Examining the Impact of Gender on Intentions to Leave Policing

• In Event: Police Training: Recruitment and Retention

Abstract

Research finds that the decision to leave policing is frequently influenced by an officer’s interaction with their occupational environment. How officers process environmental and organizational aspects of their job has been shown to substantively impact police officer career commitment. The ways in which these occupational strains (e.g., workplace isolation, harassment, and advancement opportunities) manifest for officers who are women is notably different from officers who are men. Variations in these experiences can lead to disparate attrition from policing careers, which is particularly salient in a period where police organizations are under increased pressure to increase staffing levels while also increasing representation. Using a multi-agency survey of municipal police officers, the current research examines whether reported gender influences perceptions of these occupational strains among currently employed officers, and whether those perceptions contribute to intentions to leave the career field.

Authors

• Michael T. Rossler, Illinois State University

• Constantus Akuma-Zanu, Illinois State University

• Charles Scheer, The University of Southern Mississippi