The Next Generation of Law Enforcement Officers

Wayne South, Lieutenant (Ret.), Gainesville Police Department, Florida, Adjunct Instructor, SW Virginia Criminal Justice Training Academy

Drive down any business district and just about every business has a help wanted sign in the window. Many offer bonuses. However, these businesses do not face the unique challenges that law enforcement does. Movements to defund the police, law enforcement officers made out to be the bad guys, and increased workloads due to staffing shortages plague the normal recruiting process. Not to mention pay and benefits packages. Even with these perceptions and obstacles, there are many highly qualified men and women who attend the police academy and graduate to become law enforcement professionals. That’s great! Now how do we keep them?

“Going forward agencies will have to find creative ways to attract qualified individuals into the profession and, more importantly, ways to keep them.”

A good retention program starts in the field training program and continues throughout the officer’s career with professional development courses, mentorship, a reward system, and opportunity within the agency. Most agencies have little influence on pay and benefits. So it’s even more important that officers enjoy the agency and feel as if they are a part of the community. It is commonplace for younger officers to leave an agency, or the profession, if they do not feel valued. It is estimated that 24 percent of officers who leave one agency go to work for another law enforcement agency. Approximately 78 percent of employees stay with an employer because of a benefits program that includes retention programs.¹

Agencies should track the number of officers who are retirement eligible. What would an agency do if this unique group of officers all decided to retire on the same day? Hundreds of years of experience would leave, and the agency would experience immediate staffing shortages. Agencies should update this number weekly and make this a focus in all their recruiting efforts. A mass exodus of officers not only creates staffing shortages but could result in a decline of services to the community.

Police officers and agencies are very resilient, as the historic events of 2021 proved. Going forward agencies will have to find creative ways to attract qualified individuals into the profession and, more importantly, ways to keep them.

Recruitment

Recruiting in the 21st century requires complete transparency. Not only do recruiters need to speak with potential applicants about benefits, but they also need to talk with them about the realities of the job. This past year has seen a tremendous stress placed upon officers as a consequence of defund the police movements, the coronavirus pandemic, calls for police reform, and staffing shortages exacerbated by a rise in crime. The Police Executive Research Forum reports that overall hiring is down by 5 percent in the last three years, resignations are up by 18 percent, and retirements have shown a 45 percent increase.²

Departments facing staffing shortages tend to lower hiring standards. Lowering standards is not the answer. Departments who want to build smart and diverse departments should keep their standards high. For example, The Baltimore Police Department found that 20 percent of its applicants, including 55 percent of female applicants, failed the physical fitness test. Instead of lowering standards, or disqualifying these candidates, they borrowed an idea from Los Angeles and piloted a boot camp called “Fit to Serve.” Under this program, potential applicants meet three times a week at the police academy to improve their physical fitness. More than half of the last 10 boot camp participants passed the fitness test and advanced. All were female.

Departments who want to build a workforce that is representative of the community should cultivate applicants from their jurisdiction. Police explorer and cadet programs are great programs and ideal environments to cultivate quality applicants who represent the community. Explorers and cadets have positive exposure to law enforcement and become excellent candidates. An added benefit is that they are ambassadors of the department to their friends, family, and communities. They become the agencies’ best recruiters.

High standards ensure that candidates with high ethical and moral standards, who are capable and professional, will screen into the background processes. At a time when scrutiny and demand on the law enforcement profession is high, departments would be remiss in hiring candidates with questionable backgrounds.

Keep in Touch

Keeping candidates involved during the background phase is important. When applicants do not hear anything for long periods of time, they can lose their enthusiasm or look at other agencies. In many departments, the background phase can be a long and tedious process. Although background investigations need to be thorough, perhaps there are ways to look at the process and streamline it. Departments should ask themselves if a 90-day testing to conditional job offer process is possible. In doing so, it challenges the “way we have always done it.” For example, the use of video exams could reduce the testing process.³ Candidates watch a video and provide a verbal response that is rated and scored. The video scenarios are designed to assess a candidate’s interpersonal skills and judgement. The video scenarios can be placed on the department’s internet “employment” page where candidates have a secure login. Candidates who are not kept in the communications loop during the application process will lose interest in the department or be offered a position at another agency.

