Politistudentene: Hvem er de og hvorfor vil de bli politi?

The article examines the reasons fresh police students have for choosing police education and what kind of backgrounds they have. Previous research has indicated that police students’ social background has changed in that their parents have much higher education than before. Students’ perceptions of and attitudes toward police training and police work has, however, changed little, which can be seen as a paradox. This research has primarily analysed survey data. We have combined qualitative interview data with data from public administrative registers. First, we find that police students are not interested in academic and intellectual pursuits. Theoretical work in offices and in front of computers is considered negatively as boring, one-sided, and resulting in decay and the «fading away» of the employees. Practical work outdoors, however, has positive connotations. These kind of preferences and work values fit nicely with our analyses of the register data, which show that most police students are not children of academics. Our findings, thus, show far greater accordance between the students’ values, attitudes and beliefs, and their parents’ level of education than previous research has show