Yes, law enforcement has traditionally always been a blue-collar profession, although recently it's been changing (in the US at least). Why would educated or "smart" people want to become police officers, when they have dozens of "better" options that are safer and higher-paying, and not have to deal with the worst of society on a daily basis. So yeah, police and fire careers are perfect for those who are young and don't have a strong educational background, but maybe did a couple years military after high school. You can make a 6 figure salary with great benefits, great pension, civil-service protection, and have an active unpredictable non-office job? And all you need is to be 20.5 years of age and high school equivalent degree with a clean-ish background? It's not hard to figure out who in society will be attracted to that. But after the economy crashed over a decade ago, more and more people with degrees and careers in other fields have been applying to be POs (like myself). And many departments are preferring applicants with degrees, foreign-language abilities, military experience, other job experiences, etc. which is a good thing and should hopefully improve the policing culture for the better in the future.