The supply of and demand for qualified police officers are 

changing in a time of increasing attrition, expanding lawenforcement responsibilities, and decreasing resources. 

These contribute to the difficulties that many agencies 

report in creating a workforce that represents community 

demographics, is committed to providing its employees the 

opportunity for long-term police careers, and effectively 

implements community policing. This book summarizes 

lessons on recruiting and retaining effective workforces.

November 2010

e101027321

ISBN: XXX-X-XXXXXX-XX-X

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

Two Constitution Square

145 N Street, N.E.

Washington, DC 20530

To obtain details on COPS Office programs, call the

COPS Office Response Center at 800.421.6770

Visit COPS Online at www.cops.usdoj.gov

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Police Recruitment 

and Retention for the 

New Millennium 

The State of Knowledge 

Jeremy M. Wilson, Erin Dalton, Charles Scheer, 

Clifford A. Grammich 

Supported by the U.S. Department of Justice 

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 

Center on Quality Policing 

A RAND INFRASTRUCTURE, SAFETY, AND ENVIRONMENT CENTER 

i 
This project was supported by Cooperative Agreement 

2007-CK-WX-K005 awarded by the Office of Community 

Oriented Policing Services, U.S. Department of Justice. The 

opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations contained herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the U.S. Department of 

Justice. References to specific companies, products, or services 

should not be considered an endorsement of the product by 

the authors or the U.S. Department of Justice. Rather, the 

references are illustrations to supplement discussion of the 

issues. This project was conducted under the auspices of the 

RAND Center on Quality Policing (CQP), part of the Safety 

and Justice Program within RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and 

Environment (ISE). 

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps 

improve policy and decision making through research and 

analysis. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the 

opinions of its research clients and sponsors. 

RAND® is a registered trademark. 

© Copyright 2010 RAND Corporation 

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Preface
 

Maintaining the police workforce level is one of the most salient challenges facing law enforcement today. In the long run, both the supply of 

and demand for qualified officers are changing in a time of increasing 

attrition, expanding law-enforcement responsibilities, and decreasing 

resources. These contribute to the difficulties that many agencies report 

in creating a workforce that represents the demographics of their communities, that is committed to providing its employees the opportunity 

for long-term police careers, and that effectively implements community 

policing. 

These difficulties, perhaps surprisingly, have persisted through recent 

recessionary times and may become more challenging as the economy 

improves. Department resources have continued to decrease and responsibilities to increase, with agencies being asked to do more police work with 

fewer resources. Some agencies report staffing shortages (a small number 

still claim continuing drops in applications). Others question whether the 

long-term commitment of applicants and current officers will persist in 

times of economic improvement. 

To help address these challenges and provide lessons for the lawenforcement community, this monograph does not offer any new data 

but rather summarizes for police practitioners lessons on recruiting and 

retaining diverse, effective workforces. It provides a means for local officials 

to identify what has been tried elsewhere and what might be applicable in 

their own communities. It is a broad analysis of issues confronting many 

agencies and how these have developed over time. Each agency will face 

unique circumstances that it must consider in workforce planning; this 

monograph can provide guidance on relevant lessons learned elsewhere. 

Focusing specifically on recruitment and retention, this guide does not 

address other key personnel planning issues, such as specific ways of 

determining staffing need, allocation of staffing resources, distribution 

of staff attributes and qualities, and opportunity costs and implications 

of implementing recruiting and retention strategies on other parts of the 

iii 
iv Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

organization, which are also important to development of an effective, 

efficient workforce. Challenges might vary by agency, especially by local 

conditions confronting each agency. 

This monograph builds on other resources the RAND Center on 

Quality Policing has developed with the support of the U.S. Department 

of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, particularly 

a Web-based recruitment and retention clearinghouse (see RAND 

Corporation, 2010). This monograph also builds on a national summit 

of police recruitment and retention, also supported by the Office of 

Community Oriented Policing Services, held at RAND in June 2008 

(for the report, see J.  Wilson and Grammich, 2009a; for the briefings, 

see COPS, undated[a]). It should be of interest to policymakers and 

researchers concerned with understanding and responding to police 

personnel challenges. 

The RAND Center on Quality Policing provides research and analysis on 

contemporary police practice and policy. By determining what practices 

are most cost-effective and results-oriented, the center’s work helps lawenforcement agencies across the United States make better operational 

decisions and consistently perform at their best. For more information 

on the center, visit its website, http://cqp.rand.org/, or contact the 

center’s director, Greg Ridgeway, at Greg_Ridgeway@rand.org. For 

more information on this monograph or the Recruitment and Retention 

Clearinghouse, write to Jeremy Wilson, the lead author and director of 

the Recruitment and Retention Clearinghouse, at jwilson@msu.edu. 
 

 

Letter from the Director
 

Dear Colleagues, 

One of the greatest challenges law enforcement agencies face is the recruitment and retention of officers. This has been true throughout law enforcement 

history, as agencies strive to maintain an effective workforce. This topic is of special interest to the COPS Office, not only because much of our grant funding is 

geared towards the hiring of officers, but also because the recruitment, selection, 

and retention of officers is one of the most important elements to advancing 

community policing within an agency. The COPS Office has impacted the field 

in this area by promoting the “Hiring in the Spirit of Service” program to recruit 

and select law enforcement officers that reflect a more service-oriented field. 

In an effort to further advance the endeavors of the COPS Office, we partnered with the RAND Corporation to develop this guidebook on police 

recruitment and retention. The RAND Corporation has a proven track record 

in the research and analysis of numerous criminal justice issues, including 

recruitment and retention. From an analysis of promising practices in the field, 

the RAND Corporation developed this guidebook to summarize the strategies 

that are currently being used, so other agencies can benefit from these efforts. 

This publication discusses the challenges law enforcement agencies face in the 

retention of seasoned officers as well as the recruitment of new officers to the 

force. Forces that have expanded the mission of their police agencies—and the 

resulting demand for officers—illustrate the need for increased emphasis in 

retention and recruitment. After a review of the challenges, potential solutions 

are presented that are results of promising practices research and analysis. These 

solutions can be adapted to specific situations and conditions so that an agency 

can tailor their efforts to be most effective in their own local environment. 

This report expands the body of knowledge related to recruitment and retention 

and we hope it is helpful for agencies in their workforce planning efforts. It will 

be of particular interest to both law enforcement executives and managers who 

are responsible for recruitment, retention, and workforce planning. 

Sincerely, 

Bernard K. Melekian, Director 

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 

v 

Contents
 

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
 

Letter from the Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
 

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
 

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xvii
 

Abbreviations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi
 

ChAPter One
 

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
 

Objective and Approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
 

Outline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
 

ChAPter twO
 

The Dynamic Police Staffing Challenge: 


The Bucket Metaphor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
 

The Bucket Metaphor and Demand for Police Officers. . . . . . . . . .3
 

The Hole in the Bucket Is Widening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
 

Baby-Boom Generation Retirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
 

Changing Generational Preferences and Expectations . . . . . . . .7
 

Budget Crises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
 

Military Call-Ups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
 

Organizational Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
 

The Faucet (Supply) Is Tightening. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
 

Decrease in Qualified Applicant Pool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
 

Changing Generational Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
 

Increased Competition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
 

Expanded Skill Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
 

Uncompetitive Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
 

Organizational Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
 

vii 
viii Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

The Bucket (Demand) Is Expanding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
 

Community Policing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
 

Homeland Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
 

Emerging Crimes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
 

The Weakened Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
 

Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
 

ChAPter three
 

retention: Plugging the hole in the Bucket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
 

What Is Turnover?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
 

Effects of Turnover. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
 

Is Turnover a Particularly Difficult Problem 


for Law Enforcement?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
 

Who Leaves, and When Do They Go?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
 

Why Do Officers Leave?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
 

Other Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
 

Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
 

Personal Characteristics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
 

Organizational Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
 

Employee Needs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
 

What Can Agencies Do to Prevent Turnover? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
 

Planning and Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
 

Reducing the Financial Impact of Turnover. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
 

Enhancing Compensation and Other Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
 

Employee Engagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
 

Improving Organizational Effectiveness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
 

Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
 
Contents ix 

ChAPter FOur
 

recruitment: Filling the Bucket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
 

Police Recruitment Practices: Past and Present. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
 

Determining Staffing Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
 

Attracting Candidates: Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
 

Attracting Candidates: Internal Strategies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
 

Attracting Candidates: Outreach Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
 

Supplying Candidates: Opening Up the “Faucet” . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
 

Selecting Candidates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
 

Predicting Future Success in Applicants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
 

Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
 

ChAPter FIve 

The Most-Promising Practices for Maintaining 

Police workforce Levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
 

Bibliography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
 

Figures
 

S.1 The Bucket Metaphor and Demand for Police Officers. . . . . . . . xviii
 

2.1 The Bucket Metaphor and Demand for Police Officers. . . . . . . . . . . 3
 

2.2 Attrition Is Widening the Hole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
 

2.3 	New Orleans Police Department Hires and Separations, 


2004 to 2007. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
 

2.4 The Shrinking Supply Is Reducing the Flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
 

2.5 Expanding Duties Increase the Demand for Police Officers. . . . . . 19
 

3.1 Conceptual Model of Determinants of Attrition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
 

xi 

Tables
 

2.1 	Budgeted and Actual New Orleans Police Officer Levels, 


Before and After Hurricane Katrina. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
 

2.2 	New Orleans and Houston Police Department Salary 


Comparison, 2006. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
 

3.1 Summary of Example Employee Turnover Ratios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
 

3.2 Summary of Costs Associated with Police Turnover . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
 

3.3 Means of Limiting the Effects of Turnover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
 

5.1 	Practices and Relevant Research for Improving 


Police Recruitment and Retention. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
 

xiii 

Acknowledgments
 

We would like to thank the COPS office for providing support to create 

this resource. Additionally, Matthew Lysakowski and Matthew Scheider 

provided useful comments throughout its development. We appreciate 

the informal feedback provided to us by numerous police practitioners 

about the issues we raise, and the formal comments on drafts provided to 

us by our peer reviewers, Nelson Lim and Bruce Taylor. Lisa Bernard and 

RAND’s publication team improved the readability of the monograph by 

offering effective editorial and production support. We thank all of these 

individuals (and those we do not identify specifically) for significantly 

enhancing the final product. 

xv 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summary
 

Maintaining the police workforce level is continually one of the greatest challenges facing law-enforcement agencies. One indication of this 

challenge is the recent appropriation of $1 billion to the federal Office 

of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) to help stabilize lawenforcement positions. The program received more than 7,000 applications requesting more than $8 billion to support nearly 40,000 swornofficer positions. 

To help address these challenges and provide lessons for the law-enforcement community, the COPS office provided support to the RAND 

Center on Quality Policing to compile information on promising practices 

for police recruitment and retention. These are available at the Recruitment and Retention Clearinghouse website (RAND Corporation, 2010). 

This monograph summarizes for police practitioners lessons evident in 

these materials on maintaining diverse, effective workforce levels. 

A Metaphor for Police Staffing Challenges 

Diminishing sources of recruitment, increasing causes for attrition, and 

broadening police responsibilities all shape questions of workforce supply 

and demand. To conceptualize and delineate the distinct forces at work, 

we use the metaphor of a bucket (see Figure S.1 on page xvii). 

In this metaphor, the size of the bucket represents the absolute need 

for police officers. The water level, which rises and falls with accession 

and attrition over time, frequently does not fill the bucket because the 

demand for officers exceeds the ability to meet it due to resource or 

other limitations. The difference between the need and the current level 

represents unmet demand for officers. The authorized or allocated level 

of officers, representing the number of officers for which an agency is 

budgeted, is usually between the current level of officers and demand for 

them and is politically determined by such variables as workload, service 

orientation, and available resources. 

xvii 
xviii Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

Figure S.1 

The Bucket Metaphor and Demand for Police Officers 

Need/Demand 

Current

level

Allocation 

Staffing 

deficit 

Unmet 

demand 

Three forces can affect the bucket and the “water” in it. First, officers 

might be “leaked” through a hole in the bucket caused by attrition. Attrition can result from several sources. Budget crises might cause jurisdictions to reduce their number of officers. Organizational characteristics 

might become unappealing to officers who decide to pursue work elsewhere. A pending wave of baby-boom generation retirements threatens to 

reduce experience levels of police departments across the nation. Increasing numbers of military call-ups are requiring more officers for longer 

periods of time on nation-building and other military duties. Finally, 

younger generations of workers might be more likely than older ones to 

change careers to find the work they like best. Understanding these and 

other sources of retention problems is critically important. It is far more 

costly and time-consuming to recruit an officer than to retain one. Reducing retention problems can alleviate much of the need for recruiting. 

Second, new officers might be less likely to flow from the “faucet” of supply 

into the bucket than they once were. Changing generational preferences 

mean that not only might younger workers be more likely to change 

careers once entering policing—they might be less likely to enter policing 

at all. Furthermore, increasing levels of illicit drug use, of obesity, and of 

debt have led to decreases in the qualified applicant pool (Derby, 2008). 

Expanded skill requirements for police work further constrict the pool of 

qualified applicants. While many applicants (e.g., the college-educated) 

can meet these requirements, there is also competition from other sources 

for them. Just as budget crises can lead to increased attrition, so also can 

they lead to reduced salaries and benefit packages that are less likely to 
Summary xix 

attract candidates to policing. Departments might also fail to take full 

advantage of electronic media in their recruiting efforts. 

Third, the capacity of the bucket is expanding as police work broadens, 

creating the demand for more “water” to fill it. The adoption of 

community policing has broadened the duties of police agencies, which 

increases the number of functions police undertake, especially for larger 

departments. Increased emphasis on homeland security has also widened 

the responsibilities of local police officers, increasing the demand for 

them. Finally, as a result of globalization, technological advancement, and 

greater awareness, the scope of crime the law-enforcement community 

must now address continues to grow. In sum, local police roles have 

expanded to include not only benign order-maintenance duties, such as 

answering noise complaints and solving neighborhood disputes, to new, 

occasionally militaristic roles, such as counterterrorism, informationsharing, and immigration enforcement. 

Filling the Bucket: How Can Police Agencies Improve 

Recruitment and Retention? 

There is little that local police agencies can do to limit the scope of their 

work and the subsequent demand for officers. Nevertheless, there are 

some practices they can adopt to improve recruitment and retention and, 

hence, their ability to meet the demand for services. 

First, planning, analysis (including analysis of demographic trends), 

and surveys and interviews with officers about job satisfaction can help 

agencies understand their prospects for attracting and keeping officers. 

Second, agencies can reduce turnover by offering realistic job previews to 

candidates and requiring contracts with new employees. Third, agencies 

can attract and retain candidates by enhancing compensation and other 

benefits. Fourth, agencies can increase retention through greater employee 

engagement, including efforts to increase employee input in decision 

making and other evaluation and feedback opportunities. Improving 

organizational effectiveness through better hiring and management 

practices can improve the agency’s image not only with employees but 

also with the community. 
xx Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

Research on recruitment and retention is evolving and still has some 

significant gaps. Local agencies will need to identify what has been 

learned elsewhere and apply the lessons to their specific problems. This 

guide can provide a means for local officials to identify what has been 

tried elsewhere and what might be applicable to their own situations. 
Abbreviations
 

CBR chemical, biological, and radiological 

COPS Community Oriented Policing Services 

FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation 

LAPD Los Angeles Police Department 

LEAA Law Enforcement Assistance Administration 

PCSO Pinal County Sheriff ’s Office 

PERF Police Executive Research Forum 

RSS really simple syndication 

SWAT special weapons and tactics 

xxi 

ChaPteR ONe 

Introduction 

In early 2009, Congress appropriated $1 billion for the U.S. Department 

of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), for 

the COPS Hiring Recovery Program to help stabilize law-enforcement 

positions. The COPS office received a staggering 7,272 applications for 

this program requesting $8.3 billion to support more than 39,000 swornofficer positions throughout the United States (COPS, 2009a). These 

statistics highlight two glaring facts: The need for police officers is great, 

yet the ability to support the officers is limited. 

While recent recessionary conditions have mitigated some of these 

problems for some agencies, others report staffing shortages (a few 

even report continuing drops in applications), and still others report 

concern that they might not be able to retain candidates once economic 

conditions improve. Police agencies generally have not applied known 

and demonstrated tenets of personnel management to their occupation. 

Researchers have provided few empirical lessons about what works and 

what does not in recruiting and retaining officers, leaving gaps on topics 

of concern to law-enforcement officials. Law-enforcement agencies 

typically lack the time, resources, and expertise to collect and assess data 

and to develop lessons for their own personnel planning needs. 

Objective and Approach 

This monograph synthesizes research about promising practices for 

recruitment and retention, focusing on empirical studies. We explain 

what is known about various strategies, drawing heavily on the policing 

literature but supplementing that by highlighting the effectiveness of 

these strategies in the military, medicine, education, business, and other 

professions. This monograph does not present original research but can 

help local officials—each of whom will face unique circumstances— 

identify what has been tried elsewhere and might be applicable to their 

own communities. While, as noted, some gaps remain in the literature, 

1 
2 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

and some of the literature is based more on anecdote than empirical 

research, we trust that this review can help local officials understand 

what is and is not known. The resources summarized in this monograph 

are drawn from those compiled for the Recruitment and Retention 

Clearinghouse website (RAND Corporation, 2010). 

Outline 

In the next chapter, we introduce the recruiting and retention challenges 

confronting police organizations, using the metaphor of a bucket to 

delineate the issues and circumstances involved in understanding the 

problem and changes in the organizational context of policing. We use 

the bucket metaphor in subsequent chapters to illustrate how staffing 

challenges arise and how police organizations can respond to them. 

Chapter Three summarizes what is known about retaining personnel. 

Chapter Four highlights lessons about recruiting personnel. We choose 

to discuss retention first to highlight three facts: It is far more costly 

and time-consuming to recruit an officer than to retain one; improving 

retention can alleviate the need to recruit; and retention issues are 

frequently overshadowed by discourse about recruitment. The final 

chapter summarizes the most-promising recruitment and retention 

practices based on current research. 
 

 

 

ChaPteR twO 

The Dynamic Police Staffing Challenge: 

The Bucket Metaphor 

Diminishing sources of recruitment, increasing causes for attrition, and 

broadening police responsibilities all shape questions of workforce supply 

and demand. To conceptualize and delineate the distinct forces at work, 

we use the metaphor of a bucket (Figure 2.1). In this metaphor, the size 

of the bucket represents the absolute need or demand for police officers, 

which will vary by agency based on workload determinants and service 

objectives. 

The Bucket Metaphor and Demand for Police Officers 

The water inside the bucket represents the current level of police 

strength. The water level varies over time with accession and attrition 

and frequently does not fill the bucket because the demand for officers 

exceeds the ability to meet it (due to resource and other limitations). The 

difference between the need and the current level represents the true 

unmet demand for police officers. 

Usually somewhere between the current level of officers and the demand 

for them is the authorized or allocated level of officers. This represents the 

number of officers for which an agency is budgeted. A somewhat artificial 

Figure 2.1 

The Bucket Metaphor and Demand for Police Officers 

Need/Demand 

Current

level

Allocation 

Staffing 

deficit 

Unmet 

demand 

3 
 

 

4 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

threshold, the allocation level is politically determined by such variables as 

workload, service orientation, and available resources. 

The staffing deficit is the difference between the allocated and actual 

levels of police strength. Actual staffing levels rarely rise above allocated 

levels, although this can occur when an agency is building up capacity 

in anticipation of attrition. The bucket metaphor visually illustrates that 

an agency can, in fact, be understaffed when it is operating with its full 

complement of allocated officers. 

Three forces can affect the bucket and the amount of water in it. 1) Officers 

might be “leaked” through a “hole” caused by attrition. 2) New officers 

might be less likely to “flow” from the “faucet” of new supply. 3) The 

bucket might expand as police work broadens. These issues might not 

affect every agency equally or in the same magnitude, but there is evidence of them affecting at least some agencies both in the short and long 

terms. Every agency has its own unique circumstances that must be considered in workforce planning. 

The Hole in the Bucket Is Widening 

Much of the difficulty police agencies face in maintaining their workforce 

levels is a product of attrition. To be sure, attrition can be positive, as 

when a department replaces retiring officers with younger, more-skilled 

ones, or when it loses those who are not committed to being effective, 

high-performing officers. Nevertheless, attrition can be a problem when 

it occurs in waves, such as with past hiring booms ultimately resulting in 

large proportions of staff retiring within a short time of one another. This 

causes the attrition hole in the bucket to widen, making it increasingly 

difficult to maintain the actual level of officers, or the water in the bucket. 

Figure 2.2 highlights some contributors to the widening of the hole in 

the bucket: baby-boom generation retirements, changing generational 

preferences, budget crises, military call-ups, and organizational 

characteristics. 
the Dynamic Police Staffing Challenge: the Bucket Metaphor 5 

Figure 2.2 

Attrition Is Widening the Hole 

Baby-boom 

retirements Military 

call-ups Changing
 

generational
 Organizational expectations characteristics 

Budget crises 

Baby-Boom Generation Retirements 

Baby-boom generation officers on the cusp of retirement are the greatest 

pending concern. Officers of this generation are beginning to retire, 

and the number of retirements is likely to grow considerably in the 

next few years as the number of officers eligible for retirement increases 

significantly. 

This pending wave of retirements is already affecting departments. In 

the early 2000s, New York City faced an exodus of officers who had 20 

or more years of service, prompting the department to offer retention 

bonuses and incentives (“NYPD Facing a Flood of 20-and-Out Retirees,” 

2000). By the end of the decade, facing the additional challenge of paying 

pensions that the city budget could not afford, New York Mayor Michael 

Bloomberg proposed abolishing the “20-and-out” rule in his 2009 budget 

as a way to end the out-migration (Bloomberg, 2009). In Chicago, an 

early retirement option is expected to increase, from just more than 500 

to nearly 900, the deficit of officers below the overall authorized level of 

13,500, a problem exacerbated by the department’s need to wait for federal funding before scheduling new academy classes (Spielman, 2009). 

