NCJ Number
205829
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 32 Issue: 3 Dated: May/June 2004 Pages: 223-229
Editor(s)
Kent B. Joscelyn
Date Published
May 2004
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study examined South Korean police recruits’ personal and social characteristics and their reasons for choosing careers as police officers.
Abstract
The Korean police force has long made efforts to develop effective strategies to recruit qualified officers. Despite these strategies, there is a lack of research on what motivates people to choose careers in policing in South Korea. It is important to understand motivations for joining the police force. With few studies in South Korea that have examined the personal characteristics of police officers and their reasons for choosing a policing career, this study examined the personal and social characteristics of police officers and the compatible and contradictory reasons given for the career choice to provide meaningful suggestions for police recruitment. The study used survey data collected by the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA). Eighteen possible reasons for choosing the police for their careers were given and a 5-point Likert-type scale was used to assess the respondent’s agreement for each reason. The study showed that almost 95 percent of police cadets joined the police as a line officer with at least some college or higher level of education. The study found that job security and steady salary were the most important factors affecting the decisions of police cadets to join. Reasons for entering the police force differed for males and females. Cadets who had a high school degree were more interested in the intrinsic qualities of the job and less interested in the job security and steady salary. In addition, job security and steady salary were less attractive to cadets from a high class than those from a low class, and cadets from middle class were more likely to be influenced by significant others and attracted to the intrinsic qualities of the police. Police implications for developing an effective recruitment strategy are discussed. References