Implications of the Health Emergency Caused by the Coronavirus in Police Education

Abstract

The health emergency caused by COVID-19 provoked unexpected changes in educational processes worldwide. This article presents the aforementioned implications as reflections from international, national, and the National Police of Colombia's scopes. As the main objective, this research aimed to describe the implications of the health emergency in the educational process and police training. A qualitative research allowed the investigators to obtain this information; the foregoing through documentary reviews and surveys applied to eighteen teachers and thirty-six students from police schools and educational institutions in the region (six primary and secondary schools in the town of Santa Rosa de Viterbo, two schools in the municipality de Floresta, and ten schools in the city of Duitama). Once the results were obtained, it was possible to achieve the conclusions and discover those needs in education in terms of the virus' occurrence. The health situation forced the educational community to learn about the acquisition and use of technologies, which became a challenge and an immediate task that the institutions needed to face. The change from face-to-face to virtuality meant a new and challenging scenario for the education field, as it forced professors and students to change the activities they used to carry out. In the case of police education, where specific characteristics must be met within the training program, it represented a significant challenge for the National Directorate of Schools of the National Police of Colombia. Thus, due to what occurred, it was possible, to a large extent, to strengthen the educational system for the institution and offer new possibilities to the students. On the other hand, the need to include within public policies an adjustment to the traditional educational system was evidenced since the health crisis demonstrated several shortcomings.