Likewise, the proportion of retirement-eligible officers in Edmonton, 

Alberta, is expected to increase from less than 10  percent in October 

2009 to nearly 20 percent by 2014; this challenge is expected to recur in 

2030 as those hired through recent aggressive recruiting become eligible 

to retire (Edmonton police official, 2009). 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

The recent downturn in the economy might delay some of these retirements and expand the applicant pool, but retirement requirements and 

pension reforms will eventually affect all departments and, perhaps, 

threaten services. In Vallejo, California, for example, recent police retirements coupled with the economic downturn have sparked community 

concern about the viability of public services (Wolf and Rohrs, 2008). In 

Boston, changes in pension benefits partially attributable to the economic 

crisis have led to increased retirement applications across several municipal services (Levenson and Slack, 2009). In Macon, Georgia, early retirement options might debilitate an already thin police force (Womack, 

2009). All these trends are widening the hole in the metaphorical bucket, 

making it difficult to replenish the supply of officers, and even creating a 

“brain drain” among the most experienced. 

Similar trends are evident in other fields, a result both of impending 

retirements of older workers and of changes in life and career goals of 

younger ones (Edwards, 2007; Losey, 2005; Graig and Paganelli, 2000). 

Yet, these trends appear to have affected retention more strongly in 

policing than in other fields (Taylor et al., 2006; Orrick, 2008a). Increases 

in law-enforcement turnover have also resulted from police salaries that 

are lower than private-sector ones, competition with military recruiters, 

a negative public perception of law enforcement, and lack of interest 

in policing by younger Americans entering the work force (Jordan et 

al., 2009; Pomfret, 2006; Egan, 2005; Tulgan, 2000). An increasing 

number of police are leaving the service prematurely, compounding the 

macro social trends and their bearing on the police profession (Jordan et 

al., 2009). Of greater concern are the reportedly low levels of career and 

organizational commitment of police officers in the United States (Frost, 

2006), similar to that in Australia and New Zealand (Lynch and Tuckey, 

2004). Low organizational commitment has been seen as an antecedent 

of a decision to voluntarily leave an organization (Frost, 2006). Yet, other 

researchers—using evidence that points to fallacies in Bureau of Labor 

statistics, increasing workforce productivity, baby boomers’ willingness to 

work longer than previous generations, the influx of younger generations 

into the workforce, and increases in life expectancy—contend that attrition 

and turnover are not as chronic a problem as social trends would indicate 

(Edwards, 2007; Graig and Paganelli, 2000; Pikitalis and Morgan, 2003). 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the Dynamic Police Staffing Challenge: the Bucket Metaphor 7 

Police studies of attrition demonstrate constancy in turnover across 

multiple locales. Rather than decreasing as a result of turnover, in 

California, between 1985 and 2005, the number of police officers 

increased from 63,694 to 84,443 (Switzer, 2006). Transfers to other 

agencies were fairly stable over the same period, between 3 and 5 percent 

annually. A survey of 205 North Carolina sheriffs’ departments of varying 

size found steady turnover (12.7 percent) and vacancy (5.5 percent) rates, 

with 28.6 percent of agencies surveyed noting either a significant or slight 

increase in turnover rates (Yearwood, 2003). 

Retention changes with economic conditions. In times of relative 

prosperity, other careers and positions might pull officers away from 

police work with higher salaries and easier work. In times of economic 

decline, officers might be less likely to leave departments due to concerns 

about better job security, but departments might be forced to lay off or 

furlough employees in the wake of budget cuts. 

Changing Generational Preferences and Expectations 

Retention also changes with generational preferences. Younger generations 

of workers might have less organizational commitment than older ones, 

with many even changing careers (Wheeler, 2008; Twenge and Campbell, 

2008). 

The changing nature of work has had a pronounced effect on attrition in 

policing. The movement toward knowledge work, currently transforming 

career paths, might be reshaping career expectations in law enforcement. 

The evolution of “boundary-less” careers has required workers to move 

between employers to gain knowledge and competencies that will 

enhance expertise and employability (Lynch and Tuckey, 2004). This 

shift heightens the challenges that police organizations face in retention 

and succession planning. In Australia and New Zealand, researchers 

found that police organizations are no longer limited to their traditional 

crime-detection and law-enforcement functions (Dupont, 2003). 

They are being reshaped into, among other things, knowledge brokers, 

social-service referrers, or problem solvers. This transformation might 

intensify turnover in law enforcement due to unanticipated realities and 

unfulfilled expectations. 
8 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

Younger workers might also change jobs more often than older ones, 

especially in metropolitan areas with diverse economies, in an effort to 

find the work they like best (Wheeler, 2008; Twenge and Campbell, 

2008). This creates difficulties for police departments, which invest 

considerable time and resources in selecting and training officers, only to 

have them leave after a short term. 

Budget Crises 

Decreasing financial support to cover officer salaries has contributed to 

widening the hole in the bucket through resulting limits both on funding 

positions and on providing competitive salaries and benefits. Two 

extreme cases of the effects this can have on retention are evident in New 

Orleans and San Diego. In New Orleans, many police officers relocating 

their families to Houston after Hurricane Katrina joined the department 

there or another elsewhere that offered higher pay and benefits than New 

Orleans had (see box, facing page). In San Diego, uncompetitive wages 

and salary freezes led many police officers to seek better opportunities 

elsewhere, including a lead detective with 21 years on the force who 

applied for a patrol position in the neighboring community of Chula 

Vista (Manolatos, 2006). 

The recent economic downturn has punctuated this problem. Many 

communities are struggling to cover the expenses of their police 

workforces and have responded with tactics ranging from hiring freezes 

and cancellations of academy classes to furloughs and even layoffs. 

Officials in Prospect Heights, Illinois, even closed the police station to 

the public and assigned the police chief and command staff to patrol 

shifts (J. Byrne, 2009). Those agencies that can hire report a spike in 

applications and improved ability to hire officers, but some practitioners 

have raised concerns about the willingness of those who are now pursuing 

positions to commit to a long-term policing career (DeLord, 2009). The 

Macon, Georgia, police chief warned that an early retirement option 

might drain his department of more-experienced and knowledgeable 

officers (Womack, 2009). Johnstown, Pennsylvania, struggles to replace 

experienced command staff on an already “depleted roster” (Faher, 2009). 
 

the Dynamic Police Staffing Challenge: the Bucket Metaphor 9 

Continued

reBuILDIng AFter A CrISIS AnD A 

CAtAStrOPhe: new OrLeAnS 

As it did on most other elements of the city, Hurricane Katrina had a profound 

effect on the New Orleans Police Department. In the storm’s aftermath, Warren 

Riley (2008), superintendent of the department, told a RAND summit on recruitment and retention, most officers were homeless, their families had been displaced, 

and, in some cases, they had to deal with the loss of loved ones. Often, Riley said, 

“[o]fficers were stranded in flooded police stations, trapped in attics, and in some 

cases, on rooftops.” 

The wounds the department suffered proved to be deep and lasting for some time 

after the storm. “The media coverage following the storm was extensive and often 

not very positive when it came to the Police Department,” Riley said. “It made [the 

department] appear to be a losing team.” The subsequent bleeding of the department would last for some time. From the time of the hurricane until the end of 2005, 

the department would have 165 separations, with 147 related to officer actions or 

lack of performance following the storm. Losses would continue past the immediate aftermath of the storm, particularly among lower ranks. Not until 2007 would 

department hiring exceed separations (see Figure 2.3 on page 10). 

By then, separations had claimed one-third of the prestorm force. Complicating matters for the department was the fact that, even before the storm, its staffing level 

was nearly 8 percent below its allocated level. A year after the storm, its staffing 

level was nearly 12 percent below its allocated level, even though the budgeted 

allocation of officers had decreased by nearly one-sixth (see Table 2.1 on page 11). 

Although the storm had wounded the department deeply, in some cases, it might 

have been more a trigger for departures than a cause of them. Over time, New 

Orleans police salaries and benefits had come to lag those of many other cities 

(Rostker, Hix, and Wilson, 2007; J. Wilson, Rostker, and Hix, 2008). For nearly 

all ranks, RAND researchers found that New Orleans’ officer pay lagged that of 

Houston, where many residents relocated at least temporarily after the storm. 

Officers above the rank of sergeant could earn about $30,000 more per year in 

Houston than in New Orleans (see Table 2.2 on page 11). 

The city faced budget constraints that limited its options for improving recruitment 

and retention. Fortunately, RAND researchers found, there were several low-cost 

initiatives the city could take to make its compensation packages more attractive 

to new officers. While New Orleans police salaries were low, their pensions were 

generous. Shifting money from pensions to salaries could, in the near term and at 
 

 

 

 

 

   

Hires

2004 2005

Year

2006 2007

Separations

250

200

150

100

50

0

Personnel

Figure 2.3 

New Orleans Police Department Hires and Separations, 

2004 to 2007 

10 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

no net cost, make the department more attractive to new recruits. Likewise, RAND 

researchers suggested increasing the frequency of promotional boards, passing only 

enough officers to fill expected vacancies, to allow talented officers to rise through 

the ranks more quickly and to create a climate of continual learning. 

For the medium term, RAND researchers suggested two low-cost options: converting appropriate jobs from officers to civilians and developing proactive recruiting 

efforts, such as after-school and summer employment for students interested in 

police work. Much of the recruiting work done by officers comprised recruiting those 

who had already volunteered and using the Internet and other tools to conduct 

background checks, tasks that civilian specialists could perform. For the long term, 

RAND researchers suggested offering housing to officers as an incentive for a commitment to years of service. 

The city government acted quickly to implement many of the recommendations. 

“The mayor,” Riley said, “and the city council...immediately bought into it, and 

it was smooth sailing from there.” State law prohibited shifting pension resources 

to salaries, but the city still substantially increased officer pay and devised several 

education incentives. These recommendations helped cut department attrition, 

which averaged 11 officers per month before Katrina, to five officers per month. 
 

the Dynamic Police Staffing Challenge: the Bucket Metaphor 11 

Table 2.1 

Budgeted and Actual New Orleans Police Officer Levels, Before and 

After Hurricane Katrina 

Level August 2005 October 2006 Change (%) 

Budgeted 1,885 1,600 –15 

actual 1,742 1,421 –18 

SOURCe: Stephanie M. Landry, New Orleans Police Department, as cited in Rostker, hix, 

and wilson (2007). 

NOte: Data for 2005 are current as of august 21, 2005. Data for 2006 are current as of 

October 24, 2006. 

Table 2.2 

New Orleans and Houston Police Department Salary Comparison, 2006 

Annual Base Salary Without Benefits ($) 

Houston 

Rank New Orleans Minimum Maximum 

Police recruit 30,732 29,164a 

Police officer 1b 33,111 36,022 50,039 

Police officer 2 34,797 

Police officer 3 36,570 55,235 

Police officer 4 38,433 51,114 

Police sergeant 42,449 61,784 67,362 

Police lieutenant 45,734 69,354 75,606 

Police captain 53,750 75,421 86,613 

Police major 58,633 

SOURCeS: Stephanie M. Landry, New Orleans Police Department, as cited in Rostker, hix, 

and wilson (2007); City of houston (undated). 

a Recruits with a bachelor’s degree earned up to $33,784 during academy and field 

training. 

b a police officer 1 with a bachelor’s degree in houston earns more than $47,000 the first 

year after the probationary period, including an equipment allowance, shift/weekend 

pay, and bilingual pay. after one year of service, a New Orleans officer receives $3,600 in 

annual state supplemental pay. all New Orleans officers also receive an annual uniform 

allowance of $500. 
12 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

A pattern is emerging: Agencies are increasingly offering early retirements 

to save costs and trim budgets, but the same budgets do not allow for 

hiring high-quality candidates—or any candidates at all—to replace 

those leaving. Limited resources have resulted not just in fewer positions 

but in attrition of officers from existing positions. 

Military Call-Ups 

Military call-ups represent another leak in the bucket. The United States 

has become increasingly involved in nation-building and peacekeeping 

missions (Dobbins et al., 2003; Jones et al., 2005; J. Wilson and Grammich, 2009b). The most recent examples of this include Afghanistan and 

Iraq. This causes the hole in the police staffing bucket to widen because 

many police officers serve as military reservists and have been called to 

active duty. During the 12-month period ending June 30, 2003, 21 percent of local police departments and more than 94  percent of agencies 

serving a population of at least 100,000 had full-time sworn personnel 

who were called up as full-time military reservists, with call-ups averaging three officers per department and ranging from one to 74 (Hickman 

and Reaves, 2006a). Such call-ups pose not just manpower but fiscal challenges; federal law requires that health benefits of these officers be maintained and their positions held until they return (Hickman, 2006). 

Organizational Characteristics 

Organizational characteristics can also affect attrition. Officers can 

choose to leave a department for a number of organization-related reasons, 

including the characteristics of their immediate supervisor, lack of career 

growth, unmet job expectations, inadequate feedback, insufficient 

recognition, or lack of training (Orrick, 2008a, 2008b; J.  Wilson and 

Grammich, 2009a). 

The Faucet (Supply) Is Tightening 

Just as trends in attrition are making it difficult to retain police officers, 

the supply of qualified potential officers might be diminishing. That is, the 

supply faucet might be tightening (see Figure 2.4). Among contributors 
the Dynamic Police Staffing Challenge: the Bucket Metaphor 13 

to this phenomenon are a general decrease in the qualified applicant pool, 

changing generational preferences, increased competition, expanded skill 

requirements, uncompetitive benefits, and organizational characteristics. 

Decrease in Qualified Applicant Pool 

As noted earlier, the generations replacing the baby-boomers now retiring 

are smaller. Exacerbating this problem are cohorts of young persons who 

do not meet the minimum requirements for becoming a sworn officer. 

Raymond et al. (2005) contend that it is becoming more difficult for 

the general population to meet minimum qualifications, such as a clean 

criminal record, little to no drug use, good physical health, and financial 

stability. Several key statistics support their claim: 

•	 About half of all 12th-graders report having smoked marijuana, and 

one in four has used some illicit drug other than marijuana by the end 

of the 12th grade, levels of prevalence that are above those of the early 

1990s (Johnston et al., 2008). 

•	 Over the past three decades, the obesity rate has more than doubled for 

adolescents 12 to 19 years of age and has more than tripled for children 

ages 6–11 (Sturm et al., 2007). 

Figure 2.4 

The Shrinking Supply Is Reducing the Flow 

Decrease in Expanded skill qualified requirements applicant pool 

Changing Uncompetitive generational benefits preferences 

Organizational 

competition 

Increased 

characteristics 
14 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

•	 From 1992 to 2001, credit-card debt among Americans 18 to 24 years 

of age rose 104 percent to an average of nearly $3,000 per person (in 

2001 dollars); the average indebted youth spends almost 30  percent 

of his or her income on debt maintenance (Draut and Silva, 2004). 

Younger generations, from which police departments would normally 

draw recruits, have higher amounts of debt than youths of previous 

decades (Draut, 2008). In some departments, outstanding debt 

can disqualify applicants, as it is interpreted as an indicator of bad 

judgment and a proclivity toward corruption. 

Education trends matter too. In the past decade, the percentage of persons 

25 to 29 years of age holding college degrees has remained virtually 

unchanged (Planty et al., 2008). Yet, the length of time to complete a 

degree has increased as the number of enrollees who complete their degree 

has decreased (Bound, Lovenheim, and Turner, 2007; Dynarski, 2005). 

These trends and the increasing costs of college can affect a graduate’s 

career choice. An educated worker might meet law enforcement’s 

increasing education standards but also has more job prospects, in turn 

making recruiting them into police work more competitive (Bound, 

Lovenheim, and Turner, 2007). 

Changing Generational Preferences 

The militaristic nature of police work, with its emphasis on hierarchy and 

formality, and the sacrifices that officers must make, from maintaining 

certain appearances (e.g., no beards or tattoos) to erratic schedules and 

long shifts, to placing themselves in harm’s way, is also likely to discourage 

applicants. This same cultural shift has driven military propensity 

downward since the early 1980s and is compounded in younger 

generations as realities of military structure conflict with differing 

youth attitudes about the nature of work (Bowyer, 2007; DoD, 2003; M. 

Wilson et al., 2000). Moreover, changes in generational values regarding 

off-duty life have been seen as affecting recruiting (Brand, 1999), whereas 

the flexibility and emotional control sought by younger generations 

appears inconsistent with traditional paramilitary police environments 

(Harrison, 2007; Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 

2007). Less than half of American youths consider a police department 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the Dynamic Police Staffing Challenge: the Bucket Metaphor 15 

or agency a “desirable” or “acceptable” place to work—more than those 

who view military service that way but fewer than those who view 

corporations, schools, or other government agencies that way (Sackett 

and Mavor, 2003). Furthermore, those entering the workforce today 

expect to have more-rapid advancement opportunities (J. Wilson and 

Grammich, 2009a) and to have a better balance between work and family 

(Scrivner, 2008). The youngest generation of workers has shown marked 

preferences toward extrinsic work values, such as prestige, changing tasks, 

social and cognitive aspects of work, and flexibility (Lawsson, 2009; 

Lyons, Duxbury, and Higgins, 2005). Many of these career expectations 

cannot be met in law enforcement. 

Increased Competition 

As noted earlier, local police agencies look to fill their ranks from a subset 

of the population that meets minimum qualifications, including a clean 

criminal record and good physical health. Nevertheless, they are not alone 

in searching for such candidates. The military, federal and state police 

agencies, private security firms, and other first-responder agencies recruit 

similar individuals, and opportunities with them have grown, particularly 

since the September 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States. The 

expansion of a security-industrial complex since the attacks has funneled 

money and personnel into increased private security positions (De Rugy, 

2006; Kondrasuk, 2004), spurred demand for fire protection (Frawley, 

2006), and stimulated national efforts and capital for security and defense 

contracting (Makinen, 2002). Military enlistments have increased, 

particularly among more-educated recruits (Kane, 2005). As a result, the 

labor market for such public services has become much more competitive. 

The greater compensation and benefits that other public service agencies 

can offer exacerbate the problem of competition for local police (Raymond 

et al., 2005; Rostker, Hix, and Wilson, 2007). 

Although recent economic conditions seem to have relieved some 

competition for applicants, local police agencies still compete for many 

of the same recruits, particularly as they lure officers and potential 

recruits away from sister agencies and communities. In recent years, 

agencies have launched several incentives to attract officers, ranging from 
16 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

signing bonuses and moving expenses to health-club memberships and 

mortgage discount programs. They have also sought recruits hundreds 

or even thousands of miles away. In the 12-month period preceding 

June 2008, the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C., 

conducted recruiting trips to Fort Campbell and Fort Knox in Kentucky; 

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; Albany, New York; Columbus, Ohio; 

Tidewater, Virginia; and Oak Creek, Wisconsin (Lanier, 2008). The 

Arlington County Police Department in Virginia sought recruits as far 

away as Puerto Rico, albeit with little success (see box, Recruiting Among 

Competitors: Arlington County [Virginia] Police Department). 

Expanded Skill Requirements 

As in other industries (Rich, 2010), the changing nature of police work 

might also restrict the flow of eligible recruits. Police agencies face 

growing, more-complex problems in increasingly diverse communities, 

and policing work has become much more community-oriented. Such 

changes expand the skills required of police officers. Officers must now 

be able to work closely with different people, including being able to 

communicate, collaborate, and interact with a diverse set of stakeholders; 

have strong analytical, problem-solving, critical and strategic thinking, 

and technology skills; and be culturally competent (Miller, 2008; 

Raymond et al., 2005; Scrivner, 2006, 2008; J. Wilson and Grammich, 

2009a). Scrivner (2008) also notes the need for officers to focus on 

service, values, multiple dimensions of performance (not just arrests), 

and outcomes. These changes call for recruitment efforts to be even more 

selective, thereby reducing the supply of qualified candidates. 

Uncompetitive Benefits 

Just as budget crises can widen the hole in the bucket, so too can they 

tighten the faucet. A key way in which law enforcement limits its supply of 

qualified applicants is by offering prospective candidates uncompetitive 

wages and benefit packages (which, as noted earlier, can also contribute to 

turnover). Officer salaries are not on par with the institutions with which 

it competes for personnel. In 2003, the average entry-level starting salary 

was $35,500 for local police officers (Hickman and Reaves, 2006a) and 
 

the Dynamic Police Staffing Challenge: the Bucket Metaphor 17 

reCruItIng AMOng COMPetItOrS: 

ArLIngtOn COunty (vIrgInIA) 

POLICe DePArtMent 

When M. Douglas Scott became chief of the Arlington County Police Department, 

he found a department below its authorized strength of more than 350  officers 

(Scott, 2008). It was also facing an attrition rate of 10 percent per year. There were 

several reasons for this. In addition to the usual lures away, such as other employment or a return to school, the department, because it is located near the heart of 

the Washington metropolitan area, must compete with federal law-enforcement 

agencies in addition to neighboring agencies. The department also has an older 

force, with about one in seven currently serving also eligible for retirement. Complicating its recruiting efforts, Scott said, was a requirement of 60 college credit hours 

for new hires, with no waiver for military or other police service. 

To maintain its numbers and increase its diversity—minority officers comprise 

22 percent of the force and female officers 17 percent—the department has tried 

a variety of strategies. Among the more successful ones have been partnering with 

local criminal-justice programs, administering monthly exams, offering recruitment 

bonuses to employees, establishing a recruiting team, and developing recruitment 

efforts and websites. Some efforts, such as outreach to the Washington-area gay 

community, were controversial among some residents but not county leaders. Other 

efforts have been less successful, including a recruiting trip to Puerto Rico, job fairs 

far removed from the jurisdiction, a cadet program, and venues, such as parades 

and county fairs, not designed for recruitment. Successful retention initiatives have 

included increasing salary and retirement benefits. As a result of these efforts, the 

department was able to reach its authorized strength of 366 officers in 2006, 2007, 

and 2008. 

