NCJ Number
143615
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 41 Issue: 6 Dated: (June 1993) Pages: 25-28
Date Published
1993
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Often considered training grounds where younger officers hire on for lower pay, receive basic training, and get valuable experience before moving on to larger departments, one of the biggest problems of small police agencies is staff turnover.
Abstract
Many agencies have tried two approaches toward hiring: going with inexperienced officers and with officers from other agencies, but most still experience problems keeping good officers. Four small agencies in Pennsylvania and Vermont have developed strategies that seem to be working in terms of maintaining remarkably low turnover rates. All four chiefs were proud of the pay and benefits packages they offered their officers, but most believed their success was tied to officer job satisfaction; all the departments served areas with good tax bases and stable business communities. The chiefs of these agencies also use tactics ranging from an intensive selection process to total team management, flexible schedules that allow longer vacations, and efforts to insulate officers from local political battles.