The Police Career Incentive Pay Program, also known as the Quinn Bill, was enacted by the Massachusetts Legislature to encourage police officers to earn degrees in law enforcement and criminal justice. It provides educational incentives for regular full-time officers in participating cities and towns through salary increases.
For more information, read the full PCIPP Statute here.
In 1967, the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (the Johnson Crime Commission) released a report recommending more education for police officers. It said in order for the quality and effectiveness of American criminal justice to improve, its practitioners needed better training.
In 1968, Congress responded by passing the Law Enforcement Assistance Act (LEAA). This made federal funds available for law enforcement, judicial and correctional personnel to return to school and to assist college students preparing for careers in the criminal justice system. Two years later, the Massachusetts Legislature passed the Quinn Bill, an educational incentive program for our state that we now call the Police Career Incentive Pay Program.
This influx of funding encouraged many colleges and universities to establish degree programs in police science, criminology, criminal science and more. Enrollment in these programs skyrocketed, and “police science” programs are now multidisciplinary degree programs. They emphasize empirical research, development and testing of theory and the examination of policy-relevant questions across the criminal justice system and at the intersection of criminal justice and other social institutions.
Connect @MassDHE