$32,200 for deputies (Hickman and Reaves, 2006b). According to 2008 

Bureau of Labor Statistics data, mean annual wages for all local police and 

sheriffs’ patrol officers, at $52,480 per year, appear competitive with other 

public service occupations (such as firefighters and correctional officers), 

but they lag behind other possible professional occupations, such as physical 

therapists ($74,410 per year), physical- and social-science occupations 

($64,280), landscape architects ($64,000), electrical engineers ($85,350), 

computer-science occupations ($74,500), and construction management 

($89,770) (BLS, 2009). 
18 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

In the past decade, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures, 

benefits and compensation costs were 51.4  percent higher for public 

than private employees, a figure that had increased steadily throughout 

the decade (McDonnell, 2002, 2005, 2008). But, looking closer at the 

discrepancy, wage and work differentials between careers in state and 

local government (which includes other public service professions) were 

the main source of the gap: Unionization rates and health-care program 

participation were seen as driving the discrepancy (McDonnell, 2008). 

Yet, the perception persists among upper-level police management that 

the reactive nature of salary and benefit improvements has resulted in a 

reduced ability to compete with private employment, which is viewed as 

providing a more attractive lifestyle (Domash, 2002). 

Organizational Characteristics 

Other organizational characteristics can also limit the supply of prospective qualified officers. The image of law enforcement as a career or of a 

particular agency, residency policies, length and complexity of the hiring 

process, and opportunities for advancement and special assignments are 

just some of the organizational factors that can influence interest in law 

enforcement (J. Wilson and Grammich, 2009a). Many of these organizational obstacles might affect minority candidates disproportionately 

(Wright, 2009). All create additional difficulties for police agencies and 

can change over time. 

The Bucket (Demand) Is Expanding 

While the staffing-loss hole in the bucket is widening from increased 

attrition and the flow replenishing it is shrinking from a reduced supply 

of qualified officers, the demand for officers is increasing the size of the 

bucket (see Figure 2.5). Without remedy, this serves to exacerbate the true 

unmet demand for police service (see Figure 2.1 on page 3). 

The increasing demand for police officers largely originates from an 

expansion of their responsibilities. This is perhaps most vividly apparent 

regarding their roles in community policing, homeland security, and 

emerging crimes. 
 

 

 

  

 

   

   

   

   

   

   

 

the Dynamic Police Staffing Challenge: the Bucket Metaphor 19 

Figure 2.5 

Expanding Duties Increase the Demand for Police Officers 

Community

policing

Homeland

security

Emerging

crimes

Community Policing 

The adoption of community policing has broadened the duties of police 

agencies. In the past two decades, most police agencies have embraced 

some form of community policing (Maguire and Mastrofski, 2000; 

J. Wilson, 2006; Zhao, Lovrich, and Thurman, 1999). Since 1995, 

the COPS office (undated [b]), which is the federal agency tasked with 

advancing community policing, has invested $12.4 billion in community 

policing, enabling more than 13,000 state, local, and tribal agencies to 

hire more than 117,000 police officers and deputies. Fifty-eight percent 

of all local police departments, employing 82 percent of all officers, used 

full-time community policing officers during 2003, as did 51 percent of 

all sheriffs’ offices, employing 70 percent of all deputies (Hickman and 

Reaves, 2006a, 2006b). 

Community policing increases the number of functions police undertake, 

particularly for larger departments. Hickman and Reaves (2006a) found 

that most police agencies in jurisdictions of at least 25,000  residents 

work with citizen groups to develop community policing strategies, with 

four-fifths of those in jurisdictions of at least 100,000 having citizen 

police academies. Such proactive activities require time and resources 

in addition to those needed for traditional police responsibilities, such 

as maintaining law and order, preventing crime, and enforcing traffic 
 

 

     

  

   

20 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

hIrIng FOr COMMunIty neeDS: 

OAkLAnD, CALIFOrnIA 

The Oakland Police Department has traditionally faced a hire-and-freeze cycle, 

under which the department would hire when able but would see its staff dwindle 

during a hiring freeze (Poulson, 2008). In the early 2000s, for example, the department hired enough officers to boost its number of officers to 740 but, under a hiring 

freeze, saw this dwindle to 680. 

This cycle changed in the wake of an increase in overall violence and in homicide 

specifically (J. Wilson, Cox, et al., 2007; J. Wilson and Cox, 2008). In 2004, Oakland 

voters passed the Violence Prevention and Public Safety Act, or Measure Y. 

This required the city to invest $19 million annually in violence prevention and 

community policing. 

The sudden new demand for officers created difficulties for the department. For 

example, the community policing component of Measure  Y alone required the 

department to hire at least 63 new officers. Further complicating department hiring 

was a consent decree requiring personnel for internal affairs, evolving policing 

requirements, and an ineffective shift schedule resulting in absenteeism rates as 

high as 40 percent for patrol officers. 

Oakland’s mayor ultimately sought to boost the department to 803 officers. This 

required the department to recruit and train 342 officers in just two years (both for 

new positions and to replace retiring officers). To do so, the department launched 

several recruitment, training, and retention initiatives. It launched a $1 million saturation advertising campaign, as well as a website, provided regular email updates 

to applicants, and streamlined its process so that it could hire a candidate passing a background examination within three weeks. It accepted candidates from 

other, unaffiliated academies. It paid $1,000 to officers who recruited and mentored a new recruit through the first few months on the job. It also boosted pay 

and adopted a new shift schedule calling for seven 12-hour shifts in a two-week 

period. As of the end of June 2010, 776 officers work for the department, but 80 of 

them have received layoff notices as the Oakland City Council attempts to manage 

a $30.5-million budget deficit (Kuruvila, 2010). 

regulations. In Oakland, California, for example, this required a ten-year, 

multimillion-dollar voter initiative to address community policing, 

violence prevention, and fire and paramedic services (see box, Hiring for 

Community Needs: Oakland, California). 
 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

the Dynamic Police Staffing Challenge: the Bucket Metaphor 21 

Agencies have sought to meet increased demand in several ways. Some 

agencies might delay police responses and cut special units, while others 

rely on cameras and other technologies to do the jobs that absent officers 

would normally fulfill (C.  Fischer, 2009; Wiegler, 2008). The Lower 

Manhattan Security Initiative, which will blanket the city of New York 

with video cameras, has coincided with widespread attrition in the New 

York City Police Department, which has no pending plans to fund or hire 

additional officers (Winston, 2009). 

Homeland Security 

Increased emphasis on homeland security has also widened the 

responsibilities of local police officers, increasing the demand for them. 

Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States, 

local police have been asked to perform additional patrol and surveillance, 

gather and analyze counterterrorism intelligence, conduct risk and 

threat assessments, participate in various task forces, coordinate and 

communicate with other agencies, undergo new training and exercises, 

construct and contribute to fusion centers, formulate new policies, and 

update mutual-aid agreements and response plans for chemical, biological, 

and radiological (CBR)–related incidents (Davis et al., 2006; Raymond 

et al., 2005; K. Riley, Treverton, et al., 2005). 

Homeland security duties for local police have also included an expanded 

role in immigration enforcement. As K. Riley, Treverton, et al. (2005) 

explain, before the September 11, 2001, attacks, many departments 

had explicit policies not to arrest and detain someone whose only crime 

concerned immigration status. Federal policy has since sought more 

participation of local agencies in immigration enforcement, although some 

are resisting this. Congressional authorization in 1996 of local agencies 

to act in immigration-enforcement capacities has also pushed smaller 

agencies into roles of a more global nature (Khashu and Malina, 2009). 

Emerging Crimes 

As a result of globalization, technological advancement, and greater 

awareness, the scope of crime the law-enforcement community must now 

address continues to grow. Over the past decade, police agencies have 
 

 

 

   

22 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

had to respond to emerging crimes, such as human trafficking, identity 

theft, cybercrime, and fraud, and take on roles, such as counterterrorism 

and internal security, usually reserved for the military (Kraska, 2007). 

Human-trafficking task forces have gained increasing worldwide 

attention as a local response to the global problem of trafficking in 

persons; such a strategy relies heavily on international cooperation, 

information-sharing, and a reconsideration of the local role of police (U.S. 

Department of State, 2009). Cybercrime and the related problems of 

intellectual-property theft and fraud are likely to increase, requiring local 

agencies to train officers to counter this new and evolving threat (FBI, 

2008). In sum, local police roles evolved through the community policing 

era to include benign order-maintenance duties, such as answering noise 

complaints and solving neighborhood disputes, to new, occasionally 

militaristic roles, including counterterrorism, information-sharing, and 

immigration enforcement (Kraska, 2007). 

The Weakened Economy 

Recent economic changes have had mixed effects on police staffing. In 

this time of rising unemployment, agencies with the resources to hire 

officers have been inundated by applications, thereby permitting greater 

selectivity and, potentially, a more qualified applicant pool. A wave of 

applicants for six positions in Ventura, California, came from industries 

as diverse as software and mortgage (Scheibe, 2009). Agencies in states 

with more-severe and long-term economic shifts are receiving applicants 

seeking to move from manufacturing to service positions (Goeller, 2009). 

In Raleigh, North Carolina, applications for police positions more than 

doubled after the 2008 recession hit, despite the pessimism of command 

staff that the department’s true staffing need might still never be met 

(S. Chambers, 2009). New York City has seen a flood of applicants to 

its shrinking department, including those from investment banking, an 

apparently new source of recruits (Schmidt, 2009). 

Police leaders, however, question the long-term commitment of these candidates to their organization, particularly as jobs become more plentiful 

in other sectors (DeLord, 2009). Concerns about applicants’ motivations, 

which arose in the burst of recruiting following the September 11, 2001, 
 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

   

 

   

   

   

     

   

 

the Dynamic Police Staffing Challenge: the Bucket Metaphor 23 

terrorist attacks, have matured into a crisis of confidence among recruiters and command staff about the quality of recruits (Domash, 2002; 

S. Chambers, 2009). Hiring standards remain the same for inexperienced candidates in areas where the economy has led to increases in 

applicants (Madrid, 2009). Having more applicants to screen increases 

the cost and substantive difficulty of assessing and selecting the best 

candidates for the job. More applications do not necessarily mean more 

qualified applicants; as one police executive warned, “You can’t just hire 

anybody” (Codispoti, 2009). 

At the same time, a weakened economy can also exacerbate staffing problems. Assuming a steady demand for police work, resource shortfalls that 

lead to furloughs, layoffs, and hiring freezes will expand both the staffing 

deficit and the true unmet demand for police service (see Figure 2.1 on 

page 3). Economic problems also highlight the uncertainty of the environments in which police departments must operate. Violent- and property-crime levels decreased during the recessionary year of 2008 (FBI, 

2009). Such a decrease can be attributed partly to policing strategies that 

must continue in order to stave off potential increases but that constricting resources will make difficult to maintain (Camper and Brown, 2008; 

Moore, 2009). 

Police staffing cuts resulting from the recession have occurred in jurisdictions ranging in size, geography, and organization from Santa Rosa, 

California (McCoy, 2009), to Gwinnett County, Georgia (Fox, 2009), 

to Toledo, Ohio (Rice, 2009), to Cook County, Illinois, to Sacramento, California (Johnson, 2008). Indeed, a 2008 survey by PERF 

(C. Fischer, 2009) revealed that 63 percent of responding agencies were 

preparing plans for funding cuts, with 31 percent of the cuts aimed at 

funding for sworn personnel, even after many of the agencies already 

made cuts to staffing via overtime reductions (62 percent), sworn-officer and civilian hiring freezes (27 and 53 percent, respectively), diminished recruit classes (34 percent), reducing employment levels through 

attrition (24 percent), furloughs (10 percent), and layoffs or forced retirements (7 percent).1 Budget deficits are also causing cuts among police 

1. The sampling frame for and response rate of this survey is not evident in the report, 

so the generalizability of these findings is unclear. 
   

   

 

 

   

 

   

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

24 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

programs. For example, in addition to 132 sworn-deputy layoffs (after just 

saving 70 positions), the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department grounded its 

helicopters, cut problem-oriented police units, and returned special weapons and tactics (SWAT) and canine officers to patrol to manage cuts to the 

department (R. Lewis, 2009). San Francisco police are skeptical that they 

can afford to fill existing foot-patrol positions, much less add recommended 

new ones (Sward, 2008). More broadly, the PERF (C. Fischer, 2009) survey 

indicated that 29 percent of responding agencies anticipated discontinuing 

special units (e.g., street crimes, narcotics, and community policing units). 

Such service cuts could intensify the workload of remaining police and 

increase the true level of unmet demand for police service. 

While the economy has made it more difficult for police organizations to 

meet their workforce needs, the long-term systemic changes highlighted 

in this chapter suggest that staffing challenges will remain an issue even 

after the economy improves. Past hiring booms and freezes will create 

difficulties as they ripple through the organization over time—from field 

training and promotion to personnel budget consumption and retention. 

Resulting uneven distributions in the workforce can cause significant 

administrative challenges even in organizations that are fully staffed. 

Conclusion 

Police agencies face a threefold challenge in meeting the demand 

for officers: Attrition is increasing, sources of new recruits might be 

decreasing, and the demand for their work is expanding. 

Attrition might increase as a result of the following: 

•	 baby-boom generation retirements. In some agencies, large proportions 

of officers are near or eligible for retirement and could lead to a sharp 

decrease in staffing levels. 

•	 military call-ups. A substantial number of agencies have officers who 

serve in military reserve forces; their deployment not only drains 

staff but also poses fiscal challenges through maintenance of benefits 

for them. 
the Dynamic Police Staffing Challenge: the Bucket Metaphor 25 

•	 changing generational expectations. Younger workers might have less 

organizational commitment than older ones and seek to change jobs 

more often in “boundary-less” careers. 

•	 budget crises. Decreasing financial support to cover officer salaries 

limits some agencies’ ability to prevent their officers from going to 

other agencies or even leaving the field. 

•	 organizational characteristics. Immediate supervisors, career growth 

opportunities, recognition, and feedback can all affect whether an 

officer will stay or leave. 

There are also several causes to diminishing sources of new officers. Some 

of these are similar to those contributing to attrition. They include the 

following: 

•	 a decrease in the qualified applicant pool. Large numbers of youths 

have used drugs, are out of shape, or have excessive debt. 

•	 changing generational preferences. Similar to those that might get 

younger workers to leave the profession, changing generational 

preferences might lead younger workers to seek nonmilitaristic or 

more-flexible work. 

•	 increased competition. The military, federal and state police agencies, 

private security firms, and other first-responder agencies recruit similar 

individuals, and competition for them has grown in the past decade. 

•	 expanded skill requirements. Police work increasingly requires a broad 

range of skills that not all candidates might have. 

•	 uncompetitive benefits. Police salaries lag behind those for many 

professions, although benefits and compensation for public employees 

have increased faster than those for private ones in the past decade. 

•	 organizational characteristics. The image of a law-enforcement agency 

and the opportunities it offers, as well as the length and complexity of 

its hiring process, can all affect how many recruits might be attracted. 
26 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

The potential for increased attrition and reduced supply makes it 

increasingly difficult for police agencies to meet the expanding demand 

for their services. There are three principal causes of this expanding 

demand: 

•	 community policing. The adoption of community policing has 

increased the number of functions local agencies must undertake, 

functions that require time and resources in addition to those for 

traditional police responsibilities. 

•	 homeland security. In the past decade, local police have been asked 

to perform additional patrol and surveillance, gather and analyze 

counterterrorism intelligence, conduct risk and threat assessments, 

and participate in many interagency task forces. 

•	 emerging crimes. As a result of globalization, technological 

advancement, and greater awareness, the scope of crime that local 

agencies must address has expanded to include emerging crimes, such 

as human trafficking, identity theft, and cybercrime. 

Further complicating these issues—especially recruitment and retention 

efforts—has been a weakened economy of recent years, reducing or 

restricting the options available to local agencies. In the next two chapters, 

we discuss in more depth what local agencies can do to retain and recruit 

officers. Because retention can reduce the need for recruitment, we focus 

on it first. 
ChaPteR thRee 

Retention: Plugging the Hole in the Bucket 

“Our people are our most important asset” is a frequently used phrase 

in police management. This saying magnifies why employee turnover is 

an important issue facing police organizations. Crucial issues related to 

employee turnover include its consequences for an organization, what it 

indicates about organizational health and functioning (e.g., the efficiency 

of personnel management and planning), and the changing nature of 

modern-day policing. In this chapter, we place issues of police turnover 

in context by examining what is known about retaining officers, as well 

as experiences from other fields that might support different approaches 

to officer retention. 

What Is Turnover? 

Turnover occurs when an employee leaves an organization. It is costly and 

challenges organizational stability (Mueller and Price, 1989). There are 

two major types of turnover, each with its own effects (Edwards, 2007; 

T. Lee and Mitchell, 1994; Hom and Griffeth, 1994). Understanding 

each can help provide an approach to targeting the problem and 

reducing its costs (Kacmar et al., 2006). The first type of turnover 

is involuntary turnover, occurring when an employer terminates the 

working relationship with an employee (i.e., the employee is not leaving 

voluntarily). The second is voluntary turnover, occurring when an 

employee chooses to leave an organization. Other labels for involuntary 

turnover include planned, desired, functional, and unavoidable turnover; 

those for voluntary turnover include unplanned, undesired, dysfunctional, 

and avoidable turnover (Edwards, 2007). 

Within these two broad types of turnover, there are many variations. 

For example, terminations, while a form of involuntary turnover, are 

not unavoidable (Ahlrichs, 2000). Terminations generally reflect bad 

hiring or bad management; both are avoidable and critical to improve. 

Such distinctions, and measures for them, can help identify the best ways 

27 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

28 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

to address retention problems. Yet most agencies that measure turnover 

combine voluntary and involuntary turnover in one measure—that is, 

they assess total employee separation as a proportion of total employees 

in the organization. Alternatively, organizations might assess avoidable 

turnover as total employee separations less unavoidable turnover as a 

proportion of total employees. Organizations might also assess turnover 

by length of service; position in the organization, zone, or district; age; 

race; ethnicity; gender; and cohort. Table 3.1 offers several ratios that can 

be used alone or in combination to understand organizational turnover. 

Effects of Turnover 

Turnover has both positive and negative effects on an organization and its 

employees. Allowing agencies to rid themselves of poor performers is often 

good and helps the organization advance, introduce new ideas, increase 

productivity and performance, and facilitate change (Ahlrichs, 2000; 

Birati and Tziner, 1995; Hom and Griffeth, 1994; McEvoy and Cascio, 

1987; Williams and Livingstone, 1994). Even some transfer of good 

employees elsewhere can help an organization; if a transferred employee 

performs well in a new position, then the original employer’s reputation is 

enhanced (Orrick, 2008a). Employee transfers might also enhance contacts 

and networks in both agencies. At the same time, the loss of experienced 

Table 3.1 

Summary of Example Employee Turnover Ratios 

Type of Turnover Formula 

Overall Number of separations ÷ number of employees 

avoidable (Number of separations – unavoidable separations) ÷ 

number of employees 

Involuntary (Number of separations – voluntary separations) ÷ number 

of employees 

Recent hire 

Number of separations of employees with <2 years of 

experience ÷ number of employees with <2 years of 

experience 

Cohort Number of new hires this month ÷ number of new hires 

still on the job in 6 months 
 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retention: Plugging the hole in the Bucket 29 

personnel can adversely affect an organization in both reputation and costs. 

Tsang and Zahra (2008, p. 1441) call this “organizational forgetting,” 

resulting in the “deterioration of an organization’s knowledge base.” 

Curiously, law-enforcement agencies rarely examine the costs of turnover, 

perhaps because turnover costs are rarely identified by a line item in a 

department’s budget. Even those departments estimating costs tend 

to focus on the short-term costs of replacing an officer and ignore 

organizational investments that have compounded over the years. Orrick 

(2002, 2008a) describes the comprehensive costs of police turnover, 

suggesting a wide-ranging set of costs beyond the obvious recruitment 

costs, as summarized in Table 3.2 on page 30. 

Police employee success is a function of officer experience and ability 

to make sensible decisions with little supervision or oversight (Frost, 

2006; Gottfredson and Gottfredson, 1988). By reducing the number 

of officers with experience, turnover inhibits effective decision making. 

It diminishes the strength and cohesion a department gains by having 

experienced staff, and that cannot be replaced over time. Agencies with 

higher turnover and less experienced officers suffer reduced productivity 

and more-frequent complaints (Orrick, 2002). The cost of training 

sworn police officers is substantial, particularly in comparison to other 

fields (New South Wales Council on the Cost of Government, 1996). 

The high level of organizational and job-specific knowledge required of 

police officers also means that high turnover can impair organizational 

performance and service delivery while replacement personnel are 

selected and trained. 

Other fields experience similar problems. These include “brain drain” 

following voluntary separations that reduce performance levels and 

increase operational risks (Birati and Tziner, 1995; Mobley, 1982; 

Holtom, Mitchell, Lee, and Eberly, 2008). While these costs are difficult 

to quantify, they are just as real as salaries and training costs. Economic 

conditions can make them more pronounced: The offer of early 

retirement coupled with an inability to hire new officers, both resulting 

from fiscal difficulties, promises to accelerate the “brain drain” (Faher, 

2009; Womack, 2009). 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

30 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

Table 3.2 

Summary of Costs Associated with Police Turnover 

Cost Category Cost Example 

Recruitment advertising 

Recruiters’ salaries 

Bonuses 

Selection tests 

Review-board salaries 

Investigator salaries 

Medical, psychological, and drug screening 

New employee Payroll and computer personnel 

New uniforms and equipment 

training Orientation and field training 

Recruit salaries and benefits 

Field-trainer salaries 

Supervision 

In-service training 

Operating Overtime to cover vacancies 

Loss of productivity as employee departs 

Increased further turnover 

Peer disruption 

Disruption or loss of community relationships 

Disruption of department operations 

Lower morale 

Missed deadlines 

Intangible Loss of knowledge and experience 

Peer disruption 

Disruption or loss of community relationships 

Disruption of department operations 

Lower morale 

Missed deadlines 

One effort to quantify the costs of turnover suggests that replacing an 

officer with three years experience costs more than twice his or her annual 

salary (Orrick, 2002). These costs can substantially differ by levels of 

training provided to an officer, salary and benefits paid, and selection 

procedures for new officers. At one extreme, in 2003, it cost approximately 

$100,000 for Los Angeles and $250,000 for the federal government to 

train new law-enforcement officers (Frost, 2006). More typically, in 2009, 

it cost approximately $58,000 to select, hire, and train a new officer, a still 

substantial expense whose magnitude is attributable in part to selection 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retention: Plugging the hole in the Bucket 31 

and training processes that are unique to policing (Copeland, 2009). 

