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College could help cops become less 'trigger happy,' according to a new study.

While college-educated policemen are more likely to be dissatisfied with the job, have negative views of their supervisors and less likely to favor community policing, researchers found that they are also less likely to use force on citizens.

"Our latest results on police views might lead one to question whether a college education is beneficial for officers," co-author William Terrill, a Michigan State University criminologist and professor in MSU's School of Criminal Justice said in a news release. "But our research is a mixed bag, and you have to take into account the behavioral effect as well. If you use less force on individuals, your police department is going to be viewed as more legitimate and trustworthy and you're not going to have all the protests we're having across the country."

The latest study involved data from 2,109 police officers in seven mid-sized to large police departments across the United States. Researchers noted that 45 percent of participants had a degree, with half majoring in criminal justice. Researchers noted that the study revealed that the type of degree did not affect negative views on job satisfaction or management.

Researchers noted that college-educated cops might be less satisfied with their job because they are jolted into harsh reality. Instead of making a difference, they are stuck with patrolling high-crime areas at night.

"We're throwing the least experienced officers into the most difficult situations simply because of their lack of seniority," he said. "It's like taking someone right out of medical school and asking them to perform heart surgery."

Researchers explain that it could be because college grads are more used to solving problems and debating issues than the more straightforward mentality of old school police administrators.

"For those departments that hire college grads," Terrill said, "I think you have to be more open-minded as a police administrator and understand who it is you're bringing in."

The findings are important because modern policing "is much more about social work than it is law enforcement. It's about resolving low-level disputes, dealing with loiterers and so on," according to Terrill.

The findings are published in the Journal of Criminal Justice Education.