Police Science Associate of Science

The Police Science Associate of Science program guides students toward careers in law enforcement and policing. The program provides a seamless transition for students who wish to attain the Bachelor's Degree in Police Science. The program also complies with the Modern Policing Degree requirements. A.B. 89 requires all Police and Sheriff's patrol officers in California to obtain a Modern Policing degree. 

Upon completion of graduation requirements and the required degree courses with at least a “C” or “P” (pass) grade in each course, the student will be eligible for an Associate of Science degree.

Program Student Learning Outcomes:
1. Upon successful completion of the program, students will be able to effectively and ethically apply analytical and critical thinking skills to evaluate and assess law enforcement interactions with multicultural communities.
2. Upon successful completion of the program, students will be able to analyze the key concepts/theories of past and current practices of the criminal justice system.
3. Upon successful completion of the program, students will be able to assess historical and present-day diversity and human rights issues pertaining to the criminal justice system.
4. Upon successful completion of the program, students will be able to apply ethical and professional standards of conduct in a law enforcement setting.

 Enrollment Projections 

The Public Safety pathway currently has a consistent 1,600 unduplicated students in the Criminal Justice program – a local degree in which students are meeting the lower-level requirements for the proposed PSCI program. This includes approximately 800 first-generation college students per year – Note: AB89 focuses on underserved populations that often are first generation college students. 

For the year 2020-2021, there were 1,533 students enrolled at Bakersfield College who declared majors in either the local Criminal Justice AA or the Administration of Justice Transfer degree. This enrollment reflects an increase of 24% since 2018-2019. A large majority of these students wish to obtain both a bachelor’s degree in the criminal justice area and a career as a law enforcement officer. During the 2020-2021 academic year, 210 students graduated with degrees in either the Administration of Justice transfer degree or the Criminal Justice AA. 

An additional target group of students is students enrolled in Early College/Dual Enrollment Criminal Justice courses at area high schools. The majority of these students will go on to complete either the local AA or the transfer degree at Bakersfield College and would have a potential interest in advanced policing. In 2020-2021 there were 201 individual high school students in the BC dual enrollment criminal justice program. The number of students increased by 20% to 241 for the year 2021-2022. We estimate 35 additional students per year enrolling in the Criminal Justice pathway, thus building this pipeline for the Police Science baccalaureate program.  Based on these data, estimated 5-year projections for cohort headcount, FTES, and revenue include the following: 

In order to promote better police practices, California recently passed AB89. This recently enacted legislation establishes minimum qualifications for specified Peace Officers and guidance for a modern policing degree program.  AB89 states that better-educated officers receive higher supervisor evaluations, have fewer disciplinary problems and accidents, are assaulted less often, and miss fewer days of work than their counterparts. It also establishes minimum education requirements for Peace Officer employment to include a modern policing degree program and bachelor’s degree. Starting in 2023, all California Police and Sheriff’s deputies will be required to obtain a baccalaureate degree, as well as complete a modern policing program. This proposal supports both the Police Science Bachelor of Arts Degree and the Modern Policing Program required by AB 89. Students enrolled in the Police Science Associate of Science program will have a clear path to transition to the Bachelor's degree program. 

Police Science Associate of Science (36 units)

Core Required Courses:
CRIM B1
CRIM B2
CRIM B3
CRIM B4
CRIM B5
CRIM B6
CRIM B7
CRIM B8
CRIM B12

List A (3 units)
COMM B1
COMM B2
COMM B4
COMM B6
COMM B7
COMM B10
COMM B15

List B (3 units)
PSYC B1A
PSYC B1B
PSYC B20
PSYC B40
PSYC B33
PSYC B30

List C (3 units)
HIST B1
HIST B2
HIST B9
HIST B15
HIST B17A
HIST B17B
HIST B18
HIST B20A
HIST B20B
HIST B25
HIST B30A
HIST B30B
HIST B33
HIST B36
HIST B4A
HIST B4B


Recommended Course Sequencing CalGETC:
1st Term (15)
Core course- CRIM B1 (3) 
Area 1a English (3)
Area 1b English (3) 
Area 1c English (3)
Core course- CRIM B2 (3)

