I'd love to see a 60 credit minimum here - there isn't one. I didn't say they were morons either, I said that most aren't trained legal professionals and their job is, as you put it, to keep the peace and arbitrate difficult situations. The truth is that those difficult situations can have a lot of grey area that most cops don't understand...and they don't have to. That's why we have due process. The brightest people generally aren't going to want to be cops. Could it happen? Sure...but there are ivy league bar tenders out there too. Do you think 60 credits in a criminal justice associate degree is ample to understand the multitude of legal issues they can see? Of course not.

This is not even an anti-cop post - I'm a law and order guy. It's a simple observation on how this process often works and what the flaws are. All systems will have flaws, benefits and costs. It's a difficult job and it's a job most people wouldn't want to do. A person with a finely tuned understanding of the law is not likely to want to do it. The facts in my area are that the police typically come from lower-middle class, blue collar backgrounds and aren't the most educated guys out there. That has been my experience in other areas as well.

FYI - sheriffs in my area are elected and/or patronage jobs, they aren't civil service positions and they aren't police. There can be substantial differences from area to area on how this process works and who does what jobs.