Police Training Is Less Intensive Than A Barber's In Most States

President Obama at Columbus Police graduation
Zain Murdock
July 9, 2021

After an avalanche of media-reported police brutality cases in the past few years, calls for de-escalation, racial bias, and other training have been at the center of police reform discussions. 

However, when you look at the basics of police training, you might uncover an even bigger problem.

On average, U.S. police departments require only 672 hours – less than four months – of basic training. They learn things like state laws, how to use firearms, and operating patrol cars. But let’s put that into perspective.

To be a licensed barber, you need at least 1,300 hours of training. A plumber usually spends five years learning before getting a license. And in California, where officers spend only 664 hours training, cosmetologists have to spend 1,600! 

Even worse: 37 states let new officers work for the force before attending basic training!

Police officers face life-and-death scenarios on a daily basis without even having as much training as other hands-on careers – if any at all!

And places who do require 1,000+ hours of training, like D.C. and Minnesota, aren’t exempt from police brutality either.

More hours of training won’t stop the killing – the white supremacist police system itself is clearly not invested in our safety. If we’re going to fight back against police violence, we need to know what we’re up against.

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