Assessing the Relationship

Police officer turnover is approaching critical levels for many policing agencies across the United States. In a study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, law enforcement agencies nationwide reported that recruiting qualified candidates to fill unanticipated vacancies was a significant problem in more than half of small agencies and more than two-thirds of large agencies. Turnover rates can diminish the overall job satisfaction of officers' and be costly to police agencies. The problem addressed in this study was the high turnover rate of police officers in the State of Colorado. This quantitative study assessed the relationship between job satisfaction and voluntary turnover of patrol officers in Colorado and tested Moriarty and Field's confluency theory as an explanation for police officer turnover. Validated survey instruments were completed by 379 current and former officers.