Two great examples of keeping in touch at work are in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Los Angeles, California. In Scottsdale, Arizona, many applicants expressed interest in the department but would not complete the application process. By reaching back out to those applicants, the department more than doubled the number of applications it received. Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) found that one third of its applicants dropped out of the process when it was time to write a personal history statement. LAPD partnered with a behavioral insights team, which introduced text message nudges to these applicants. The result was a 15 percent increase in the number of applicants who completed the process.⁴

Agency’s Recruiting Team

The recruiting team should be representative of the agency and be comprised of sworn and non-sworn members. Recruiting at the department should be creative and constantly evaluate which strategies work and which do not. Chattanooga, Tennessee, Police Department teamed with a behavioral insights team to test four recruiting strategies. They mailed out 22,000 postcards to potential recruits testing four different messages. One postcard shows police work as rewarding and challenging, another the virtues of service, a third focused on community impact, and a fourth focused on long-term career benefits. The response by these potential applicants showed that the messages related to challenges of the job and long-term benefits were the most successful.

Another success story using technology in recruiting comes from the Los Angeles Police Department. The city developed a chat box, called “Officer Chip,” for a police recruitment website that answers potential recruits’ questions 24/7. There is also a feature allowing potential recruits to talk to mentors, who are LAPD officers, to help guide them through the process.

Retention

Job satisfaction is the main factor in retention. It is easy today for an officer to become unhappy or face low morale and consider leaving the agency or profession. The climate for police officers in the last year has been challenging to say the least. Current rhetoric and negativity surrounding law enforcement is causing officers to leave departments in large numbers. Seattle Police Department had 180 officers quit in 2020 and an additional 70 have resigned as of April 2021.⁵ Minneapolis Police Department has lost almost 300 officers from attrition, disability, and retirements since the death of George Floyd.⁶

Where Does Retention Start?

Potential candidates form an impression of the department when they first meet a member of the department. Recruiters should look the part, always be positive, and be knowledgeable about the department. Once hired, the field training officers not only have the job of training but serve as role models and mentors. This starts “buy-in” to the department.

Exit Interviews

Departments typically conduct an exit interview when someone leaves the department. Valuable information can be obtained as to why they are leaving. It could be a tremendous opportunity for the employee to improve their quality of life. However, departments should take note when employees start citing reasons for leaving related to salary, being overworked and understaffed, a lack of recognition, culture, and confidence issues in management. These could be signs of significant underlying issues at the agency.

“Formal education and professional development classes provide an opportunity for officers to learn new skills in a diverse setting.”

Most agencies recognize the value in an exit interview, but how many agencies conduct surveys to find out why employees stay at the department? Internal surveys are great information gathering opportunities. Ask employees what the agency is doing right and what could be improved and why officers and civilian staff are leaving. The information could be used to improve the agency and show the officers their voices are being heard.

Although specific data regarding these types of interviews could not be found, one study by the Pew Research center offered some insight—finding that most officers feel a sense of pride in the work they do and want their agencies to be successful. Officers felt their work was important and made a difference in the quality of life for the citizens. Less positive views were expressed in the leadership of an agency, department policies, and fairness of the disciplinary process.⁷

Professional Development

Departments must take a vested interest in the continual development and growth of their employees. Developing an officer goes far beyond firearms, driving, and first aid. Agencies want their officers to be armed with the tools to make informed decisions, be able to control their emotions, and provide them with skills to become an officer or become a supervisor. The best way to accomplish this is to establish long- and short-term goals and pursue training opportunities to meet their professional goals.

Training classes energize employees. A one-to-five-day class provides a break from normal duties and a chance to learn a new skill. The International Association of Chiefs of Police offers a three-day First-Line Leadership class that is designed for aspiring or first-time supervisors. Classes such as this provide employees with the tools to make better decisions, inspire those around them, and understand what motivates the individuals around them. This is only one of many classes that can energize employees and benefit the organization, the individual, and the community.

Formal education and professional development classes provide an opportunity for officers to learn new skills in a diverse setting. Encourage officers to take advantage of training opportunities. Survey officers to find out the types of training they would be interested in and offer it. Training classes could be used in evaluations for advancement and promotional opportunities. A study conducted by the New York City Police Department in the late 1980s revealed that cadets performed best on civil service exams and promotional exams, and seemed to rise faster through the ranks, with those who had formal education coming in next.⁸

Opportunity

It is easy for officers to become bored at work. Everyone gets bored sometimes, but normally it lasts only a short time. The inability to shake boredom at work can lead to burnout. Therefore, it is important to provide officers with opportunities. One way is to provide patrol officers additional duties on a rotating basis. Rotation of officers can vary widely based on the size of the agency and agency dynamics. Smaller agencies could have just a few spots on each unit that are rotational. From an officer standpoint, it reenergizes them and produces a better officer. It eliminates or reduces boredom and encourages professional and personal development by providing an officer a fresh perspective on their existing role.

