Police Turnover

• NCJ Number: 211325
• Journal: Police Chief Volume: 72 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2005 Pages: 36,38,40
• Author(s): Dwayne Orrick
• Date Published: September 2005
• Length: 4 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Instructional Material
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

After documenting the high turnover rate of police officers, this article notes some of the benefits of employee turnover and offers suggestions for keeping well-trained and effective officers.

Abstract

A recent North Carolina study found that police agencies in that State had an average turnover rate of 14 percent for patrol officers, with average tenure for a new officer being 33 months. Although employee turnover can benefit an agency, such as providing an opportunity to change a detrimental police subculture or getting rid of uncommitted and poorly performing officers, it is costly for an agency to be constantly recruiting, screening, and training large numbers of officers, in addition to the impact on agency performance. Turnover among highly motivated officers can be reduced by ensuring that an agency's values and priorities match those of officers committed to the highest ideals of policing. Another measure for reducing officer turnover is to change compensation systems. Compensation must not only enable police agencies to compete in the job market, but must also reflect the value of police officers to the community. Compensation schemes must include cost-of-living adjustments and rewards for longevity and advanced certifications. Also, career-development programs must be established to provide realistic opportunities for officers to advance in the ranks of the department. This should include opportunities for patrol officers to have new responsibilities and salary increases without making them supervisors or assigning them to special units. Agencies must also continually identify and implement more effective ways for training and deploying officers to solve community problems, so they can experience the satisfaction of making their communities safer. Other measures for reducing turnover are to use mentoring and continually reward and praise officers when they are performing well.