2nd Term (15)
Core Course- CRIM B3 (3)
Core Course- CRIM B5 (3)
Core Course- CRIM B4 (3)
Area 2 Mathematics (3) 
Area 3a Arts (3)

3rd Term (15 units)
Core Course- CRIM B6 (3)
Core Course- CRIM B7 (3)
Core Course- CRIM B8 (3)
Area 3b Humanities (3)
Area 4 Social Sciences (3)

4th Term (15)
Area 4 Social Sciences (3)
Area 5b Biological Sciences(3)
Area 5a Physical Sciences (3)
Core Course- CRIM B12 (3)
Area 6 Ethnic Studies (3)
 
Major Total:      36
GE Pattern:      21
Electives            3
Total Degree    60

Recommended Course Sequencing BC Local Gen. Ed.:
1st Term (15)
CRIM B1 (3)
CRIM B2 (3)
Area 1a English Composition (3)
Area 1b Oral Communication (3)
Area 2 Mathematics (3)

2nd Term (15)
CRIM B3 (3)
CRIM B4 (3)
CRIM B5 (3)
Area 3 Arts and Humanties (3)
Area 4 Social and Behavioral Sciences (3)

3rd Term (15)
CRIM B6 (3)
CRIM B7 (3)
CRIM B8 (3)
Area 5 Natural Sciences (3)
Area 6 Ethnic Studies (3)

4th Term (15)
CRIM B12 (3)
Area 7a Lifelong Learning (3)
Area 7b Kinesiology  (1)
Area 8 American Institutions (3)
Elective (3)
Elective (2)

Major Total:      36
GE Pattern:      29
Electives          5
Total Degree    60

Police Science Associate of Science (36 units)

Core Required Courses:
CRIM B1
CRIM B2
CRIM B3
CRIM B4
CRIM B5
CRIM B6
CRIM B7
CRIM B8
CRIM B12

List A (3 units)
COMM B1
COMM B2
COMM B4
COMM B6
COMM B7
COMM B10
COMM B15

List B (3 units)
PSYC B1A
PSYC B1B
PSYC B20
PSYC B40
PSYC B33
PSYC B30

List C (3 units)
HIST B1
HIST B2
HIST B9
HIST B15
HIST B17A
HIST B17B
HIST B18
HIST B20A
HIST B20B
HIST B25
HIST B30A
HIST B30B
HIST B33
HIST B36
HIST B4A
HIST B4B


Recommended Course Sequencing CalGETC:
1st Term (15)
Core course- CRIM B1 (3) 
Area 1a English (3)
Area 1b English (3) 
Area 1c English (3)
Core course- CRIM B2 (3)

2nd Term (15)
Core Course- CRIM B3 (3)
Core Course- CRIM B5 (3)
Core Course- CRIM B4 (3)
Area 2 Mathematics (3) 
Area 3a Arts (3)

3rd Term (15 units)
Core Course- CRIM B6 (3)
Core Course- CRIM B7 (3)
Core Course- CRIM B8 (3)
Area 3b Humanities (3)
Area 4 Social Sciences (3)

4th Term (15)
Area 4 Social Sciences (3)
Area 5b Biological Sciences(3)
Area 5a Physical Sciences (3)
Core Course- CRIM B12 (3)
Area 6 Ethnic Studies (3)
 
Major Total:      36
GE Pattern:      21
Electives            3
Total Degree    60

Recommended Course Sequencing BC Local Gen. Ed.:
1st Term (15)
CRIM B1 (3)
CRIM B2 (3)
Area 1a English Composition (3)
Area 1b Oral Communication (3)
Area 2 Mathematics (3)

2nd Term (15)
CRIM B3 (3)
CRIM B4 (3)
CRIM B5 (3)
Area 3 Arts and Humanties (3)
Area 4 Social and Behavioral Sciences (3)

3rd Term (15)
CRIM B6 (3)
CRIM B7 (3)
CRIM B8 (3)
Area 5 Natural Sciences (3)
Area 6 Ethnic Studies (3)

4th Term (15)
CRIM B12 (3)
Area 7a Lifelong Learning (3)
Area 7b Kinesiology  (1)
Area 8 American Institutions (3)
Elective (3)
Elective (2)

Major Total:      36
GE Pattern:      29
Electives          5
Total Degree    60