An agency can benefit from scheduled rotations as well. It gives employees a break from their normal duties and further invests the officer in the agency. By rotating officers to different units, it helps an agency identify where that employee is most productive and works best. It also provides agencies with a backup plan should an employee leave, thus strengthening succession planning. Agencies can provide new challenges to their officers and provide them with enhanced skill sets in preparation for leadership positions. This enhances recruitment and retention for an agency by providing opportunities to officers, improved skills, and making the job fun.

Reward System

An active formal rewards system is a great way of rewarding officers who exemplify themselves by going above and beyond the normal call of duty. First-line supervisors should not hesitate to formally recognize officers by writing an awards nomination for them. In turn, the agency should have regularly scheduled awards ceremonies. It is also important that a system of rewards include nonformal recognition. A simple thank you at roll call has a tremendous impact on the officer. The benefits of a rewards and recognition program are far reaching. A rewards program helps promote an agency culture officers can be proud of. Reward programs help officers feel like they belong at the agency and are engaged in the organization. Formal rewards instill pride as an officer receives a reward in front of their family and peers and incentivizes teamwork and collaboration. Awards ceremonies are a way for an agency to involve the community and promote the good work officers are doing. Research consistently tells us that the proper use of a rewards system caries positive side effects, such as improved morale and increased organizational commitment by the entire agency.⁹

Career Track Training

A great way to retain employees is to make them happy at work. An officer who is doing a job they really enjoy will be happy and is more likely to stay. A career track program provides a map of the officer’s career. Starting at about the two-to-three-year mark, if an officer wants to be a detective for example, start progression planning with the officer and send them to classes that will assist them in achieving detective status. For some, promotion is the goal. Career track planning helps better prepare the officer for promotion.

Attrition and Turnover

The recruiting challenge is likely to get worse before it gets better. So will retention. There has been an exodus of officers in the last couple of years to retirements, officers leaving the profession, and more recently officers leaving due to vaccine mandates. This is not only expensive for agencies but has a tremendous impact on the community. An agency has the direct expense of recruiting, checking backgrounds, running the academy, as well as providing uniforms, equipment, and salary. This has a significant impact on an agency’s budget. The indirect cost is the loss of experience. Staffing allocations will eventually be met, but it is impossible to replace years of experience leaving at the same time.

There is a positive side to “normal” turnover. It allows an agency to rid themselves of poor performers and provide opportunity for advancement to others. This often helps an organization with the introduction of new ideas, an increase in productivity, and the facilitation of change. There is also a positive effect if a top performer transfers to another agency. The work ethic and professionalism of this officer will serve to enhance the reputation of the former agency. But a large exodus threatens organizational stability.

Most studies cite a lack of enjoyment and opportunity for higher levels of turnover.¹⁰ Specifically, these studies cited a lack of opportunity, political climate, and fairness in the way supervisors treat officers as reasons for leaving an organization. Combining the results of these studies with the defund the police movements, calls for police reform, and cities voting to dismantle their police departments creates a recipe for disaster—if not managed within the organization.

Let’s Make Work Fun Again

A common theme among officers who leave agencies is a lack of leadership training, having permanent shifts and assignments, low morale, and no focus on personal wellness.¹¹ Many of these reasons can be addressed with simple changes. Allow for shift rotation annually and look at ways to rotate officers to specialty units on a recurring basis. Place the focus of the organization back on the officers and employees.

Simple steps such as the ones previously mentioned are inclusive of everyone at the organization. They provide officers with a sense of ownership and impact on the direction of the organization. An employee who feels as if they are making a difference and that they matter to the organization is a happy, healthy, and long-term employee. Organizations who strive to make work fun have happier employees. If work is fun, employees will be happy, and happy officers will take care of their communities.

Conclusion

IACP RESOURCES■ Best Practices Guide: Recruitment, Retention, and Turnover■ Engaging Families for Recruitment and Retention (blog post)theIACP.org■ Investing in Your Story: Revamping Recruiting Videos for Better Results (article)■ Ensuring That Hiring and Promotional Procedures Support Organizational Values (article)

Recruiting and retention is not getting easier. Departments must be creative with their recruitment programs, retention programs, and career progression plans to attract top candidates who have a desire to stay long term. Departments need to show off their latest technology, talk about career tracking programs, and keep in touch with applicants during the testing and background phases. Local communities are great recruiting grounds for qualified candidates who represent the community they will protect. Departments with good recruitment and retention programs, and career track planning, will be able to hire and retain top-quality applicants.