NCJ Number
205838
Date Published
April 2003
Length
33 pages
Annotation
This report, which is one of a series of four, examines the challenges involved with the recruitment and retention of North Carolina’s sworn police personnel.
Abstract
During the summer of 2000, justice commissions throughout North Carolina held a joint planning retreat to identify and address the main challenges facing North Carolina’s criminal justice system. A research study team was assembled to provide more information about these identified challenges. The result is a series of four reports that focus on issues related to the recruitment and retention of sworn police officers, sworn sheriff’s officer personnel, detention officers, and public safety telecommunications officials; this report presents findings from a survey on recruitment and retention strategies for sworn police personnel. A 27-item survey was administered to a random sample of 205 State and local police agencies; findings are based on the 124 completed surveys. Survey questions probed issues related to recruiting sworn police officers, including specific strategies or techniques, number of applicants, and extent of waiting list of potential candidates. Attrition and retention were also probed through questions related to the agency’s turnover and vacancy rates. Results indicated that one-third of agencies reported utilizing a passive recruitment strategy, one-third reported utilizing a neutral strategy, while the final one-third described employing an aggressive recruitment strategy. The three most commonly employed recruitment techniques were word of mouth, newspaper advertising, and local community colleges. The majority of respondents had no waiting list of potential police candidates. Respondents identified their ideas for improving the quality of future police applicant pools; answers fell in three main categories: salaries, improvement of screening criteria, and raising minimum standards for applicants. Barriers to recruitment were identified as competition with other criminal justice agencies, budget restrictions, agency size, and competition with the private sector. The most frequently identified retention techniques were annual pay increases, educational incentives, and promotions. The average length of an officer’s employment was found to be 34 months. Most agencies reported minimum educational requirements of a high school degree and entry level salaries of between $21,000 and $25,000. Four recommendations are made to improve the recruitment and retention of sworn police officers in North Carolina: (1) intensify recruitment strategies; (2) increase salaries; (3) improve the screening process; and (4) continue research efforts regarding the recruitment and retention of sworn police officers. Figures, tables