In contrast to those in many other fields, police selection procedures 

include background investigations, medical examinations, interviews, 

psychological assessments, drug screening, physical agility tests, and 

department-specific training. 

Agencies might be able to improve retention by experimenting with 

strategies from other fields (Tadwalkar and Sen, 2005). Reducing turnover 

can help mitigate recruiting difficulties resulting from a smaller pool 

of qualified applicants or shifting generational preferences (Hom and 

Griffeth, 1994; Copeland, 2009). 

Is Turnover a Particularly Difficult Problem for Law 

Enforcement? 

While turnover can pose many problems for police agencies, its extent, 

particularly in comparison to that in other professions, is unclear. Several 

studies have identified attrition of officers as a major problem facing 

police departments (Frost, 2006; Harris and Baldwin, 1999; NIJ, 1992; 

Webster and Connors, 1988; Gettinger, 1984). Yet, despite the significant 

and well-placed concern about police turnover, other research indicates 

that turnover in police agencies is lower than in other sectors. Annual 

voluntary turnover rates are regarded as excessive when they surpass the 

10-percent mark in law-enforcement or correctional agencies (Doerner, 

1995). These are lower than the rates for teachers, at 17 percent (Planty 

et al., 2008). Overall, turnover rates for state and local government 

positions, including police and sheriffs’ patrol officers, are only about a 

third of that for all (nonfarm) jobs (BLS, undated). 

A British study of turnover in police agencies found an increasing number 

of resignations and transfers but a comparatively low turnover rate of 

6 percent for policing as a whole (Christine Cooper and Ingram, 2004). 

Average labor turnover across all sectors was 18  percent in 2000 and 

2001; staff turnover was 15 percent in central government and 16 percent 

in local government. Analysis of data from Australian and New Zealand 

police jurisdictions also found a low level of turnover from 1999 to 2003. 

Benchmarking data showed that total turnover of sworn officers was 
 

 

   

 

     

 

   

 

  

   

   

   

 

32 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

lower in Australian police organizations than for employees in Australian 

public-sector organizations and comparable to turnover of employees in 

international public-sector organizations (Lynch and Tuckey, 2004). 

U.S. research shows similarly low turnover rates in a variety of police 

agencies. A study of police turnover in Vermont found an average statewide 

turnover rate of 6 percent between 2001 and 2006 (Litcher, Reister, and 

Mason, 2006). A 2004 study of North Carolina found that attrition 

ranged from 0 to 87 percent, with an average of 14 percent (Yearwood and 

Freeman, 2004). In Prince William County, Virginia, the turnover rate 

in 2004 was 13 percent—double the 2003 rate (Kearns, 2007). Turnover 

rates in Chesterfield County, Virginia, have fluctuated between 4 and 

6 percent in recent years (Edwards, 2007). Orrick (2008a) found that 

the average turnover ranged from 5 to 21 percent. A 2001 survey reports 

that 72 percent of respondents indicate that retention constitutes a crucial 

policing problem, with 54 percent reporting that the problem had grown 

(L. Lee, 2001). 

Although turnover rates appear lower in police agencies than in many 

other sectors, police-officer turnover can carry greater costs than turnover 

elsewhere because of the expense of selecting and training officers. 

Police turnover is higher and more challenging for small municipal 

departments than for county or state agencies (McIntyre, 1990). A 1999 

study found turnover in smaller departments (i.e., those serving fewer 

than 50,000  persons) to be 7  percent, compared to 5  percent in larger 

agencies (Koper, Maguire, and Moore, 2001). Similarly, smaller agencies 

in North Carolina reportedly had an attrition rate (18 percent) twice that 

of their larger counterparts (Yearwood, 2003). 

Officers in smaller agencies also have differing career paths from those in 

larger ones. For example, two-thirds of officers departing smaller agencies 

do so with less than five years of service, compared to just one-third of 

those at larger ones (Hoffman, 1993). 
 

 

 

   

  

  

 

 

  

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

   

  

Retention: Plugging the hole in the Bucket 33 

Who Leaves, and When Do They Go? 

Recent research distinguishes among those who exit the profession. In 

particular, it suggests that young persons and new officers, as well as 

women and minorities, leave policing in disproportionate numbers. 

K. Riley, Turner, et al. (2005) found that more than one-third of officers 

who left the Cincinnati force had less than one year of service and that 

nearly two-thirds who left had less than five years. Haarr (2005), using a 

panel survey of 446 recruits entering Arizona police academies, found that 

13 percent dropped out before completing the academy and an additional 

22 percent dropped out during field training or before completing their first 

year on a force. Nearly all the separations in Cincinnati and Arizona were 

voluntary. Yearwood and Freeman (2004) found an average length of stay of 

34 months in North Carolina police departments. Lynch and Tuckey (2008) 

also found that young officers (i.e., those no more than 31 years of age) were 

more likely to leave policing than those in later stages of their career. They 

also found some difference between men and women in attrition, although 

length of service could also affect this relationship. There is also some churn 

among early career officers. While the California Commission on Peace 

Officer Standards and Training (Switzer, 2006) found that more than three 

in four officers work for only one agency in their career, it also found that, 

among those who transfer, 25 percent do so within 1.3 years and 50 percent 

do so within 3.2 years. After the first year, the average annual number of 

officers who leave is fairly stable (about 2 percent). 

Lynch and Tuckey (2004) found that women most likely to leave New 

Zealand police forces were between 25 and 39 years of age. A longitudinal 

study of 125 recruits in Britain also found female officers more likely to 

resign than males, and younger recruits more likely to resign than older 

ones (Fielding and Fielding, 1987). Though most research finds gender 

differences in police retention, there are some exceptions. Haarr (2005) 

found that, although the number of women entering police work is small, 

there was no statistically significant difference between males and females 

in the rate of dropout from police work. 
 

34 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

Regarding race and ethnicity, Doerner (1995) found that 48 percent of 

white officers and 51 percent of black officers hired in a five-year study 

period (1981–1986) left the Tallahassee Police Department and that black 

officers were more likely than white officers to depart involuntarily during 

their field-training phase. Haarr (2005) found statistically significant 

differences in rates of dropout among racial and ethnic minorities, with 

Latino and Native American officers having significantly higher dropout 

rates than African American recruits. 

Officers leaving later in their careers might do so for reasons that 

accumulate over time, as Christine Cooper and Ingram (2004) found 

in a study of ten British agencies. Buzawa (1979) found a nonlinear 

relationship between experience and job satisfaction in the Detroit and 

Oakland (Calif.) police departments. Buzawa, Austin, and Bannon 

(1994), in addition to confirming this relationship, found patrol officers 

more dissatisfied than others with their jobs, particularly regarding 

supervision and advancement and promotional opportunities, and some 

decrease in satisfaction over time. Police agencies, if facing a wave of 

retirements, might seek to retain officers through a variety of policies, 

including deferred-retirement-option programs offering some tax breaks 

(Orrick, 2008a). Yet, as Tadwalker and Sen (2005) write, retention and 

turnover programs should be more than targeted prevention strategies. 

Properly designed, they can address early- and midcareer reasons officers 

leave and reduce turnover at all stages of a career. 

Why Do Officers Leave? 

T. Lee and Mitchell (1994, p. 31) portray voluntary turnover as a “complex process whereby individuals assess their feelings, personal situation, and work environment, and over time, make decisions about 

staying or leaving an organization.” Similarly, Christine Cooper and 

Ingram (2004) found that officer decisions to leave often took place 

over a considerable period of time and did not result from one decisive 

event. Curiously, nearly half of those who left indicated that they would 

consider returning to the force, giving further credence to the contention 

that the turnover decision is a complex psychological process—and 

possibly pointing to ways police agencies could improve retention. 
Retention: Plugging the hole in the Bucket 35 

No overarching theory on why officers leave is evident in existing 

research, but the five main influences Lynch and Tuckey (2004) identify 

as influencing turnover point to a tentative model (Figure 3.1). The five 

main influences are (1)  the pull of other opportunities; (2)  actual and 

potential compensation; (3)  personal characteristics and demographic 

factors; (4) organizational health, policy, and culture; and (5) employee 

needs. All contribute, albeit unequally, to turnover. By our tentative 

model, these influences all determine job satisfaction and organizational 

commitment (or lack thereof), which, in turn, might lead to exit. Research 

generally supports job satisfaction and organizational commitment 

as critical antecedents to turnover (Hom and Griffeth, 1994; Tett and 

Meyer, 2006). In the next sections, we review each of these influences and 

how agencies might address them. 

Other Opportunities 

Orrick (2008a) has pointed to economic factors as strong external 

forces that influence the turnover decision. Officers might leave for 

perceived better economic opportunities. Opportunities from outside the 

profession might push an officer from it; better opportunities in the 

profession might pull officers to them in a form of “cannibalism” within 

the field (DeLord, 2009). To counter other opportunities, Orrick 

(2008a) suggests that departments maintain conditions to minimize the 

Figure 3.1 

Conceptual Model of Determinants of Attrition 

Attrition

Commitment

Satisfaction

Compensation

Other

opportunities

Organizational

issues

Employee

needs

Personal

characteristics
36 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

“push” from outside the profession and to enhance the “pull” of their own 

agency. The economic recession of 2008 and 2009 might stabilize how 

other opportunities push officers from the field or pull them elsewhere 

within it. Nevertheless, the impact of external economic trends merit 

further research to determine their full effect on turnover. 

Compensation 

Compensation includes not only salary and benefits but also viable career 

ladders, adequate training and equipment, and perceptions by officers that 

a policing career will afford a good life. To be sure, managers view salary 

and benefits as the biggest element of compensation affecting turnover. 

Yearwood and Freeman (2004) found that nearly half of North Carolina 

agencies attribute at least 70 percent of their attrition to compensation 

issues driving officers to other departments or professions. Furthermore, 

as Branham (2005) notes, inadequate compensation can contribute to 

feelings of devaluation that grow into more-potent reasons for leaving. 

Inadequate compensation also enhances the influence of other factors 

on turnover, such as promotional opportunities and procedural justice 

(Rostker, Hix, and Wilson, 2007). Indeed, a study of 20,000  workers 

from 18 industries found that between 80 and 90 percent of employees 

decide to leave an organization for reasons other than money (C.  Lee, 

2006). Such reasons include their job, their manager, and the culture and 

environment of their work. As Christopher Lee (2006, p. 53) notes, 

pay is usually a symptom of other things not going well. When 

employees complain about pay, they are usually indirectly 

indicating that they are not happy with their work situation. 

Pay is a lightning rod issue as it is more tangible than poor 

management and lack of appreciation. 

Although the issue of compensation is paramount to understanding 

sources of employee turnover, it can distract from other substantive and 

more deeply embedded issues, such as organizational culture, leadership, 

and employee engagement. 
Retention: Plugging the hole in the Bucket 37 

Why might managers perceive compensation to be the cause of turnover 

more than is actually the case? Orrick (2008a) notes several possible 

reasons.1 First, officers might cite pay as the reason for leaving to keep 

good relations with their department. Second, using compensation as 

an absolute for leaving appears simple for the officer who wants to leave, 

making the process quick and free of additional trauma. Third, attributing 

attrition to compensation allows management to avoid addressing other 

problems or conflicts. 

As long as employees view compensation as fair in comparison to others 

in the same organization and to others in the field, it will not be the most 

significant contributor to turnover. To enhance salary fairness, police 

agencies must modernize their pay and benefit structures (Orrick, 2008a). 

Addressing perceived fairness can be difficult in times of economic stress 

and resulting wage freezes and furloughs (“Even Cops Losing Their Jobs 

in Recession,” 2009; Sward, 2008). 

Officers might also seek fairness in promotions and career growth, issues 

directly intertwined with salary and affecting employee engagement. 

Rostker, Hix, and Wilson (2007) note that the New Orleans Police 

Department’s infrequent promotion opportunities and inability to give 

pay increases hindered officer motivation and retention. Orrick (2008a) 

claims that career opportunities might be more important to younger 

generations of employees who seek immediate gratification. Buzawa, 

Austin, and Bannon (1994) also suggest that lack of promotional 

opportunity leads to increased job dissatisfaction over time. In small 

agencies, there is not much room for specialization, and recruits must 

wait their turn for higher-level assignments; in larger agencies, there is 

greater task specialization, which can lead to boredom and feelings of 

being trapped by skill sets (Orrick, 2008a; Haarr, 2005). This problem 

can affect even new recruits. As Haarr (2005) notes, new recruits might 

think that the job they were hired to do is exciting but, once on the job, 

find that many of its daily duties are mundane. Job scheduling might 

1. The work of Orrick, the public safety director for the city of Cordele, Georgia, is 

useful for being among the few to address these issues—hence our heavy reliance on it 

in several places in this monograph. Nevertheless, we caution the reader that some of his 

insights are based on experience or anecdotes rather than systematic research. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

38 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

contribute to these realizations. Some might also expect more flexibility 

allowing for work-family balance and self-initiated work partnerships, as 

well as quicker advancement opportunities. 

Differences between expectations and realities can quickly lead to turnover 

if not addressed early. When first entering the force, those ultimately 

resigning and those staying did not differ in their attitudes regarding job pay, 

status, or security, but, by the end of the first year, resigners reported greater 

dissatisfaction with these and less commitment to police work (Fielding 

and Fielding, 1987). Resigners also expressed greater dissatisfaction with 

the amount of paperwork, social isolation, and the public image of the job. 

Officers without proper training can also become discouraged. Employees 

today expect frequent training opportunities to improve their abilities. 

Without such training, they can lose confidence (Orrick, 2008a). Many 

officers now also consider equipment to be part of their “compensation”; 

the chief of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police in particular has noted that, 

given limits on recruiting resources, providing updated equipment to 

officers can help attract and retain them (J.  Wilson and Grammich, 

2009a). Officers often cite frustration about not having adequate or 

functional equipment to perform their jobs. This too can lead to turnover 

(Orrick, 2008a). 

Personal Characteristics 

Personal characteristics, such as education and personality traits, can also 

affect turnover (Christine Cooper and Ingram, 2004), although how 

is sometimes unclear. Research on the effects of education, for example, 

is inconsistent—showing, in different cases, a positive, negative, or no 

relationship with job satisfaction (Dantzker, 1994; Frost, 2006; Lynch 

and Tuckey, 2004). Griffin, Dunbar, and McGill (1978) found that all 

police officers surveyed in a southwestern police department were satisfied 

with their jobs regardless of their education level and that job satisfaction 

remained constant across educational levels. Subsequent research has 

found that the relationship between educational attainment and job 

satisfaction varies by department (Buzawa, 1984; Dantzker, 1993). 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Retention: Plugging the hole in the Bucket 39 

Regarding personality traits, Drew, Carless, and Thompson (2008) 

found that those with high anxiety are more likely to exit, while those 

who are tough-minded and venturesome are less likely to do so. They 

found no relationship between turnover and one’s openness to experience. Nor did they find a relationship between turnover and one’s agreeableness. Such findings could help in developing a typology of police 

turnover, fusing explanatory theories from diverse fields and using policing as the potential landscape of evaluating turnover conditions (Hom 

and Griffeth, 1994). 

Organizational Issues 

Organizational health, policy, and culture are powerful predictors 

of employee turnover. These issues include organizational function, 

generational competence, supervision and leadership, bureaucracy, 

fairness, and openness and transparency. 

There is considerable evidence that organizational dysfunction increases 

turnover. Orrick (2008a) suggests that many law-enforcement agencies 

are characterized by “silo management styles”—that is, they are tall, rankheavy, and hierarchical organizational structures requiring compliance 

with policies, procedures, rules, and regulation enforcement. Fry and 

Berkes (1983) trace the influence of this management style on policing 

from the industrial age and its requirements for rigid organization. Such 

a structure can hinder growth (Auten, 1981; Fry and Berkes, 1983) and 

produce frustrations that increase turnover, especially among younger 

officers (Orrick, 2008a). Edwards (2007) suggests that younger generations 

lack the ability to succeed in the “silo,” the paramilitary organizational 

environment endemic to many police agencies. Others suggest that such 

a structure prevents police organizations from fulfilling career needs of 

younger generations (Brand, 1999; M. Fischer, 2006; McCafferty, 2003). 

Employees might also leave organizations because of poor supervision 

and leadership (Christine Cooper and Ingram, 2004; Lynch and 

Tuckey, 2004; Orrick, 2008a, 2008b). The relationship that immediate 

and midlevel supervisors have with their employees often has the most 

influence on an officer’s decision to stay or leave a department. As Orrick 

(2008b) said, “people don’t quit jobs, they quit bosses.” Among supervisor 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

40 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

behaviors that Orrick (2008a) suggests contribute to officer attrition are 

setting poor examples, indecisiveness, unfairness, being overly critical or 

not sharing credit for work, and poor communication. Loss of trust and 

confidence in senior leaders also adversely affects retention, especially to 

the extent that leaders embrace traditional management models and fail 

to communicate their vision to employees. This indicates the importance 

of training supervisors to mentor employees, and determining whether 

police bureaucracy might discourage good candidates from applying for 

supervisory positions (COPS, 2009b). 

Policies and procedures can also affect a police officer’s attitudes, behaviors, and feelings toward organization and self (Frost, 2006; Kappeler, 

Sluder, and Alpert, 1994; Patterson, 1992; Violanti and Aron, 1995). 

Some researchers suggest that employees will be more satisfied with decisions if they perceive the processes used for making them to be fair (Frost, 

2006; Thibaut and Walker, 1975). Procedural justice has been linked to 

organizational commitment (Folger and Konovsky, 1989), job satisfaction, 

loyalty, and employee evaluation of supervisor and organization (Frost, 

2006). Given the importance of organizational fairness to job satisfaction, 

organizational commitment, and retention, law-enforcement agencies can 

create a satisfied and committed workforce with minimal cost through the 

use of procedurally fair policies. This is especially true for younger recruits, 

who have a heightened perception of organizational fairness and distributive justice (Brand, 1999; Frost, 2006). 

Organizational openness and transparency are also critical to procedural 

fairness. Employees who are invited to participate in decision making 

are more likely to find the process fair (Cohen-Charash and Spector, 

2001). Officers of today will become less satisfied and committed to 

organizations that are less open and transparent and do not allow for 

input and feedback (Lambert, 2003). 

Employee Needs 

Employee needs include feedback and recognition, a stimulating work 

environment, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and connectedness. A thorough understanding of employee needs can help organizations understand why some employees leave, particularly when a sound 

reason is not evident. 
Retention: Plugging the hole in the Bucket 41 

Orrick (2008a) suggests that recruits today have more higher-order needs 

of belongingness, love, self-esteem, and self-actualization. As curious and 

nebulous as such needs might seem to police management, departments 

must meet them if they expect to retain younger officers. Orrick 

further suggests that employee turnover is an emotional issue and that 

workers quit because they feel that their need for trust, hope, worth, or 

competence is not being met. Other researchers concur that meeting these 

needs might be more salient for younger generations of workers than for 

previous generations (Brand, 1999; M. Fischer, 2006; McCafferty, 2003). 

Similarly, employees want to know how they are performing, and 

providing frequent feedback is crucial to a contented and high-performing 

workforce (Orrick, 2008a). Lack of feedback can also lead to serious 

mistakes, which can degrade confidence, morale, and job satisfaction. 

Positive reinforcement or recognition can improve performance and 

increase job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Unfortunately, 

good performance often goes unrewarded, while considerable time and 

energy is spent critiquing poor performance. 

Building on the concept of job satisfaction, Reiser (1974) proposed a 

theoretical link between police turnover and burnout caused by job 

stress accumulating over time. In a study of Memphis police officers who 

voluntarily resigned from police work between 1975 and 1980, Sparger 

and Giacopassi (1983) concluded that veteran officers voluntarily resigned 

because of “burnout” resulting from the culmination of occupational 

frustrations and dissatisfactions related to traditional authoritarian 

management styles, organizational policies, departmental politics, lack 

of appreciation for their efforts, the system of internal discipline, pay 

and fringe benefits, relations with civic officials, court policies, and 

community expectations. They also cited the influence of intense on-thejob situations, a lack of self-fulfillment in higher-order needs, family 

considerations, and the conduct of co-workers. More recently, Dick 

(2000) analyzed clinical data from therapy with police officers who were 

under stress and considering leaving the police force and cited “epiphenal 

events” as causing emotional exhaustion and burnout. Such events lead 

officers to conclude that the organization stands in the way of their ability 

to make their desired, positive contribution through work. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

42 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

Other research suggests that employees leave after realizing they are no 

longer committed to the organization or the career path. Diminishing 

job satisfaction leads workers to question their commitment to the 

organization or their career, which precipitates the decision to leave it 

(Frost, 2006; Lambert and Hogan, 2009; Jaramillo, Nixon, and Sams, 

2005). Job satisfaction plays a crucial role in retention, often extending 

the concept to include job embeddedness, including, as Mitchell, 

Holtom, Lee, Sablynski, and Erez (2001) suggest, formal and informal 

connections with other persons on and off the job (including co-workers, 

community members, and family), an element of fit (that is, employee 

perceptions of compatibility with the work environment), and sacrifice 

(the perceived loss of material or psychological benefits that might be 

forfeited by leaving a job). Workers who are embedded in their jobs are 

less likely to leave than those who are not. 

What Can Agencies Do to Prevent Turnover? 

Unfortunately, the research on what agencies can do to reduce turnover 

appears to rely more on anecdotal accounts than on empirical analysis. 

Nevertheless, in this section, we highlight existing knowledge about 

several strategies, citing evidence where it exists, but cautioning that each 

strategy should be considered critically, given the lack of rigorous analyses. 

These strategies can be generally be classified in one of five categories 

(see Table 3.3): (1)  planning and analysis, (2)  reducing the financial 

impact of turnover, (3) enhancing compensation and perks, (4) employee 

engagement strategies, and (5)  improving organizational effectiveness. 

