The influence of conservation agency resources on officer entry and training requirements
| Author | Michael T Rossler,Jacob T Foster,Michael J Suttmoeller |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14613557221132491 |
| Published date | 01 March 2023 |
| Date | 01 March 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Original Research Articles |
The influence of conservation agency
resources on officer entry and
training requirements
Michael T Rossler
Illinois State University, USA
Jacob T Foster
Arizona State University, USA
Michael J Suttmoeller
Missouri State University, USA
Abstract
The current inquiry examines the influence that agency characteristics (e.g. hunting and fishing license sales, total rev-
enue) have on the minimum entry and training standards established by those agencies (e.g. minimum education, academy
type, physical standards). Open source data were collected from each state’s conservation agency through an extensive
internet search and directly contacting agencies. Findings indicated a significant relationship between the number of fishing
license and hunting license holders and both the minimum education standards set by the agency and their academy
modality (p≤.05). Conversely, no significant relationships were found between revenue from license sales and any
entry or training requirements. In addition, neither the number of license holders nor revenue was shown to be statis-
tically significant among minimum physical standards for entry-level work as a conservation officer. Thus, the number of
license holders appears to be more influential over the minimum education requirements and academy type versus gen-
erated revenue. This indicates that demand placed on natural resource organizations may have a greater effect than the
revenue they generate.
Keywords
Conservation law enforcement, game warden, education, training, entry standards, police organizations
Submitted 8 Sep 2021, Revise received 7 Jun 2022, accepted 9 Sep 2022
Introduction
The debate over what should be included as bona fide law
enforcement entry requirements has been conducted since
the time of Vollmer and the police professionalization
movement (Kelling and Moore, 1988). Since that time,
topics such as higher education, preservice training and
physical fitness standards have been debated by police
accreditation organizations and in law enforcement
agencies across the United States (Bissett et al., 2012;
Orrick, 2008). Research has also linked the professionaliza-
tion (e.g. increased educational standards, training, policy)
Corresponding author:
Michael T Rossler, Associate Professor, Department of Criminal Justice
Sciences, Illinois State University, Campus Box 5250, Normal, IL 61790,
USA.
Email: mtrossl@ilstu.edu
Original Research Article
International Journal of
Police Science & Management
2023, Vol. 25(1) 67–80
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/14613557221132491
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