“Feeling like a quitter” when you’re a ‘traitor’ not a ‘faithful’: Role exit and the experiences of voluntary resigners from policing in England and Wales.

• In Event: POL Panel 4. Police officer belonging and cultural narratives

Abstract

The existing literature on role transitions focuses predominantly upon role entry rather than role exit and the literature on police leavers focuses predominantly on retirees rather than voluntary resigners. With the rate of police voluntary resignations now at its highest level since records began, there is a need to understand this specific group and their lived experience of role exit. Using Ebaugh’s (1988) four-stage model on voluntary role exit as a framework, this presentation takes on this knowledge gap, presenting unique findings from a qualitative analysis of interviews with officers who voluntarily resigned between 2021 and 2022, from the police service within England and Wales. In doing so, it evidences the applicability of Ebaugh’s role exit model to voluntary police resigners, in terms of process and stages. However, the model falls short in understanding the impact of police organisational cultures on leavers and the leaving process and the very clear differences experienced between those who retire from the organisation - the ‘faithfuls’ - and those who voluntarily resign - the ‘traitors’. This presentation therefore provides important evidence both about when potential interventions are more likely to have an impact but also how reactions from supervisors and line managers can potentially influence this decision-making.

Authors

• Jemma Tyson, University of Portsmouth

• Sarah Charman, University of Portsmouth