Many practices cross these categories. 

Planning and Analysis 

Conduct an Evidence-Based Analysis of Department Retention 

Needs. While there is some federal government data collection and 

analysis for policepersonnelplanning (Wilson, 2006), thelaw-enforcement 

community can also draw on data compiled and analyses conducted for 

other professions to gauge applicability to its own work. For example, the 

U.S. military has conducted national studies on generational preferences, 
 

 

 

 

 

Retention: Plugging the hole in the Bucket 43 

Table 3.3 

Means of Limiting the Effects of Turnover 

Strategy Category Strategy 

Plan and analyze Conduct evidence-based analysis of 

retention needs. 

Know employees and their needs. 

advocate for staff. 

Conduct exit and “stay” interviews. 

Reduce financial impact Use realistic job previews. 

Consider assessment-center methods in hiring 

and promoting. 

hire pretrained or precertified employees. 

think twice about service contracts. 

enhance compensation 

and perks 

Define “compensation” broadly. 

Pay employees what they are worth. 

Offer apprentice salary during training. 

Offer education incentives. 

Create an incentive “portfolio.” 

Use career ladders. 

Consider offering perks—but wisely. 

Investigate job flexibility. 

engage employees Understand what engagement is and how 

to do it. 

allow employees to experience others’ duties 

through work diversity. 

Provide job shadowing. 

Give employees a voice in decision making. 

allow for meaningful employee feedback. 

Recognize employee success. 

Mentor beyond field training. 

Improve organizational 

effectiveness 

Communicate goals routinely and effectively. 

Be fair and transparent in all aspects of policy. 

Reduce unnecessary bureaucracy. 

Select and maintain effective leaders. 

attitudes, perceptions, and broad demographic change over time in 

order to identify changing career preferences in the armed services. Such 

data can also yield insights on changes that will affect law enforcement 

(Miller, 2008). For example, agencies can incorporate local demographic 

and market trends, as well as project the retirement-eligible portion and 
 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

44 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

potential attrition rates of their workforces, to develop retention and 

succession plans and task forces. Such task forces have existed at least since 

the early 2000s, including in four California departments (L. Lee, 2001). 

As agencies traditionally conduct needs assessments to determine which 

changes are appropriate for their specific needs, they can apply evidencebased analyses of needs to map approaches for reducing turnover. 

Know Your Employees and Their Needs. Organizations can develop 

a dynamic understanding of their workforces by conducting regular 

surveys about employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment. 

These results might assist in improving not only short-term retention but 

also long-term job and organizational commitment. These surveys should 

attempt to differentiate among groups, including women, minorities, 

ranks, generations, new employees, and near-retirees. Knowing employees 

and their individual needs intimately is a hallmark of a proactive 

human-resource department and can lead to targeted problem-solving 

when retention becomes a problem (Haggerty, 2009). Following other 

accountability models commonplace in modern policing (e.g., CompStat 

in New York City), agencies should consider holding individual supervisors 

and managers accountable for retaining their staff, establishing stronger 

at-stake relationships between supervisor and line officer (Lim et al., 2009; 

J. Wilson and Grammich, 2009a). 

Go Beyond “Knowing” to Advocating for Your Staff. Even though 

human capital is the most important and expensive asset for police agencies, 

few agencies have devoted resources to understanding it. The best place to 

start understanding it is within the organization, where direct supervisors 

can communicate with upper management about potential problems. It 

is important to identify at-risk employees, lest hidden problems lead to 

turnover(Haggerty,2009;Orrick, 2008a). Officersmight tell other officers 

or their supervisors that they are looking to leave the organization, and they 

might contemplate leaving for some time (Christine Cooper and Ingram, 

2004). Key transitions leading to attrition can include the birth of a child, 

children graduating from high school or college, divorce, and separation of 

a close friend from the department. Knowing of such events can perhaps 

help departments assist officers in times of personal transition. Agencies 

should communicate with officers exhibiting prolonged frustration or 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

   

   

 

 

Retention: Plugging the hole in the Bucket 45 

disappointment after being passed over for promotion and explain why 

the promotion cycle might have been unsuccessful for them, making the 

experience a foundation for future success. Officers requesting much time 

off might also be indicating risk for turnover that their department can 

address (Haggerty, 2009). Officers might request meetings with human 

resources to view their record or to discuss retirement options, but real 

outreach efforts by immediate supervisors to establish support systems for 

officers can provide valuable opportunities to promote retention. 

Conduct Exit and “Stay” Interviews, Integrating the Results into 

Long-Term Planning. Exit interviews can yield information on turnover. 

Lynch and Tuckey (2004) recommend that these interviews be conducted 

by an independent person away from the work site and that the data be 

kept anonymously and separately from individual employee records. Exit 

interviews can also be used to educate employees about how they can come 

back to the agency. Stay interviews, or interviews with current employees 

aimed at exploring the reasons they stay with the organization, can be a 

more proactive approach to achieving the same goal of improving retention (Herman, 2005). These approaches can help agencies understand the 

reasons for turnover, retain good relationships with former employees, 

and signal current employees that their retention is important. Despite the 

information they can offer, few agencies undertake exit interviews (Taylor 

et al., 2006). Furthermore, less than 30 percent of California departments 

use employee input to address retention, and only 15 percent have a written plan to improve officer retention (L. Lee, 2001). Planning and analysis 

with the guidance of a human-resource specialist can yield data and information to address turnover problems. 

Reducing the Financial Impact of Turnover
 

Use Realistic Job Previews for Interested Applicants Up Front. 


A realistic job preview includes a number of strategies to cut through 

impressionistic and unrealistic expectations of careers and give glimpses 

into the true nature of the work performed. For example, the Idaho 

State Police attempts to demystify the policing career by providing, on 

its recruitment website, examples of daily duties and responsibilities 

expected of its troopers (Idaho State Police, undated). The International 
46 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

Association of Chiefs of Police’s “Discover Policing” website features 

realistic vignettes, interviews, and commentary to provide interested 

applicants with not-so-glamorous views of real police work (IACP, 

undated). These could be incorporated into department recruitment 

strategies along with job announcements and observation opportunities 

(such as ride-alongs and job shadowing) that accurately depict the work. 

Round-table discussions could also improve recruits’ sense of career 

paths. Candid videos describing progression from the academy to the 

beat to detective work to leadership positions might also be useful. Such 

techniques might be appropriate not only for attracting new hires but 

also for retaining officers. 

Unrealistic expectations might result in internal (recruitment) or external 

(media reports) difficulties. Realistic job previews can help not only adjust 

expectations but also save departments money. Companies that use these 

strategies saved an average of approximately $711 per employee (Kickul, 

2002; Phillips, 1998)—savings that would likely be higher in policing, 

given the costs of finding and training new officers. This approach to 

providing realistic job expectations also has morale benefits. Employees 

who feel misled about job expectations might compensate by withholding 

work or commitment to the organization (Kickul, 2002; Meglino, Ravlin, 

and DeNisi, 2000). Such sense of betrayal can also fuel further turnover 

(Becker and Dale, 2003; Pitt and Ramaseshan, 1995). 

Consider Assessment-Center Methods in Hiring and Promoting. 

After establishing an applicant pool, law-enforcement agencies go to 

great lengths to assess candidates for initial hiring or promotion. Many 

police departments use written entrance or promotional exams, as well 

as an assessment center. An assessment center is where a series of exercises 

is conducted in which each participant demonstrates skills to a group 

of observers, or assessors, who rate the candidates. The International 

Congress on Assessment Center Methods has established certain 

standards including an analysis of job specifications, classification of 

behaviors, multiple assessment approaches, and job-related simulations 

(Moses and Boehm, 1975). Substantial evidence suggests that using an 

assessment-center approach improves hiring practices, raises morale, 

and leads to an applicant pool with a more comprehensive view of job 
Retention: Plugging the hole in the Bucket 47 

expectations (B.  Chambers, 2002; LaHuis, 2005; Riggio, Mayes, and 

Schleicher, 2003). However, as we discuss in the next chapter, some 

contend that the career needs and goals of new generations of recruits 

might be incompatible with assessment-center methods (DeCicco, 2000; 

Orrick, 2008a; Taylor et al., 2006). 

Hire Pretrained or Precertified Employees. Many police agencies 

hire candidates who have already completed some professional training 

or law-enforcement certification either with prior employers or at their 

own individual expense. The extent of such pretraining, and agencies’ 

willingness to hire individuals with such training, varies widely 

(International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards 

and Training, 2005). Agencies might realize a variety of benefits from 

recruiting pretrained officers. Recruits with prior military training tend 

to have lower attrition during agency training, higher retention, and 

higher training readiness (Golfin, 2006). Productivity might increase 

as agencies fill vacancies more rapidly with candidates who have acute 

knowledge and skills (Viney, Adamson, and Doherty, 1997). Shifting 

recruitment selection from organization to candidate can also strengthen 

personal job fit over time (N. Anderson and Cunningham-Snell, 2000). 

Such cities as Oakland, California, have begun recruiting pretrained 

candidates as part of their overall hiring strategy to bring the department 

to full staffing (Poulson, 2008). Pretrained officers might undergo 

abbreviated academy sessions in which initial basic training need not 

be offered, saving training costs for the department (Haggerty, 2009). 

Agencies might also use differential compensation to attract the best 

pretrained officers (Kowal, Hassel, and Hassel, 2008). 

Although offering some financial benefits to departments, hiring 

pretrained candidates can also pose risks. Departments should not 

expect candidates to have dramatically improved performance when the 

quality of previous training is unknown (Viney, Adamson, and Doherty, 

1997). They should also ensure that their own training is not redundant 

(Golfin, 2006) and focuses on agency-specific needs (R.  Byrne, 2001). 

Hiring pretrained candidates who are attractive to other agencies can 

also escalate short-term turnover (R. Byrne, 2001). Many agencies have 

cultural fears of hiring pretrained candidates that can be overcome with 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

48 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

an understanding of the risks and benefits of hiring such candidates 

(Golfin, 2006). 

Think Twice About Service Contracts. Police departments might also 

require contracts of new hires so as to reduce direct costs of employee 

turnover (Orrick, 2008a). Under some service contracts, new hires leaving 

the agency within three years of initial employment must reimburse 

prorated training expenses to the agency. Agencies might also use such 

contracts when sending an employee to long-term or expensive training. 

Nevertheless, their use has not been shown to reduce turnover—only to 

lessen the financial risk associated with hiring new employees (Orrick, 

2008a), though research in policing is limited. Mestemaker (1991) found 

little benefit of a career-based Air Force service requirement program on 

retention. A program service commitment in exchange for signing and 

retention bonuses, designed to retain health-care employees in nursing 

residency, met with mixed results, including a 50-percent retention 

rate after two years (Olson et al., 2001). Because these contracts might 

contradict worker expectations of flexibility, organizations should 

consider them carefully (Lawler, 2005; Perrons, 2000). 

The use of loyalty contracts has decreased in part because of globalization 

and increasing workforce skills (Lawler, 2005) and the belief that written 

contracts cast doubts on informal, trusting relationships (often referred 

to as psychological contracts between employer and worker). Workers find 

such contracts unattractive because they can limit mobility and often 

diminish trust between management and employees (Flood et al., 2001; 

Lawler, 2005). 

Enhancing Compensation and Other Benefits 

Define “Compensation” Broadly. Although, as noted, research suggests 

that compensation often masks other reasons for leaving an organization, 

it and other benefits are powerful motivators for retention. Higher or 

well-timed salary adjustments, more-frequent promotions, visible career 

ladders, housing allowances, take-home cars, on-site child care, healthclub memberships, and job flexibility are some of the benefits that can 

help improve retention. Officers might compare such benefits across 

agencies and might transfer to agencies with better benefit packages. 
 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retention: Plugging the hole in the Bucket 49 

Currently, most police departments follow a one-size-fits-all approach to 

compensating employees, meaning that all entering recruits, for example, 

are offered the same salary and benefit package; younger workers might 

reject this model and look for options that better suit their needs (Edwards, 

2007). Lavigna (2005, p. 150) explains: 

Compensation must be used strategically to make the most 

difference. This means abandoning systems that rely on rigid 

across-the-board raises. Managers should be able to use their 

discretion (within guidelines) to hire above the minimum and 

give raises and bonuses for good performance and retention. 

Fairness, rather than the level of compensation, is more important for 

retention (Edwards, 2007). Money itself is not enough to engage all 

generations of employees (Edwards, 2007). Commitment and loyalty, 

especially of younger workers, to an organization cannot be “bought” 

(Brand, 1999; M. Fischer, 2006; McCafferty, 2003). The challenge is to 

find nonmonetary ways to motivate and engage workers. Today, benefit 

flexibility or a cafeteria-style approach is an option many companies have 

tried, allowing options while keeping costs down (Edwards, 2007). 

Pay Your Employees What They Are Worth. Increased compensation can also be effective, especially if it is well timed. The literature 

is sparse on this issue, but well-placed and well-timed longevity pay, 

most likely coupled with other benefits to meet individual needs, might 

reduce turnover. Longevity pay can boost retention of long-term, highly 

skilled and experienced personnel. Although there are direct costs to 

such pay, their benefits likely outweigh the costs of turnover. These 

increases should be timed to the agency’s key attrition points. A similar approach, called a retention bonus, is being used effectively within 

the Lehigh Valley Health Network. This program pays bonuses from 

$3,000 to $5,000 at specified times to reward employees who stay with 

the hospital (Edwards, 2007). These bonuses have led to low turnover 

rates and an abundance of applicants, landing the hospital on both 

Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For and U.S. News and World 

Report’s Best Hospitals list. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

50 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

Offer Apprentice Salary During Training. Apprentice salaries might 

be well below market rate but rapidly increase above market average as 

the officer gains experience, training, and credentials. This approach 

is effective as a retention tool and helps to attract trained officers from 

other departments (Orrick, 2008a). In light of developments in such cities 

as Portland, Oregon, where new hires are placed into a “preacademy,” 

and apprenticeship and mentorship roles are developed even prior to 

enrollment, apprenticeship positions with pay are beginning to emerge as 

innovative strategies (Glanville, 2009). 

Offer Educational Incentives. Educational incentives might be tied to 

mandatoryservicecommitmentsasaposthirepaybackmechanism(Jackson 

et al., 2003). Carter and Sapp (1992) found that offering educational 

incentives might have been a pivotal moment in the professionalization 

of modern law enforcement by linking police practitioners to higher 

educational goals and expectations. Roberg and Bonn (2004) claim that 

tying educational incentives to recruitment efforts has multiple benefits 

beyond retention. Outside of policing, Moyle et al. (2003) found that 

educational incentives offered to enhance job satisfaction among nurses 

would also establish long-term relationships between nurses and hospitals. 

Strategies that embed tuition and educational incentives in apprenticeship 

contexts can help not only retain workers but also create solid linkages 

between school-based learning and career pathways (Cantor, 1997). The 

benefits of such outreach accrue by establishing linkages between personal 

educational fulfillment and mandated post-training service (Plecki et al., 

2003; Jackson et al., 2003). 

Create an Incentive Portfolio. Creating a portfolio of incentives, including compensation, bonuses, and loan and tuition reimbursement, can help 

improve retention (Kowal, Hassel, and Hassel, 2008). It can also benefit 

initial recruitment by targeting specific candidate populations, such as, 

college-educated applicants through loan repayment programs, for example. What separates these strategies from simply offering perks or buffetstyle enticements is that the portfolio is generally tied to long-term candidate recruitment for specific groups (Kowal, Hassel, and Hassel, 2008). 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retention: Plugging the hole in the Bucket 51 

Use Career Ladders. A career ladder can provide for vertical promotional 

advancement in an organization. It might take many forms. Career ladders 

can consist of establishing regular and open advancement and promotional 

opportunities, testing for open positions, and still other substantive 

steps allowing employee career advancement. Career laddering can also 

constitute internal structural changes to organizations, allowing employees 

freer access to upper rungs of a ladder of achievement (Prince, 2003; 

Sochalski, 2002). These opportunities can also have symbolic meaning, 

fostering professionalism by allowing for promotional advancement and 

responsiveness to employee needs and career ambition and reinforcing 

feelings that employees are engaged in a bona fide career (Bacharach, 

Conley, and Shedd, 1986; Staiger, Auerbach, and Buerhaus, 2000). Visible 

career ladders show employees multiple pathways to organizational success. 

Both the formal and abstract characteristics of career ladders can positively affect employee perceptions of organizational commitment, professional orientation, and tangible opportunity for personal and professional improvement. Sochalski (2002) found that career ladders helped 

attract certified nurses not currently working in the profession back to 

the field. Fitzgerald (2006) found similar advancement opportunities to 

have benefits in retail and industrial work. Next-generation salary steps 

in many career ladders are integral in attracting 21st-century employees 

(Risher, 2002). Within policing, Orrick (2008a) suggests a dual-career 

track based on operational abilities (e.g., officer  I, II, III) rather than 

supervision. This would supplement laddering with salary advancement based on nontraditional abilities. The Pasadena (California) Police 

Department’s civilian career ladder provides employees mobility within 

the organization (“Q & A Chief Bernard Melekian,” 2009). Career laddering disrupts the inertia inherent in many social-service organizations 

that can limit impressions of personal and career advancement (Rosenholtz, 1986; Spuck, 1974). 

Agencies that adopt career ladders as a recruitment technique might 

strengthen the links between entry-level positions and future advancement 

opportunities. Some organizations have experimented with job zones 

based on education, experience, and projected growth metrics derived 

from needs assessments of targeted organizational growth (Prince, 2003). 
52 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

Supplemental management training for ladder climbers has been used to 

strengthen preparation of entry-level employees (Prince, 2003; Robinson, 

Murrells, and Clinton, 2006). 

Consider Offering Perks—But Wisely. For the private sector, perks 

might be seen as a key retention (and recruitment) tool. Perks might be 

categorized as soft (e.g., ease of commute, challenge of work) or hard (e.g., 

flexible scheduling and promotional opportunities) (Shilling, 2004). 

For example, some of Google’s benefits include on-site physician and 

dental care, free massage and yoga, free meals, a three-week vacation in 

the first year of employment, free recreation, an on-site car wash and dry 

cleaner, an on-site fitness facility, flexible work hours, and casual dress for 

nearly every employee (Switzer, 2006). Just as educational incentives can 

increase job satisfaction and human and social capital, so too can perks 

(Holtom, Mitchell, and Lee, 2006; Mitchell, Holtom, Lee, Sablynski, and 

Erez, 2001). Employee perceptions of these perks might be more directly 

related to positive organizational culture than to the actual benefits 

received. Perks should be integrated into a larger employee-retention plan 

to be most effective (Mitchell, Holtom, Lee, Sablynski, and Erez, 2001). 

Do note, however, that perks distributed to the entire organization with 

little discussion of their intent can be detrimental to an organization 

(Sigler, 1999). 

Some research disputes the increase in productivity attributed to perks. 

Hausknecht, Rodda, and Howard (2008) call perks “investments” 

and relate them to longevity but found that they affected long-term 

employment for less than 10 percent of respondents in their survey. Some 

perks, such as profit-sharing in the private sector, can be altered to focus 

on group performance or adapted to other settings. Police departments, 

for example, can give a unit a day off for a job well done or increase its 

budget to reward exceptional performance. While not all private-sector 

benefits might be transferable to the public sector, the public sector can 

still offer unique perks (e.g., low-interest mortgage loans for officers). 

Investigate Job Flexibility as a Plan with Multiple Personnel 

Benefits. Job flexibility—including such strategies as working from 

home, telecommuting, alternative scheduling, job-sharing, and staggered 

work hours—is gaining popularity in multiple work environments (Hill 
Retention: Plugging the hole in the Bucket 53 

et al., 2001). The perception that such strategies allow for a better work 

and family balance is an attractive concept to workers and is supported 

by a host of empirical research on work-life balance and its influence on 

public health and individual happiness (Aronsson, 1999; Hill et al., 2001; 

Levin-Epstein, 2006; Sparks et al., 1997; Swanberg, 2005). As such, the 

impact of flexibility on job and overall company performance has been 

positive (Kogi, 1997; Perrons, 2000; Sánchez et al., 2007). M.  Anderson and Gobeil (2003) found that, in 67 percent of cases, job flexibility 

strategies were “very effective” in improving employee retention in childwelfare service positions. Richman et al. (2008) note that both formal 

and informal flexibility boost retention times, particularly when seen as 

a product of organizational commitment to employee work-life balance. 

Eaton (2003) found that job-flexibility policies not only had a positive 

impact on overall retention but also helped attract young, family-oriented 

job prospects. A consistent theme in research on job flexibility concerns 

the obstacles to implementation that, if overcome, can offer a wide variety 

of benefits, including greater employee retention. 

Increasing the availability of flexible work options, such as flexible hours, 

alternative work schedules, job-sharing, and part-time employment, 

allowing for employee choice in work structure is strongly related to 

reducing turnover (Lynch and Tuckey, 2004). Alternative work schedules 

also reduce sick time, absences, and overtime. Job-sharing, in which 

two employees hold a position together, require more employees and 

equipment, as well as organizational commitment to innovative job 

scheduling, and might not be desirable to all (Hill et al., 2001; Richman 

et al., 2008). Nevertheless, job-sharing and part-time scheduling have 

boosted retention of highly qualified nurses (O’Brien-Pallas, Duffield, 

and Alksnis, 2004) and information-technology and library-science 

professionals (Stanley, 2008). 

For police, Pierce and Dunham (1992) found significant improvements 

in scheduling of personal activities after a departmental change from a 

forward-rotating eight-hour-shift schedule to a 12-hour compressed shift 

schedule. Agencies should identify what flexible scheduling and sharing 

options are already in place, identify employees’ general and individual 

needs, examine what comparable agencies are providing, and then try to 
54 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

meet employees’ group and individual needs and improve worker access 

to flexible work practices (Switzer, 2006; Lynch and Tuckey, 2004). 

Departments implementing flexible work practices will need to promote 

them among staff and train management to implement flexible solutions 

in each work area. 

