Turnover of police chiefs in Texas: What matters?

• In Event: Poster Session I

Abstract

Numerous studies have examined factors that may contribute to turnover and succession of an organization’s chief executive, but few have focused on law enforcement agencies. A few extant studies have indicated that police chief turnover may be impacted by institutional variables and related to relationships between police chiefs and hiring authorities, politicians, and the media. This study contributes to the literature by examining the effects of two different types of performance (organization performance and police chief leadership performance) on police chief turnover. Data for this study include survey collected from police chiefs who came to the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institution of Texas (LEMIT) to attend the New Chief Development Program (NCDP) and Texas Police Chief Leadership Series (TPCLS) in 2015 and 2016, administrative data of the LEMIT and the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE). Analyses of the data suggest that leadership performance does not significantly affect turnover of police chiefs. Moreover, the impact of organization performance varies depending upon the style of policing, with community policing having a stronger impact than traditional policing on police chief turnover.

Authors

• Yudu Li, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

• Benjamin Brown, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley