An open letter to Geoffrey Noble, the new colonel in charge of the Massachusetts State Police:
I welcome you to the Massachusetts State Police, Colonel Noble. Kudos to Gov. Healey for instituting a nationwide search to identify an extraordinarily qualified colonel/superintendent to head this storied 160-year-old public safety organization.
It goes without saying that you face challenges ahead. Unfortunately, the reputation of the agency has been tarnished by the failings of some of its members, not reflective of the whole. State Police leadership made substantial progress in terminating troopers who took advantage of their positions, yet much work remains to build a strong police force and restore public trust. I implore you to prioritize utilizing higher education as a means to help in accomplishing this goal.
With nearly 25 years in the ranks of the State Police, culminating in the position you now hold, as well as over a decade as department chair of the criminal justice program at a Massachusetts community college, I can attest that few professions have a greater correlation between success in college and success in public service than that of policing. Many studies have shown that educated officers are better at identifying mental health issues, are less likely to use force (including deadly force), are better at de-escalating tense situations, and are less likely to make arrests when other remedies are more appropriate. They are even less likely to be involved in automobile crashes.
Higher education is a bedrock of every profession, and its value for entry-level positions and advancement is universally recognized. The sacrifices made in obtaining a college education need to be recognized and rewarded by appropriately increased remuneration.
You won’t find a teaching or health care position anywhere in the Commonwealth where educational accomplishments are not recognized with increased compensation – and appropriately so, given the additional knowledge and expertise they bring to their profession. Even the men and women wearing the uniforms of the Boston Police Department see a boost in pay of 25 percent for a qualifying graduate degree, as do many of the officers serving Massachusetts’ hundreds of local police departments. The same incentives must hold true for our troopers if the agency is to regain its elite status.
One way of gaining the critical thinking skills and inherent knowledge required of police officers is through higher education. Obtaining a college degree takes years of effort and can incur exorbitant costs. Its attainment speaks volumes about the graduate: tenacity, commitment, and a demonstrated competence in a variety of subject matter areas.
When young students leave their often-homogenous backgrounds for college they are exposed to a diverse universe of fellow students and professors that provide differing points of view. As the Commonwealth develops initiatives for reduced or even free tuition at public higher education institutions, individuals from all walks of life, including underserved communities, will have even greater prospects to expand their horizons and develop opportunities not previously attainable. And with women now comprising nearly 60 percent of enrollment in America’s universities and colleges, having preferences for degree-holding applicants can only serve to increase the percentage of female officers. The opportunity to attract and retain such a diverse and expansive group of law enforcement professionals cannot be missed.
Today, the difficulty for police departments across the country to attract qualified candidates is well known. This is due partly to the response to the cultural changes in our country (for example, the defund the police movement) and partly because most other occupations are safer and require work during normal business hours (even working from home!) with nights, weekends and holidays off.
To enable the Massachusetts State Police to recruit competitively the very best law enforcement officers in the nation, the importance of higher education must be emphasized. Recruiters must be able to go to college job fairs with promises that a student’s accomplishments will be recognized via increased compensation for their college success and preference in hiring. Hiring and paying for college-educated individuals ensures a workforce better prepared for the myriad challenges of today’s policing.
Most courses in a criminal justice curriculum come not from criminal justice but from the humanities, sciences, mathematics, and social sciences departments. These mandated courses (such as English, sociology, psychology, etc.) by their nature embed a healthy dose of critical analysis and cultural sensitivity skills that are so relevant to goals of a more effective, tolerant, and inclusive police force. And all the criminal justice courses will have a strong ethics component built into the course objectives.
A college education reinforces the appreciation of America’s wonderful diversity that promotes partnerships and trust between the police and the communities they serve. This has direct payoffs for agencies that value de-escalation over force, the reduced liability from false arrest and excessive force complaints, and the presentation of articulate and persuasive professional officers.
As you work with Gov. Healey to build out priorities for the State Police, I urge you both to support the re-establishment of a progressive educational incentive for all college-educated troopers (as all other major police departments in the Commonwealth and all federal agencies have done). The days of the unsophisticated linebacker, armed only with a high school diploma and the provincial view from his own neighborhood, should be very much in society’s rear-view mirror. An incentive to pursue higher education will not only put Massachusetts State troopers on par with other professionals but will prepare them in a comprehensive fashion for a career where incompetence and ignorance can literally cost lives.
Certainly there are other barriers to guaranteeing that the best and brightest are brought in as new officers, and now is the time to reach an understanding with Gov. Healey relative to the changes that need to be made if you are going to be successful in your new position. I urge you to lead with this: recruiting and retaining a highly educated police force as a steppingstone for this organization to climb out from where it has fallen and regain the trust, respect, and esteem that it once had.
Reed Hillman served as colonel of the Massachusetts State Police from 1996 to 1999 and as chairman of the Criminal Justice Department at Mount Wachusett Community College from 2008 to 2020. He also served three terms in the Legislature and has a juris doctor from Suffolk University. He lives in Sturbridge.
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