The organizational commitment to this strategy must be high in order to 

regulate the myriad administrative, payroll, benefit, and compensation 

issues that arise with job flexibility (Best, 1981). The organization might 

wish to conduct a preliminary feasibility study to determine costs and 

benefits of such a program (Meier, 1979). 

Employee Engagement 

Employee engagement refers to a number of strategies organizations might 

pursue to help employees balance work and career—what literature terms 

life-task relationships (Cartwright and Holmes, 2006; Jamrog, 2004). 

All strategies employed by organizations to address worker needs can 

be engaging. Employee-engagement strategies often emphasize affective 

outcomes, such as resolving employees’ emotional needs, restoring trust, 

and increasing confidence that organizations care about their workers 

(Towers Perrin, 2003). Engagement in this sense means embracing an 

overall idea that companies have a responsibility to regulate employee 

self-efficacy, trust, and well-being. 

Understand What “Engagement” Means and How to Create It. 

Employee engagement includes enhancing the diversity of work, allowing 

officers to have a voice in decisions, providing feedback, recognizing their 

achievement, creating opportunities to build cohesion, and instituting 

mentoring programs. The concept has shown success when applied to 

policing: The Santa Cruz Consolidated Emergency Communication 

Center experiences 1-percent turnover in an industry with an average 

attrition rate of 17 percent (Switzer, 2006). Its success is attributed to a 

willingness to try different approaches, listening to employees, engaging 

them in planning and decision making, and recognizing good behavior. 
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retention: Plugging the hole in the Bucket 55 

Allow Employees to Experience Others’ Duties Through Work 

Diversity. Assignment rotation can be a valuable way to provide 

opportunities for officers and deputies to experience special duties, 

thereby enhancing the diversity of their work (S. Lewis, Kagan, and 

Heaton, 2000; Palmer et al., 1998). Rotational assignments might be an 

employment incentive for younger employees entering law enforcement, 

but there are benefits for senior officers as well. Senior officers transferred 

for short periods might allow officers to break out of professional ruts 

while promoting cross-functional knowledge and experience. Similarly, 

cross-training might also increase job satisfaction and commitment to 

the organization (Davenport, Thomas, and Cantrell, 2002; Kirpal, 2004; 

Palmer et al., 1998). 

Provide for Job Shadowing with New Hires and Beyond. Job 

shadowing can expose officers to other units, build their future aspirations, 

and create camaraderie among officers across shifts and duties. It might 

also enhance a deeper understanding for the integrated duties all have in 

the department, as when an inexperienced patrol officer shadows court 

security, narcotics enforcement, and investigating officers. Pairing new 

hires with mentors in shadowing and supervised contexts can strengthen 

skill development, coaching, organizational bonds, and occupational 

socialization (COPS, 2009b). It also inculcates a broader organizational 

mission with associated strategies for enhancing commitment and 

work progress (Luthans and Jensen, 2005). Shadowing and mentoring 

opportunities expand the organizational role in employee engagement by 

providing a supportive peer for new hires who might be simultaneously a 

leader and partner (Gunnels-Perry, 2007). Morgan and Kritsonis (2008) 

suggest that these relationships are crucial and essential and should be 

established immediately after hire. 

Give Employees a Voice in Decision Making. When employees 

believe that they have a voice that can influence organizational decisions, 

it deepens their commitment to the organization and encourages ongoing 

feedback, creating a continuous, positive dialogue. Supervisors should 

listen to their officers and have personal one-on-one contact whenever 

possible. Police departments can increase officer input and feedback 

through carefully crafted surveys about organizational effectiveness 
 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

56 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

(Cartwright and Holmes, 2006; Towers Perrin, 2003). This type of input 

can be effective so long as the department is willing to act on the results. 

The chief of the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department, 

for example, claims that allowing officers to be more engaged with their 

work helped halve attrition rates (see box, Improving Recruitment and 

Retention Through Employee Engagement). 

Allow for Employee Feedback, and Make it Meaningful. Providing 

feedback is critical, especially for younger-generation workers. A 360- 

degree evaluation, in which workers are evaluated by managers, 

colleagues, subordinates, and clients, has shown promise in integrating 

employee feedback in meaningful ways. Several studies (Hazucha, 

Hezlett, and Schneider, 1993; London and Wohlers, 1991; A. Walker 

and Smither, 1999) indicate that the use of 360-degree evaluation 

helps improve performance by maximizing the utility of feedback for 

promotions, advancement, and compensation. Orrick (2008a) states 

that feedback should be timely, specific, and job related. Supervisors 

should be as specific as possible about strategies officers can use to 

improve performance. Positive behaviors can be modeled in training 

and demonstrations with other officers. Research consistently shows a 

strong relationship between feedback and organizational commitment 

(Cangelosi, Markham, and Bounds, 1998; Eskildsen and Nussler, 2000; 

Saari and Judge, 2004). 

Discussing positive and negative performance with employees should 

not be postponed until a formally scheduled performance appraisal but 

should be reviewed immediately. Samuel Walker (2006) found that 

performance evaluation procedures in policing have been criticized and 

that there is insufficient research to support their utility and efficacy 

as a feedback mechanism. A 1977 Police Foundation study found 

that performance appraisals did not adequately reflect police work 

and generally provided inflated assessments of officer performance 

(Landy, 1977). A 1997 report found that little progress had been made 

in improving on these failures in the 20 years since the Landy report 

(Oettmeier and Wycoff, 1997). Providing feedback is essential, but 

confining it to procedural evaluations might prove to have little effect 

on officer self-efficacy and turnover. 
 

 

Retention: Plugging the hole in the Bucket 57 

IMPrOvIng reCruItMent 

AnD retentIOn thrOugh 

eMPLOyee engAgeMent 

The Washington Metropolitan Police Department, with approximately 3,800 officers, is among the largest in the nation. In addition to facing many of the same 

challenges that other large urban agencies do, the department, given its jurisdiction 

in the nation’s capital, has several unique responsibilities requiring personnel with a 

wide variety of skills and interests. Maintaining this staff, according to Cathy Lanier 

(2008), chief of the department, requires a focus on both recruitment and retention. 

To make itself more appealing to new recruits, the department seeks to instill a 

sense of pride in its history, portraying itself as providing an environment in which 

recruits will want to work. The department benefits, Lanier claims, both from the 

opportunities it can offer as a large department and from its unique location. 

Lanier claims that, when she became chief, the department had a monthly attrition 

rate of about 20 officers but that allowing officers to be more engaged with their 

work cut that rate nearly in half (J. Wilson and Grammich, 2009a). One example 

of employee engagement Lanier cites is a website on “chief concerns,” permitting 

officers to anonymously suggest ways to make their job easier and improve the 

department. The chief publicly recognizes suggestions that the organization has 

implemented, encouraging officers to make further suggestions. Lanier contends 

that officers who are more engaged are more likely to stay with the agency. 

Recognize Employees’ Successes. Behavior that is recognized is more 

likely to be repeated. Orrick (2008a) contends that employee recognition 

is a process, not a singular event, and can occur at many levels: direct 

supervisors, upper-level management, and the community or other 

authorities can all participate in recognizing officer success. Letters of 

commendation, achievement, and recognition, as well as simple thank-you 

notes, can help show that good work has been recognized. Other moreelaborate approaches include conducting morale or pride meetings, which 

allow for social interaction and improving communication, trust, and 

identification with fellow employees (Orrick, 2008a). Budgeting for small 

tokens can reinforce good behavior, creating additional rewards for the 

agency while supporting positive morale within the department. Posting 

compliments of the department and officers can provide encouragement 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

58 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

for the whole department. Having high-performing officers meet with 

and be recognized by external city officials can promote the department 

as a whole while recognizing individuals and units and publicize the good 

work of the department to others in the community (Orrick, 2008a). 

Even gathering informally to celebrate birthdays or anniversaries, host 

team-building activities (such as sports contests), or watch sporting events 

can offer opportunities to recognize success (Stairs et al., 2006). 

The keys to effective recognition are timeliness (Kim, 2005), sincerity 

(Luthans, 2000), selectivity (Del Bueno, 1993; Luthans, 2000), and 

substance (Enz and Siguaw, 2000). These are crucial, as improper 

implementation can backfire by creating or contributing to a culture of 

phony praise, indiscriminate recognition, and meaningless ceremony. 

Effective recognition, by contrast, can build a more-meaningful connection 

between employee and management that is rooted in organizational culture 

(Lloyd Morgan, undated; Rust et al., 1996). Orrick (2008a) also suggests 

that these strategies can positively influence employees from different 

generations, all of whom desire individual recognition and engagement. 

Mentor Officers Beyond the Field Training Experience. Privatesector companies have long mentored new employees, with such practices 

regarded as the cornerstone of any organizational commitment to employee 

retention in multiple fields (Butler and Felts, 2006; Hegstad and Wentling, 

2004; Ingersoll and Smith, 2003; Musser, 2001; Smith and Ingersoll, 

2004). Peer mentorship can promote a wide variety of long-term goals, 

including collegial relationships among employees (Smith and Ingersoll, 

2004), professional development and on-the-job skill retention (Greene 

and Puetzer, 2002), employee engagement (Kickul, 2002), occupational 

socialization (Hurst and Koplin-Baucum, 2003), and positive morale, 

loyalty, and job satisfaction (Ingersoll and Smith, 2003). These strategies are 

particularly helpful in establishing strong relationships between beginning 

employees and experienced mentors for minority workers (Friedman and 

Holtom, 2002; Musser, 2001; COPS, 2009b) and in difficult-to-fill positions 

in rural areas. While mentoring programs can be relatively inexpensive 

tools to retain employees, their success depends on the professionalism 

and confidentiality practiced by those involved, as well as the department’s 

commitment to training mentors (L. Lee, 2001; Switzer, 2006). 
 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Retention: Plugging the hole in the Bucket 59 

There is little empirical research on the effectiveness of mentoring 

programs in police organizations. Orrick (2008a) identifies some 

intervening and confounding variables that complicate the assessment 

of mentoring programs. These include the subjective nature of 

mentoring (making it hard to quantify), the specificity of individual 

goals, and varied levels of mentor and mentee experience, commitment, 

and ability. Agencies can track participants, surveying their satisfaction 

and monitoring them over time. Field training evaluation structures can 

be extended to mentoring. 

Research in other fields shows that mentoring can succeed. A one-year 

longitudinal quasi-experiment on the effectiveness of a formal mentoring 

program at a Fortune 100 corporation found that employees who 

participated in the program reported significantly higher levels of job 

satisfaction than did a control group without a mentor (Seibert, 1999). 

Similarly, a study of mentoring programs for new teachers found that 

those with mentors from the same subject field, who participated in such 

activities as planning and collaboration with other teachers, were less likely 

to move to other schools or to leave the teaching occupation after their 

first year (Smith and Ingersoll, 2004). Other research finds the likability 

of, and satisfaction and contact with, mentors was higher when protégés 

perceived themselves to be more similar to their mentors. Actual race 

pairing was related to protégé perceptions of the amount of career support 

and to how well mentors liked protégés (Ensher and Murphy, 1997). 

Improving Organizational Effectiveness 

Police departments must hire well, promote well, provide comprehensive 

training, and hold leaders accountable (Orrick, 2008a) by: 

•	 communicating departmental goals routinely and effectively 

•	 being fair and transparent in all aspects of departmental policy 

•	 reducing unnecessary bureaucracy 

• selecting and maintaining an effective management and supervisory staff. 
 

 

 

 

 

60 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

A major reason for turnover is the perceived quality of supervision. The 

relationship that immediate and midlevel supervisors have with their 

officers has the most influence on an officer’s decision to stay or leave the 

department (Orrick, 2008a, 2008b). The way police departments select 

supervisors and leaders, often by longevity or superior performance in 

operational positions (as opposed to management potential), results in 

poor supervisory training and mentorship for police supervisors, as well 

as disconnection from line-level officers. 

A study of resignations and transfers in ten United Kingdom police forces 

found that, when asked about ways to improve the service, respondents 

emphasized the need to increase support from all levels of management, 

as well as reduce paperwork and bureaucracy (Christine Cooper and 

Ingram, 2004). Officers’ perceptions that management was unfair and 

ineffective at all levels led to increased resignations and transfers. A 

study of police in Australia concluded that departments should focus 

on improving management style and communication, as well as provide 

training for supervisors and managers on key management topics (Lynch 

and Tuckey, 2004). Effective law-enforcement leadership development 

programs improve the leader’s ability to achieve organizational goals that 

serve the public and enhance their ability to develop individuals, teams, 

and the organization for the future (Moriarty 2009; Orrick, 2008a). 

Conclusion 

Improving retention can not only boost department morale but also save 

costs for replacing personnel. Among the costs associated with turnover 

are those for recruiting, selecting, and training new employees, and those 

associated with loss of productivity and knowledge. These costs, especially 

those for recruiting and training, can be higher for police agencies than for 

other employers. 

To improve retention, departments should understand who is likely 

to leave, when they are likely to leave, and their reasons for doing so. 

Younger officers, other new officers, and women and minority officers 

leave policing in disproportionate numbers. Officers might leave for 

many reasons, including the following: 
Retention: Plugging the hole in the Bucket 61 

•	 other opportunities elsewhere 

•	 better compensation, including salary, benefits, viable career ladders, 

and adequate training and equipment 

•	 personality traits and characteristics, with those having high levels of 

anxiety being more likely to leave 

•	 organizational issues, such as supervisory practices 

•	 employee needs for feedback and recognition, a stimulating work 

environment, and job satisfaction. 

Agencies can undertake a wide variety of initiatives to improve retention 

or to minimize the detrimental effects of attrition. These include 

planning and analysis of employee needs, reducing the financial impact 

of attrition, enhancing compensation and perks, engaging employees to 

improve the agency, and improving organizational effectiveness through 

open communication and fair and transparent practices. 

Few of these strategies have been empirically tested. Little but anecdotes 

is known about many of them. The application of these strategies must be 

evaluated empirically to determine whether they actually improve officer 

retention. Surveying officers pre- and posthire, conducting analyses 

of departmental attrition data, collecting data about supervisor and 

management impressions of these programs, or evaluating the workplace 

environment in a qualitative manner might indicate success or room for 

improvement. There is also little discussion across agencies regarding the 

different strategies each has employed and the prospects for success they 

see in their own organizations. To date, the literature is rich with ideas, 

many of which have showed promise in other fields. Police departments 

can begin to experiment with these and other strategies but should 

incorporate mechanisms to assess their effectiveness. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

ChaPteR FOUR 

Recruitment: Filling the Bucket 

Throughout the 2000s, police-officer recruitment has concerned police 

executives and administrators from agencies of varying size and locale. 

Early in the decade, the nation’s largest agencies, including those in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, reported problems recruiting qualified applicants (Butterfield, 2001). Half of all agencies and two-thirds 

of those serving at least 50,000 residents also reported staffing problems stemming from a lack of qualified applicants (Koper, Maguire, and 

Moore, 2001). In 2004, California police chiefs identified recruitment 

and retention as their second-most pressing issue, trailing only funding 

(California Police Chiefs Association, 2004) and reflecting concerns of 

earlier years (California Police Chiefs Association 1994, 2001). Even as 

recent economic conditions have led to an increased number of applications, police departments might still find a shortage of applicants qualified for their work (Castro, 2009; Chambers, 2009). 

Identifying sources of the recruiting challenge remains problematic 

because symptoms might vary by jurisdiction. Nevertheless, departments 

can identify dimensions and categorize them as external to policing, such 

as economic and social conditions and work-life changes, or specific to 

the profession or specific departments, such as low pay or benefits. Many 

of these issues are evident in our bucket metaphor. In this chapter, we 

focus on the recruitment challenge in policing and on detailing specific 

strategies evident in the literature from several disciplines for recruiting 

the best available candidates. 

The recruitment challenge appears to be deepening over time, as generational preferences and conceptions of work and career change, and as other 

trends work to reduce the pool of qualified applicants. Whereas agencies 

have had historical difficulties recruiting women and minority applicants, 

their inability to grapple with generational differences has shown the profession to be underprepared for the rapidly changing and uncertain economic and social landscape (Jordan et al., 2009; Orrick, 2008a; J. Wilson 

63 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

64 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

and Grammich, 2009a). Previously unconsidered issues, such as the pull 

of more-lucrative careers and negative images of policing, might further 

deplete the applicant pool, particularly as the economy improves over time 

(Cavanagh, 2003; Koper, Maguire, and Moore, 2001; Flynn, 2000). 

The recruitment challenge is a product of several rapidly changing trends, 

which departments appear ill-prepared to address, in the way police recruiters and potential applicants view each other. Missing organized recruitment programs, objectives, or strategies, police departments have placed 

themselves at a growing disadvantage in recruiting qualified officers, losing 

them to other industries and fields at a quickening rate (Scrivner, 2006; 

Taylor et al., 2006). 

Concerns about recruiting minorities and women that dominated police 

recruitment discussions decades ago have now expanded to concerns that 

the profession is failing to market itself to a new generation of workers 

(COPS, 2009b). Personnel costs comprise 75 to 85  percent of police 

department budgets, underscoring the importance of hiring, recruiting, 

and selecting the best candidates, even in uncertain times (Orrick, 2008a; 

White and Escobar, 2008). Agencies have little guidance for recruitment 

strategies, so difficulties persist. Jordan et al. (2009) found that only 

one in five agencies had targeted recruitment strategies for women and 

minorities. White and Escobar (2008, p.  120) lament police agencies’ 

unwillingness to “sell themselves” when recruiting for diversity. As the 

diversity and breadth of the communities that agencies serve expands, 

agencies might face difficulties in recruiting officers for positions that are 

increasingly complex, require new competencies, or require interaction 

with communities whose needs they do not always know or understand. 

Many departments have answered the recruiting challenge by expanding 

their recruitment efforts. Orrick (2008a) illustrates why recruitment 

programs, selection processes, and screening techniques are essential in 

a broader, proactive plan. Facing mounting uncertainty about staffing 

deficiencies, organizations should first assess their needs. In this chapter, 

we describe how to create and use such an assessment to construct a 

recruitment strategy that meets individual agency needs, how to improve 

selection and recruiting processes, and how these strategies might help 
 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recruitment: Filling the Bucket 65 

departments navigate the recruitment challenge. We begin by briefly 

reviewing the history of police recruitment. 

Police Recruitment Practices: Past and Present 

In 1931, the National Committee on Law Observation and Enforcement 

(commonly known as the Wickersham Commission), appointed by 

President Herbert Hoover to study enforcement of Prohibition, detailed 

advances needed in the professionalization of policing, including the 

elimination of the spoils system for recruitment and hiring (Alpert, 1991; 

S. Walker, 1997). As police agencies moved toward merit-based hiring in 

the 1940s and 1950s, the dual problems of liability for law-enforcement 

behavior and increasing concerns over discrimination in police work 

fueled the use of more-scientific methods, such as psychometrics and 

standardized psychological testing in recruitment (Fyfe et al., 1997; Hogue, 

Black, and Sigler, 1994). These culminated in the formation of the Law 

Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) in 1967, which sought 

to implement Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines in 

the hiring of law-enforcement officers (Scrivner, 2006). The LEAA aligned 

selection methods with perceived job duties to create more-valid external 

analyses of demonstrated skills for police work. By the end of the 1960s, 

agencies nationwide used scientific and career-specific methods of testing, 

evaluating, and examining potential recruits on the basis of departmental 

perceptions of what one needed to know to be a good police officer. 

This system was challenged in the mid-1970s, when Goldstein (1977) 

examined what police did on patrol. He found that most officer time 

in uniform was spent in human-service roles, such as helping citizens, 

negotiating disputes, or interacting with diverse community members in 

nonenforcement roles. The skills required for this work were incompatible 

with those for which recruits were screened, trained, and tested. This 

realization led to a reorientation of police work toward community 

policing. The Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement 

Agencies put forth recommendations for diversifying personnel to reflect 

the community (White and Escobar, 2008), although selection practices 

remained inconsistent with the new police role into the 1980s. 
66 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

Evaluation processes might either “select out” candidates (that is, discern 

flaws in a candidate, disqualifying him or her from a position) or “select 

in” candidates (that is, identify positive qualities that make an applicant 

an attractive candidate). Controversies over the two approaches and 

their merit have persisted since the advent of the community-policing 

era (Scrivner, 2006). It is unclear what skills agencies should identify in 

“selecting in” candidates, given rapid changes in community needs and 

demographics (Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police et al., 2000; 

Woska, 2006). The “selecting out” or hurdle process of recruitment 

remains attractive because many agencies cling to an outdated perception 

of the police role (Scrivner, 2006). 

Nevertheless, rigidity is giving way to some experimentation and innovation. The Community Policing Consortium, through its Hiring in 

the Spirit of Service program, has sought to align hiring practices with 

individual agency needs regarding officer duties and skills. The results 

might help agencies attract a wider range of officers for open positions 

(Scrivner, 2006). The use of assessment centers and hurdle approaches 

might be incompatible with career needs and goals of new generations 

of recruits (DeCicco, 2000; Orrick, 2008a; Taylor et al., 2006). At 

best, the current climate of police recruitment consists of a lack of uniformity, little widespread use of data or research to guide recruitment 

efforts, and a fragmented approach to understanding the crisis and 

planning a response to it (Orrick, 2008a; Scrivner, 2006; White and 

Escobar, 2008). 

How these fractured approaches have affected recruiting in recent years 

is unclear. Strawbridge and Strawbridge (1990) provided one of the 

first systematic efforts to describe the recruitment environment across 

jurisdictions, surveying 72  local police departments with 500 or more 

sworn officers about their recruiting, screening, and training practices. 

Among their findings was the need for a computerized database to 

facilitate communication about best practices given societal changes and 

resource limitations. 

Langworthy, Hughes, and Sanders (1995) conducted a second survey of 

60 of these agencies in 1994. They found decreasing use of television for 

recruiting, of maximum age requirements, of preemployment standards, 
Recruitment: Filling the Bucket 67 

and of state subsidies for training. They also found increased use of 

intelligence tests, psychological reviews, and duration of academy training 

and little change in probationary periods. 

