personnel, thus
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continuing to address the training needs of State and local law
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enforcement.
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____________
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Research conducted by Audrey B. LaSante, Operations Research
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Analyst, Institutional Research and Development Unit, FBI
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Academy.
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