This article is not specifically about police, but it reports that (1) in today’s economy, social skills are more strongly related to employment success than in the past and (2) schools don’t usually put much emphasis on teaching social skills. This might help account for recruiting challenges, as police are competing with other employers for the same limited number of candidates who have good people skills.
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Modern Policing 
February 10, 2017 at 7:41 pm |
If social skills are so important, then why are employers complaining about the lack of math and science skills plus you have guys like Newt Gringrich complaining about kids not knowing American history.?
February 10, 2017 at 8:27 pm |
It’s a good question. My guess is that there’s some shortfall in all those areas. What the article seems to say is that social skills are more important (in employment) than they used to be. Since employment has gradually shifted from farming to manufacturing to service to information, it makes some sense.
February 10, 2017 at 11:01 pm |
I agree with you that cops need social skills; however, we still need to get our manufacturing base back. We would not have won World War I and World III without it. It is one reason why the South lost the American Civil War. In addition, manufacturing base jobs pay better than service, retail, and information industries. When America had a manufacturing base, it was a creditor nation, but when the manufacturing jobs when overseas, it when to a debtor nation. You have countries like China protecting their manufacturing base. One American CEO wanted to purchase a Chinese steel company, but the government flatly told him no since it was a national security and national asset of the country. At least the Chinese government has its priority straight. You wonder how much of American police clothing and equipment is being made in other countries compare to that made in America?
Of course, you and I talk about this before a week or two ago where there was this article on this website about the millennial generation not having good communications skills due to technology, and I pointed out that many people in prior generations did not have good communications skills either despite the fact that they had much more opportunities to develop their skills since computer technology was non-existence or was in its infancy.