Taylor et al. (2006) conducted a national survey of nearly 1,000 agencies 

in 2002, including 32 of those in the earlier survey by Strawbridge and 

Strawbridge. They found little evidence to accept or reject hypotheses 

of a growing “cop crunch” but did find that some of these agencies had 

developed a severe shortage of officers, with more than 10 percent of their 

allocated slots vacant. They also found that many agencies had developed 

targeted recruiting strategies for minority, female, veteran, college-grad, 

and experienced candidates, but that they had difficulties in hiring 

sufficient numbers of female and minority candidates. 

Determining Staffing Needs 

Agencies must prepare themselves for hiring by first assessing their staffing needs (Switzer, 2006). There has been little analysis on the determination of staffing needs, despite the belief that empirical analyses of organizational needs would have widespread benefit. Police needs assessments 

have their roots in patrol allocation formulas of the pre–community 

policing era, when patrol manpower and risk formulas relied heavily on 

crime activity and calls for service as standard measurements of patrol saturation (Larson, 1978; Metropolitan Atlanta Crime Commission, 1977). 

As policing has grown more complex, staffing analyses have evolved as 

well. The Delaware State Personnel Office (2002) recommended the 

use of internal assessments prior to hiring and training law-enforcement 

employees. The National Institute of Corrections (Liebert and Miller, 

2001) published a guidebook for corrections facilities that assisted facilities in conducting staffing analyses. Orrick (2008a) has also supported 

the use of needs analysis in determining hiring levels. In an applied 

example, the Pinal County (Ariz.) Sheriff ’s Office (PCSO) conducted an 

internal staffing analysis that examined such topics as patrol deployment, 

attrition rates, and scheduling policy to determine future hiring needs 

(PCSO, 2008). These and other strategies form a broad organizational 

needs assessment that can help shape the hiring process. The steps we 
68 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

discuss in this section, derived from organizational-assessment literature 

on strategic planning, might help focus and set the parameters for a strategic hiring plan. Many of these strategies can be performed internally, 

without external assistance. 

Develop an Assessment Team. Staffing decisions and processes involve 

the input of community, government, and department stakeholders. 

Involving them in an assessment team invigorates hiring with input 

from those affected by hiring decisions. Departments might also wish 

to consider using outside agencies or private companies to assist with 

the needs assessment, which will come at a cost but can add expertise, 

objectivity, and independence. Orrick (2008a) suggests that assembling 

the assessment team could be as crucial in the hiring process as enacting 

the hiring plan itself. By choosing a team that represents all stakeholders 

in the hiring process, the department can assess its true needs and make 

more-comprehensive decisions about staffing. 

Identify Budget and Source of Revenue. Analyzing available revenue is seen as a final step in conducting a needs assessment of hiring in 

corrections (Clem, Krauth, and Wenger, 2000) but might be better used 

as an initial step in police staffing assessments. Evaluating resources can 

help departments realistically determine their true capacities for personnel expansion (Clem, Krauth, and Wenger, 2000). 

Specify Organizational Goals and Values. Hiring criteria differ 

by region and organizational setting (Kahanov and Andrews, 2001). 

There might also be variation within a single department, with upper 

management, training staff, and line-level officers all having different 

ideas. Defining candidate characteristics should be a deliberative process. 

It might involve the creation or reiteration of a value or mission statement 

communicating a department’s core beliefs (Switzer, 2006). Crafting 

the “ideal” candidate should be tied closely to organizational goals 

and mission and help establish criteria the department will use to hire 

(Orrick, 2008a). 

Use Benchmarks to Determine True Staffing Need. Despite the 

use of data-driven peer comparisons to determine police behavior in 

such areas as police growth and personnel expenditures, benchmarks 
Recruitment: Filling the Bucket 69 

determining staffing needs have not improved on informal peer 

comparisons (Nalla, Lynch, and Leiber, 1997). A few analyses have used 

hard data: The PCSO analysis used five other agencies of comparable 

size, patrol strength, and demography for a staffing comparison (PCSO, 

2008). Similarly, a Canadian policing human-resource study used 

computer models to project attrition rates and models to predict police 

staffing requirements (Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police et al., 

2000). Using benchmarks for staffing needs requires data collection and 

analysis, but these could be data readily available to most departments, 

including those on demographics, budgetary outlays, political structure, 

crime trends, calls for service, and community needs (Koper, Maguire, 

and Moore, 2001; Orrick, 2008a). The benchmarks could then be 

adjusted for qualitative differences, such as by emphasis on discretionary 

time for community policing and problem-solving projects. Additionally, 

a performance- or workload-based assessment can be conducted for an 

individual agency to estimate the number of officers required to meet 

workload demands (Shane, 2007; Fritsch, Liederbach, and Taylor, 2009). 

Such models can empirically account for discretionary and relief (e.g., 

authorized leave) time, as well as work schedules and minimum staffing 

requirements. It is common for agencies to consult with staffing experts 

to conduct these analyses, although various staffing software programs 

are available to assist those that prefer to conduct such analyses internally. 

Integrate the Community in the Hiring Process. In addition to 

department stakeholders, including community input can better inform 

decisions on external issues (Switzer, 2006). Community members can 

help ensure that hiring reflects not only community needs but also 

community characteristics. Orrick (2008a) sees community input as 

crucial to determining standards for hiring. Scrivner (2006) recognizes 

the essential input of minority community members for establishing 

ethnic diversity in a department. The city of St. Paul, Minnesota, as part of 

a program to reduce racially biased policing, worked with the community 

to determine a list of characteristics (e.g., enthusiastic, fair, possessed of 

good judgment, tenacious, respectful, compassionate, unafraid to engage 

the community) that ideal candidates should possess (McDevitt, Farrell, 

and Wolf, 2008). Without a clearer picture of community character 

and an assessment of the needs of special populations in a department’s 
70 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

jurisdiction, benchmark comparisons might omit community viewpoints 

not reflected in raw data. Community leaders, seeing that the department 

is inclusive of community input and needs, might “recruit” for the 

department by speaking positively of careers with it (Haggerty, 2009; 

Whetstone, Reed, and Turner, 2006). 

Attracting Candidates: Considerations 

Organizations must consider several issues for attracting candidates. 

First, they should understand the function of research and data-gathering 

in the personnel selection process (Switzer, 2006; Canadian Association 

of Chiefs of Police et al., 2000; Chien and Chen, 2008). This can inform 

each aspect of the process by examining it as a larger endeavor of matching 

individual talents to departmental goals and objectives. Second, they 

should craft recruitment goals that reflect an ethic that is visible to 

applicants (McKay and Avery, 2005; Orrick, 2008a). Decision rules 

about qualities of good candidates should spring from the department’s 

climate as revealed in the earliest stages of the needs assessment and be 

linked to the attraction strategy. Third, when examining strategies for 

attracting candidates, departments should remember that the relative 

success of strategies might depend on budget, departmental commitment, 

personnel resources for recruitment, and departmental effectiveness in 

targeting specific subgroups that the agency seeks to recruit. 

There might be synergies among these strategies (Switzer, 2006). When 

the community and department stakeholders have formed a partnership, 

identified hiring resources and needs, and used research to inform 

their work, the hiring process might flow more smoothly, with specific 

strategies that “work” for the department arising from the outflow of 

ideas, philosophy, and planning. 

Attracting Candidates: Internal Strategies 

The best recruiters for a department are often its own personnel (Baker 

and Carrera, 2007; Haggerty, 2009). Building professional networks 

within the department to support recruitment can enhance community 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recruitment: Filling the Bucket 71 

outreach efforts by making recruitment an overall philosophy rather 

than a task to be performed. Internal strategies that emphasize 

interaction, relationship-building, and partnerships with the public 

can enhance perceptions of diversity and boost hiring of women and 

minorities (Taylor et al., 2006; COPS, 2009b). Without a climate that 

reflects legitimate and credible organizational beliefs, recruitment for 

diversity can be seen as false and might even increase turnover (McKay 

and Avery, 2005). Having a department-wide outlook that emphasizes 

recruitment potential in public interactions can help overcome negative 

or unrealistic impressions of what police work entails and contribute to 

a larger strategic recruitment plan. Recruiting can become a part of the 

department’s everyday interactions with the public (Baker and Carrera, 

2007; Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police et al., 2000). 

Build Employee Referral Networks. Referrals by family, friends, and 

employees strongly influence individual decisions to apply for careers in 

public service (Baker and Carrera, 2007; Switzer, 2006; Slater and Reiser, 

1988; Yearwood, 2003). Relationship-based recruiting can also dispel 

myths about police work and build associations across different groups 

(Baker and Carrera, 2007). Applicants who are referred and sponsored 

by an existing employee are more likely to complete the hiring process 

(Barber, 1998). 

Two important influences on the decision to apply for police positions 

are department reputation and exposure to the variety of tasks that police 

perform; these can be solidified with employee referrals and community 

activism (Baker and Carrera, 2007; Slater and Reiser, 1988). Personal 

referrals can also provide a realistic portrayal of how a law-enforcement 

career affects family life (Ryan et al., 2001). To boost referrals, 

departments should consider compensation and other incentives for 

them (Switzer, 2006; Haggerty, 2009; Lachnit, 2001). Relationshipbased and employee referral strategies help increase applicant pools and 

provide balance to other recruitment strategies, such as online processes, 

that lack human interaction. 

Create a Department Recruitment Unit. A recruitment unit can be 

separate from recruitment teams that perform hiring needs assessments or 

be linked interdepartmentally (Geis and Cavanagh, 1966; Orrick, 2008a; 
72 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

Whetstone, Reed, and Turner, 2006). Recruitment units oversee internal 

and external strategies devoted to recruitment, such as testing, advertising, 

coordinating outreach programs, media relations, and recruiting events 

(New York City Commission to Combat Police Corruption, 2008). By 

establishing such a unit, departments can better ensure that recruitment 

efforts reflect the department’s needs, goals, and philosophies and 

enhance the credibility and openness of recruitment efforts (Breaugh 

and Starke, 2000). Departments should consider structuring the team 

and mentoring team members so as to best improve quality and efficacy; 

this can include integrating background investigative and personnel staff 

into the recruitment team (Switzer, 2006; Lim et al., 2009). Departments 

should also consider using incentives for recruiting-team participation 

and success (Switzer, 2006; Whetstone, Reed, and Turner, 2006). 

Look Within the Department for Potential Recruits. Referral 

networks might consider a department’s civilian staff for sworn positions, 

a strategy that would create “feeder” networks of existing employees 

(Ridgeway et al., 2008). Auxiliary and reserve ranks have frequently been 

used as an internal personnel resource (Yearwood, 2003). Because such 

employees are already part of the organization, this process reduces hiring 

costs, time, and procedures (Jordan et al., 2009). 

Conduct an Internal Assessment of Employee-Engagement 

Strategies. Google, the Internet search-engine company, publishes 

a list of benefits called the “I bet you don’t have that where you work” 

list (Sullivan, 2005). The list details Google’s employee-engagement 

strategies, which range from perks (on-site dry cleaning, a wine club, 

and yoga classes) to more-traditional benefits (flexible hours, vacation 

benefits, and health counseling). Police agencies should ask themselves 

what they present that will attract the best possible officers. Police chiefs 

should ask themselves, “Why would I want to work for this department?” 

(McKeever and Kranda, 2000). Conducting an inventory of benefits can 

be the first step in assessing those that work best in attracting candidates, 

those that are weak, and how they appear from the applicant’s perspective. 

This is a crucial step in department marketing and outreach efforts 

(Orrick, 2008a). An inventory of benefits can also bolster department 

pride in recruiters who speak to candidates. The inventory could be 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recruitment: Filling the Bucket 73 

conducted both to attract candidates and to prevent turnover (Switzer, 

2006; Jordan et al., 2009; Sullivan, 2005). 

Attracting Candidates: Outreach Strategies 

Departments have used myriad outreach strategies over time to attract 

candidates. Though there is minimal research on their effectiveness, to 

attract candidates, departments have used such tools as advertise-andwait, “word of mouse” social networking, traditional job fairs, and proactive community partnerships. 

Use Internet Media in a Variety of Forms. Increasing use of the Internet has lured agencies seeking to attract officers. The interactive potential 

of Internet media has increased beyond simple advertising, and it continues to do so in ways that outpace empirical study (Russell, 2007). Websites 

have been seen as the top tool in attracting qualified applicants (Switzer, 

2006). Internet presence should maximize department resources. The 

Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) recruitment website contributed to an increase in recruitment during a fiscal year in which advertising budgets were cut (Lim et al., 2009). The democratic properties of the 

Internet have helped smaller agencies compete with larger ones for candidates (McKeever and Kranda, 2000). Nevertheless, use of the Internet 

only to place advertisements online and without any overall marketing 

strategy can be ineffective (Yearwood, 2003). 

Many organizations have failed to jump the digital divide to best reach 

new generations of technologically savvy applicants. More than twothirds of companies responding in one survey had never used socialnetworking sites in recruitment efforts, although nearly half said they 

searched such sites for information on applicants (“MySpace,” 2006). 

Contemporary Internet tools (referred to as Web 2.0) have magnified 

the importance of “word-of-mouse” tactics that new generations expect 

in their job search (Van Hoye and Lievens, 2007; Verhoeven, Mashood, 

and Chansarkar, 2009). Social-networking sites, such as Facebook, 

MySpace, and Twitter (along with law-enforcement networking sites, 

such as Officer.com and Police Link), have not only increased in use 

but represent the social cornerstone of many young persons’ lives 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

74 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

(Russell, 2007). These websites enable connections across audiences, 

including high-school and college students and graduates, military 

personnel, professionals, former and current law enforcement, police 

supervisors, and job searchers from other fields (“MySpace,” 2006; Van 

Hoye and Lievens, 2007; Verhoeven, Mashood, and Chansarkar, 2009). 

Podcasts, blogs, and “really simple syndication” (RSS) feeds have increased 

job-seekers’ sophistication, allowing them to process growing amounts of 

information and network more efficiently (Kolbitsch and Maurer, 2006; 

Martin, Reddington, and Kneafsey, 2009; Orrick, 2008a). 

The Internet’s overall effect on police recruiting varies, but agencies using 

it have been able to present their organizations in ways that influence 

applicants (Cable and Yu, 2006), dispel negative images (Ellis et al., 2005; 

Orrick, 2008a; Syrett and Lammiman, 2004) and transmit positive ones 

(Ellis et al., 2005; Verhoeven, Mashood, and Chansarkar, 2009), showcase 

their technological abilities (Charrier, 2000), and place recruiting efforts 

in contexts that resonate with new generations of applicants (Gubbins 

and Garavan, 2008). Despite the generational differences that might 

separate police command staff from young recruits, using Internet media 

could sell policing in messages that are heard very personally in a medium 

that previous generations might find impersonal (COPS, 2009b). 

Use Electronic Media Other Than the Internet. Electronic recruitment techniques are not confined to blogs and websites. Gaming and 

other visual technology can also help attract new generations of recruits. 

Many simulation-based video games mimic interactive problem-solving 

activities, such as probing and telescoping, exploratory analysis, and critical thinking (Harrison, 2007). Beyond games, the use of emotional video 

clips in a structured, reality-show format can also help attract candidates 

(Lim et al., 2009). Interactive electronic media restructure traditional 

communications with workers, which could be a boon to departments 

with advanced technological capabilities (Ellis et al., 2005; Harrison, 

2007). Yet, use of electronic media can present a paradox: If emotional 

vignettes of police life are used to attract candidates, specifically where 

department diversity and work life are represented, the department must 

ensure that such representations and “simulations” are consistent with the 

realities of police work in their department. 
Recruitment: Filling the Bucket 75 

Brand Your Department and Your Profession. The message transmitted through advertising media constitutes the “brand” that applicants see and the identity that agencies give themselves. In the first episode of the LAPD’s Internet-based recruitment video series, a variety of 

images designed to present information to recruits include a black female 

police sergeant, a diverse workforce of Hispanic and Asian officers, and 

fast-paced and adventurous police work (LAPD, undated). These and 

other branding images attempt to foster a deep, emotional attachment 

to the department and its supposed values (in this case, opportunities for 

advancement and diversity for minority populations) through the use of a 

reality-based film clip directed to a younger audience (Orrick, 2008a; Sartain and Schumann, 2006). Aside from marketing a department image 

or philosophy, branding also sells the profession of policing by aligning 

positive impressions of police work with applicants who might feel a “calling” to human-service careers (Ellis et al., 2005; Scrivner, 2006; Slater 

and Reiser, 1988; COPS, 2009b). In the LAPD video, segments display 

officers attempting to calm disputes, dealing with family problems, and 

working closely with community members in emotionally charged situations as much as they display traditional “crime-fighter” images (LAPD, 

undated). These reality-based images are expected to resonate with Internet-savvy and video-oriented applicants who are seen as socially aware, 

brand-loyal, and susceptible to cause branding (Syrett and Lammiman, 

2004). Branding in this way must be sincere and emotionally consistent 

with police work, or the department runs the risk of appearing out of 

touch with its intended audience (McKay and Avery, 2005; J. Wilson and 

Grammich, 2009a). 

Use Community Liaisons to Reach Potential Recruits. Community 

liaison efforts have been a cornerstone of many community-policing 

strategies for decades, with notable impact on recruitment of diverse 

populations (Skolnick and Bayley, 1988). These liaisons need not be 

involved in direct recruitment efforts. Liaisons could be any employees 

conducting community outreach, especially with targeted populations. 

Liaisons can be embedded in many ways. The Detroit Police Department’s 

Recruiting Ambassadors program uses not only departmental employees 

but also community representatives for its recruitment effort, with 

incentives for community “ambassadors” to help recruit (Scrivner, 
76 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

2006; Haggerty, 2009). Liaisons are often a critical part of outreach 

efforts to reach diverse populations but can also reflect diversity 

within the department in the eyes of potential candidates (Switzer, 

2006). Liaison visibility and subsequent community relationships can 

enhance recruitment efforts with female candidates (Donnelly, 2005; 

Harrington, 2000) and in traditionally hard-to-reach ethnic and religious 

communities, such as Arab Americans (OJP, 2008), and other isolated 

urban populations (Cunningham and Wagstaff, 2006). 

Open Department Doors and Allow On-Site Visits. Community 

policing can improve community visibility and, in turn, bolster recruitment efforts (Haggerty, 2009). When community partnerships are 

merely superficial, they risk alienating applicants who might be aware of 

hypocrisy in branding and advertising when such activities are inconsistent with realities of the job (Syrett and Lammiman, 2004). Outreach 

must be meaningful, genuine, and reflect a departmental desire to build 

true relationships with future employees (Baker and Carrera, 2007; Switzer, 2006; McKeever and Kranda, 2000). Realistic job-preview strategies, 

by providing accurate representations of the department, can influence a 

candidate’s interest in an organization (McKay and Avery, 2005). Making 

outreach partnerships sincere requires going beyond traditional public 

appearances and might require imaginative techniques, such as site visits, 

to enhance connections with targeted populations (McKay and Avery, 

2006). Such tactics can enhance applicant interest beyond initial attraction stages (Breaugh, 2008; Rynes, Bretz, and Gerhart, 1991) and might 

be particularly important for recruiting female and minority candidates 

when such persons occupy important positions within the agency (Avery 

and McKay, 2006; COPS, 2009b). Nevertheless, site visits that expose 

work climate, employee demographics, and physical environments that 

differ from department recruitment media can reduce interest (Breaugh, 

2008). Agencies should make the interactions between candidates and 

staff meaningful and take the time to introduce important individuals 

within the department to the applicants. 

Attend Career and Job Fairs. Face-to-face interaction and fostering 

human connections can make recruitment more meaningful and personal for both the department and applicants (Whetstone, Reed, and 
Recruitment: Filling the Bucket 77 

Turner, 2006). Many of these opportunities are available through local 

college and university placement offices and in military and civilian settings (Orrick, 2008a). Attending job and career fairs is often an expense 

for the department involving travel and creative marketing techniques 

for mixed results, although maximizing these opportunities can pay off 

in departmental visibility and recruit targeting (Switzer, 2006; Whetstone, Reed, and Turner, 2006; Yearwood, 2003). One potential benefit for departments attending such events is gaining firsthand insight 

on employment trends and overall staffing outlook in peer agencies; one 

drawback is that job fairs are largely limited to applicants currently looking for work (Breaugh, 2008). 

Consider the Greater Value of Youth Programs in Recruiting. 

Explorer programs, internships through local schools, cadet academies, 

and mentorships with youth foster special relationships between young 

adults and departments (Whetstone, Reed, and Turner, 2006; Yearwood, 

2003). From the development of the Department of Justice’s Police Corps 

in the mid-1990s through the diffusion of similar scholarship, education, 

and training programs nationwide, youth outreach efforts have been a 

tradition of law-enforcement organizations. 

Nevertheless, for many reasons, these efforts often produce few results 

for recruiting. Most youths entering policing decide prior to their highschool graduation to do so (Switzer, 2006; Slater and Reiser, 1988). 

Consequently, results for recruitment efforts vary widely (Whetstone, 

Reed, and Turner, 2006; Yearwood, 2003). Costly and time-intensive 

efforts, such as Explorer programs, might misdirect resources that could 

be used to entice undecided youths. 

Beyond identifying specific candidates, such programs brand the profession for young persons in the community (Presman, Chapman, and 

Rosen, 2002; Ridgeway et al., 2008). They might also acquaint the 

department with newer generations of applicants, including their worklife preferences, expectations, and career visions. By forging partnerships 

with a wide variety of youth, the value of such programs might extend 

beyond recruiting. At the same time, such programs help those already 

contemplating a police career develop qualifications within a police organization (COPS, 2009b). 
78 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

Target Second-Career Applicants, but Assess and Train Them 

Appropriately. With the economic downturn of the late 2000s, 

some police departments noted an increase in applicants seeking a 

second career in policing, emerging from fields as diverse as automobile 

manufacturing, steel fabrication, marketing, and business administration 

(Crowe, 2009; Currier, 2009). The Virginia State Police noted a surge 

in applications of individuals laid off from private-sector jobs in 2009, 

a trend that appeared to normally follow economic downturns (Sidener, 

2009). The increase in second-career applicants presents opportunities 

for departments to expand their workforce to include individuals with 

prior experience in diverse careers, but the diversity does not end with 

these applicants’ previous career choices. Individuals with prior careers 

outside law enforcement might present unique challenges by having 

differential training needs and abilities, previous work experience, levels 

of commitment, competing work values, familiarity with and attachment 

to wide varieties of perceived job benefits and rewards, and concepts of 

professionalism. Many of their attitudes toward work have been learned 

and ingrained through previous career experience, and organizations 

should be cautious in measuring the advantages and challenges of such 

candidates (COPS, 2009b). 

The professional development of second-career police-officer candidates 

requires transferring previous career experience in a manner that suits 

both the department and the candidate’s unique needs. In the field of 

education, a profession with many second-career applicants, several 

principles of learning guide the transfer of outside professional experience 

to new career paths. Extracting appropriate practical and professional 

expertise from previous career experience, adapting it to new work 

dimensions, and integrating these new employees into the organization 

to maximize their expertise, poses numerous challenges (Bolhuis, 2002; 

Tigchelaar, Brouwer, and Vermunt, 2010). Second-career applicants have 

different motivations and values, which can simultaneously invigorate and 

strain organizations unfamiliar with their special needs, and their levels 

of commitment might be used to organizational advantage (Pennington, 

Congdon, and Magilvy, 2007). In medicine, second-career applicants 

have been attractive because their life experiences and successes, as well 

as their perceived maturity, might enhance organizational mission with 
Recruitment: Filling the Bucket 79 

other applicants (Kohn and Truglio-Londrigan, 2007). Models of career 

transitions have described the potential effects of integrating secondcareer workers as mutually transformative, with organizations offering 

experienced persons previously unattainable potential for actualization 

in exchange for experience and maturity (Cary Cooper and Torrington, 

1981; Bandow, Minsky, and Voss, 2007). 

One solution to the complexities of hiring individuals with diverse previous experiences is to diagnose how their values fit with the organization. 

Schein’s model of career anchors can be used to examine values and career 

priorities among workers from different fields and to assess their self-perceptions of talents, abilities, and values from prior experience (Danziger, 

Rachman-Moore, and Valency, 2008; Schein, 1990). For example, a second-career applicant with technical competence might struggle with service-oriented components of police work. An individual who seeks challenges might thrive on constant stimulation and not fit well in smaller 

agencies with limited opportunities. This model might help determine 

where training for second-career applicants should be focused. For example, for a former social worker appearing to be strong in public-service 

aspects of the job, training might best be focused on technical and tactical issues. 

Supplying Candidates: Opening Up the “Faucet” 

Some law-enforcement agencies have decided to “open the faucet” of 

supply by eliminating many traditional restrictions. Easing qualifications 

and hiring restrictions have often proved politically volatile and attracted 

criticism for being short-sighted (Maki, 2008; Spolar, 2009). For many 

agencies, the short-term concern for filling “empty chairs on test day” 

(Domash, 2002, p. 34) can be remedied by relaxing requirements. Yet, 

this leaves the challenge of finding qualified candidates while leading to 

charges that departments are lowering hiring standards. 

Some agencies have sought to “open the faucet” by relaxing residency 

restrictions. This can negatively influence public perceptions of the police 

by leading to admission of applicants who have little knowledge of the 

communities they are to serve (DeMasi, 2003; Murphy and Worrall, 1999; 

Spolar, 2009). Some agencies have also eased educational requirements, 
80 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

rekindling debate about the desirability of degreed candidates as officers. 

Departments might also ease educational requirements to compensate 

for any exclusionary effect resulting from traditional barriers for minority 

and female applicants (Decker and Huckabee, 2002; White and Escobar, 

2008). Some have relaxed minimum age requirements to attract more 

candidates, raising concern about the readiness of younger applicants 

for police work (Taylor et al., 2006). The Memphis (Tenn.) Police 

Department simultaneously lowered both its educational and residency 

requirements in 2007 and 2008 but has conducted no assessment of 

subsequent effect on recruitment (Maki, 2008). Some agencies have 

become more tolerant of experimental drug use, bad credit history, and 

minor arrest records to attain larger numbers of applicants (W.  Lee, 

2005; Taylor et al., 2006; Woska, 2006). Often, relaxing such restrictions 

interferes with the department’s ability to build community confidence 

in the quality of its officers (Katz, 2000; Decker and Huckabee, 1999). At 

the same time, it can be seen as a rejection of the screening-out approach 

of candidate selection. Because of the potential organizational, political, 

and social ramifications of relaxed restrictions for departments and the 

communities they serve, before employing them, departments should 

carefully consider their effect on recruiting, as well as the signal they send 

about hiring standards. 

Selecting Candidates 

Often, the process of candidate selection becomes confused with the 

exercise of attracting applicants (Breaugh, 2008; Ellis et al., 2005). 

For the candidate, the selection process requires patient navigation of 

physical, mental, and aptitude screening examinations, interviews, and 

meetings and submitting to a thorough background investigation. The 

crucial task for agencies is to use selection methods that reveal the best 

possible recruits for department needs (Cavanagh, 2003; Scrivner, 2006). 

Because screening and selection play pivotal roles in narrowing a 

large, generalized pool of interested persons to a manageable cohort of 

applicants, agencies often examine their selection procedures to ensure 

that the testing and screening process is consistent with what they seek 
Recruitment: Filling the Bucket 81 

in new officers (Searle, 2006). Efficiency, accuracy, and fairness are but 

a few of the concerns for departments in structuring this crucial task in 

the recruitment process. Yet, departments have changed their selection 

procedures very little since a 1973 review of police selection procedures 

by the National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards 

(Doerner, 1998; Langworthy, Hughes, and Sanders, 1995), even as 

departments seek to increase recruiting among women and minorities 

(Lim et al., 2009; J. Wilson and Grammich, 2009a). 

Possible reasons for the relative stagnation of reforms of the selection 

process include the need for agencies to pattern their selection procedures 

after state mandates (Bradley, 2005), an overall practitioner attachment 

to more-reactive models of selection (Scrivner, 2006), and the difficulty 

in modifying a procedure without incentives to do so (Tuomey and Jolly, 

2009). Community policing and generational differences have driven 

reexaminations of the selection process by forcing departments to rethink 

what specific characteristics they seek in their officers (DeCicco, 2000; 

Scrivner, 2006). 

Although alternatives, such as the assessment center, to traditional hurdle 

approaches of selection have blossomed, evidence on them is mixed 

(DeCicco, 2000; Kolpack, 1991; Reuland and Stedman, 1998). Scores on 

assessment-center examinations are positively correlated with academy 

and patrol performance (Hogarty and Bromley, 1996; Dayan, Kasten, 

and Fox, 2002; Pynes and Bernardin, 1992) and supervisor performance 

(Ross, 1980) in preliminary empirical tests. 

Nonetheless, when considering the challenge of recruiting qualified 

applicants from younger generations, departments should consider 

restructuring the process to account for both applicant perceptions and 

departmental goals. Applicants’ top two reported frustrations about 

the selection process were the length of time and impersonality of the 

procedure, items that departments can correct (Switzer, 2006). Some 

agencies are also considering restructuring the order of selection tasks to 

ensure a diverse applicant pool and cut costs by eliminating unnecessary 

and redundant screening procedures (Haggerty, 2009). In structuring 

a departmental protocol for selecting the best candidates, departments 

should consider aligning selection procedures with what they consider 
 

  

 

   

 

 

 

82 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

to be important job dimensions (Scrivner, 2006). For example, if a 

department identifies residency as one of the most important job 

dimensions for applicants, screening for applicants’ residence proximity 

would take place before that for most skills and abilities. 

As selection procedures are subjected to closer scrutiny, predicting candidate success at various stages of the recruitment process (even in the 

training academy) has become increasingly important. The Las Vegas 

(Nev.) Police Department recently adopted a testing program designed to 

maximize department time and resources by processing only applicants 

who display a high probability (85  percent) of completing the process 

(J. Wilson and Grammich, 2009a). The LAPD has similarly streamlined 

its selection process to use predictive models (Lim et al., 2009). As agencies increasingly use predictive models, traditional hurdle approaches are 

slowly being infused with more-empirically based selection processes, 

especially for targeted populations of recruits. 

Screening Processes. Since the early 1970s, the structure of police 

screening procedures has revolved around three basic tests: physical 

agility testing, psychological testing, and a medical examination (Ash, 

Slora, and Britton, 1990; Langworthy, Hughes, and Sanders, 1995). 

The exact prevalence of these screening procedures for police-candidate 

selection is unknown, but some studies indicate that they are used in 

about 90  percent of agencies (Ash, Slora, and Britton, 1990; DeCicco, 

2000; Ho, 1999; Langworthy, Hughes, and Sanders, 1995). Yet, despite 

the dominant emphasis on these screening procedures, they have shown 

widely varying predictive value in determining success with a number 

of outcome measurements (White, 2008). Their chief effect is often to 

select out applicants from further consideration, meaning that tighter or 

more-rigorous selection processes will reduce the number of applicants. 

Interview Procedures. Personal interviews are used in more than 

95percentofpoliceagencies’selectionefforts(HickmanandReaves,2006a). 

Interview processes are beginning to incorporate diverse stakeholders to 

examine for a broader “cultural fit” (J. Wilson and Grammich, 2009a), 

including values and beliefs consistent with department and community 

mission. Such interviews often take the form of an “oral board” protocol 

(Doerner, 1998). Some researchers have warned against relying heavily 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recruitment: Filling the Bucket 83 

on oral-board interview techniques for reasons ranging from the lack of 

training for many interview board members, to the use of ambiguous and 

invalid rating dimensions (Gaines and Kappeler, 1992). Nevertheless, 

some studies indicate that newer generations of recruits have been able to 

perform better on oral portions of the selection process than on written 

examinations, which might indicate the need for pretesting and access 

to practice written testing by computer (Whetstone, Reed, and Turner, 

2006). The assessment-center approach has also been effective in yielding 

task-specific interview questions, shifting interview focus from standard 

question-and-answer format to interactive simulations and roleplay 

(Hogarty and Bromley, 1996; Dayan, Kasten, and Fox, 2002). 

Background Investigations. Traditionally, background investigations 

and character references have formed the backbone of police selection 

techniques (Fulton, 2000; Langworthy, Hughes, and Sanders, 1995; 

Smelson, 1975). In early use, such studies correlated background 

problems with after-hire disciplinary issues (Cohen and Chaiken, 

1972). Background investigations have proliferated in use as a screening 

tool, often being conducted at multiple stages by different levels of the 

organization (Ridgeway et al., 2008). The extent of these investigations in 

probing a candidate’s background varies by locale and can often involve a 

lifetime criminal history check, a credit-bureau report, and examinations 

of close associates from the recent to the distant past (DeCicco, 2000; 

New York City Commission to Combat Police Corruption, 2008). 

Younger generations pose unique challenges to such investigations. 

Applicants from these generations can be remarkably candid in disclosing 

personal information, but their impressions of what constitutes 

“character” might be startlingly different from those of evaluators 

(Russell, 2007; Verhoeven, Mashood, and Chansarkar, 2009). For 

instance, social-networking sites often display photographs of applicants 

in poses that older generations might think inappropriate. In the Internet 

age, conducting background investigations on candidates, especially 

those for whom computer use often constitutes a social reality, can be 

inherently problematic for law-enforcement agencies because of the 

sudden transparency with which younger generations are living their 
 

 

84 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

lives.1 Similarly, financial background information on candidates might 

be of decreasing value in an era of increasing economic difficulties. 

Recent research shows that biographical information gained from 

background investigations is of limited help in predicting subsequent 

officer termination (Brennan et al., 2009). As such, departments should 

proceed with caution and not place undue emphasis on a technique 

that appears to be steadily losing favor, especially for new generations of 

recruits, for whom transparency is assumed. 

Predicting Future Success in Applicants 

Closely related to the issue of electronic background investigation is electronic surveillance for the purposes of human-resource selection and its 

negative effect on recruiting as a whole. Recent research has indicated 

that a wealth of personal data about candidates can be obtained simply 

by searching the Internet for names, nicknames, email addresses, street 

addresses and looking at candidates’ social-networking profiles (Searle, 

2006). This power is increasing exponentially with the proliferation of 

electronic media and outpaces empirical study of its impact on recruitment efforts. 

Yet, preliminary research shows that with such ability comes equal 

responsibility for the human-resource professional. Worries that such 

sensitive information might compromise individual freedom and privacy 

and adversely affect candidate selection have resonated with those concerned with civil liberties and organizational justice (Chapman and Webster, 2003; M. Harris, Van Hoye, and Lievens, 2003; Truxillo, Steiner, 

and Gilliland, 2004). The Internet age has changed the selection game 

in ways that are still unclear for both job-seekers and agencies looking for 

qualified applicants. 

What is apparent is that traditional methods of selection might be losing 

reliability in the absence of more-current data analysis on new generations 

1. Such transparency can also affect officers on the force. In one case, a Sandy Springs, 

Georgia, officer was fired for his Facebook postings, including one in which he divulged 

the possibility of a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) drug seizure. See “Cop Says 

Facebook Postings Got Him Fired” (2009). 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recruitment: Filling the Bucket 85 

of applicants and their changed career expectations, conflicting notions 

of privacy, and sustained cynicism about invasive and lengthy application 

processes. Placing these new recruits in uniform based on selection 

techniques that might not only be obsolete but also be seen as invasive and 

irrelevant could be counterproductive. Recent research demonstrating that 

personal demographic and background information (such as age, gender, 

and race) can predict police academy performance (White, 2008) appears 

not only to be contradicted by empiricists’ inability to link academy 

performance to patrol behaviors but also to be in widespread disagreement 

about what qualities might best befit “good police officers” (Sanders, 

2003). A more-proactive approach for selection would use departmentspecific benchmarks and performance measurements for determining 

what specific selection processes are a good fit for the department and 

keeping departmental needs assessments current for staffing. 

Conclusion 

Many of the core problems that police agencies face in recruiting have 

worsened in the past decade, even as changing economic conditions 

have led to temporary fluctuations in the numbers of recruits. 

Changing generational tastes for police work, increased prevalence of 

disqualifications (such as drug use or physical unfitness), and greater 

competition from other organizations (such as the military) have helped 

restrict the pool of qualified applicants. Further complicating recruiting 

efforts is the fragmented approach many agencies take to recruiting. 

Nevertheless, agencies can take several modest steps to make their 

recruiting more effective. First, assessing their staffing needs can help 

shape a more-effective recruiting approach. This can include developing 

an assessment team, identifying budget and sources of revenue for 

recruiting, specifying organizational goals and values that recruits should 

have, and integrating the community in the hiring process. 

Both internal and external strategies might help departments attract 

candidates. Internally, departments can build employee referral networks, 

create a recruitment unit, identify potential recruits from auxiliary or 

reserve ranks, and assess the effectiveness of their employee-engagement 
86 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

strategies (e.g., identify reasons employees should want to work for the 

agency). Externally, departments can use Internet and other electronic 

media, brand the department and its work within the community, use 

community liaisons to reach potential recruits, allow on-site visits, attend 

career and job fairs, and target both youth programs and second-career 

applicants. Such external marketing efforts should take care to ensure 

that agency work is portrayed realistically; portrayals of work that do 

not match the reality can cause the department to appear insincere in its 

efforts to engage. 

Departments might also wish to expand their recruitment possibilities 

by opening wider the “faucet” of supply for recruits. Such efforts can 

include relaxing age, education, or residency requirements and becoming 

more tolerant of experimental drug use, bad credit history, or minor 

arrest records. Such initiatives, however, might raise concerns about the 

quality of recruits. Departments might also wish to expand their supply 

of candidates by revamping their screening processes, interview processes, 

and background investigations. At the same time, streamlined selection 

processes, particularly those aided by electronic media, should be 

cautious about applicant freedom and privacy, as well as about identifying 

characteristics of applicants likely to have success. 
 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

ChaPteR FIve 

The Most-Promising Practices for Maintaining 

Police Workforce Levels 

In some ways, recruitment and retention are more of an art than a science. 

Empirical evidence on what appear to be promising practices is often 

lacking. Nevertheless, in concluding this work, we note several practices 

we have discussed that can affect multiple areas of recruitment and 

retention—and perhaps be of greatest promise to police agencies. Table 5.1, 

on page 88, groups these practices into five categories, as presented earlier, 

and cites some relevant research on each. In this chapter, we also discuss 

the potential benefits and difficulties in them. 

The benefits of planning and analysis can include understanding the 

depth and nature of the turnover problem. Gathering information on the 

problem might also identify issues that the organization can address to 

reduce turnover. The difficulty of planning and analysis lies in the organizational commitment required for it and to recognize the problem. 

The benefits of reducing the financial impact of turnover include demonstrated long-term savings, as well as the opportunities the practices offer 

to dissolve myths about policing to applicants and to obtain a deeper 

understanding of the applicant pool. The difficulty of these practices is 

that they, too, require departmental resources. Offering realistic job previews, for example, can be labor intensive. Contracts might also conflict 

with generational career preferences and disrupt traditional relationships 

with employees. 

The benefits of enhancing compensation and other benefits include their 

demonstrated effects on improving retention by meeting immediate 

employee needs, as well as its reinvigoration of the organization through 

promotions. The potential difficulty of this strategy is the costs they 

impose, and the success that might vary, in part, by confidence recipients 

have in the longevity of such programs. 

87 
88 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

Table 5.1 

Practices and Relevant Research for Improving Police Recruitment and 

Retention 

Practice Relevant Research 

Planning and analysis 

analyze demographic trends, workload 

indicators, perceptions and attitudes 

toward law enforcement, and agency 

recruitment and retention patterns 

Survey officer job satisfaction and 

organizational commitment 

Conduct exit and stay interviews 

Identify and intervene with 

at-risk employees 

Reducing the financial impact 

Offer realistic job preview 

and extended ride-alongs 

Contracts with new employees 

employ pretrained officers 

Provide apprentice salaries 

Use part-time staff 

J. wilson and Grammich (2009a); 

Miller (2008); Orrick (2008a); Lim et 

al. (2009) 

Orrick (2008a); Kowal, hassel, and 

hassel (2008); Kickul (2002); Phillips 

(1998) 

enhancing compensation and other benefits 

Increase and offer flexibility 

in compensation 

Give longevity pay increases 

Provide quality training and 

state-of-the-art equipment 

Offer tuition and relocation 

reimbursement 

allow job flexibility and sharing 

Create alternative or 

compressed work schedules 

Provide multiple career ladders 

Offer other perks, such as onsite child care, fitness facilities, 

and take-home cars 

Prince (2003); anderson and Gobeil 

(2003); eaton (2003); hill et al. 

(2001); Stanley (2008); Meier (1979); 

O’Brien-Pallas, Duffield, and alksnis 

(2004) 
the Most-Promising Practices for Maintaining Police workforce Levels 89 

employee engagement 

Implement practices to 

enhance compensation 

Increase employee input 

in decision making 

Offer evaluation and 

feedback opportunities 

Offer collaborative work and 

mentoring opportunities 

Offer job shadowing, rotating 

assignments, and cross-training 

Recognize exceptional work 

Improving organizational effectiveness 

analyze recruitment and 

retention patterns 

Survey job satisfaction 

Intervene with at-risk employees 

Conduct exit and stay interviews 

Improve hiring practices 

Pick the right supervisors and train 

them in management techniques 

evaluate performance 

eliminate unnecessary bureaucracy 

Fire unsuitable staff 

Improve communication 

Lloyd Morgan (undated); 

Cartwright and holmes (2006); 

towers Perrin (2003); Jamrog (2004); 

Butler and Felts (2006); hegstad 

and wentling (2004); Ingersoll and 

Smith (2003); Musser (2001); Smith 

and Ingersoll (2004) 

Lloyd Morgan (undated); 

Cartwright and holmes (2006); 

towers Perrin (2003); Jamrog (2004); 

Butler and Felts (2006); hegstad 

and wentling (2004); Ingersoll and 

Smith (2003); Musser (2001); Smith 

and Ingersoll (2004) 
 

 

 

90 Police Recruitment and Retention for the New Millenium 

The benefits of employee engagement include demonstrated benefits of 

proper implementation for retention and the ties such practices can build 

between the employee and the agency, as well as between the agency and 

the community. The potential difficulty of this strategy is the need to 

implement more than symbolically and the potential costs in technology 

and restructuring of work. 

The benefits of improving organizational effectiveness include better quality of supervision and leadership and improved training, which can help 

managers deal effectively with agency problems and even boost public 

perceptions of the department. The potential difficulty of this strategy 

is that it requires department commitment to developing better managerial staff. It requires sending managers for specialized training and might 

require an overhaul of the promotion process to appoint more-talented 

and more-capable individuals, as well as expensive potential changes in 

organization structure. 

This guide does not address other key issues, such as specific ways of 

determining staffing need, allocation of staffing resources, distribution 

of staff attributes and qualities, and opportunity costs and implications 

that implementing recruiting and retention strategies has on other parts 

of the organization, which are also important to development of an effective, efficient workforce. Challenges might vary by agency and, especially, 

by local conditions confronting each agency. 

The issues, and potential solutions we identify, will not apply to all agencies. Rather, our purpose was to provide a broad analysis of issues confronting many agencies and how these have developed over time. Each 

agency will face unique circumstances that it must consider in workforce 

planning. 
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The supply of and demand for qualified police officers are 

changing in a time of increasing attrition, expanding lawenforcement responsibilities, and decreasing resources. 

These contribute to the difficulties that many agencies 

report in creating a workforce that represents community 

demographics, is committed to providing its employees the 

opportunity for long-term police careers, and effectively 

implements community policing. This book summarizes 

lessons on recruiting and retaining effective workforces. 

U.S. Department of Justice 

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services 

Two Constitution Square 

145 N Street, N.E. 

Washington, DC 20530 

To obtain details on COPS Office programs, call the 

COPS Office Response Center at 800.421.6770 

Visit COPS Online at www.cops.usdoj.gov 

November 2010 

e101027321 

ISBN: 978-1-935676-28-7