Lecture - Recruitment and Retention Flashcards
Fact
Historically, odds of becoming a police officer was around 1 in 16, now it around 1 in 3
- A result of decrease in applicants
Why is it hard to hire “good” police officers? (Remember Order)
- Not everyone wants to become a police officer
* dangerous, not enough pay, other personal goals - Not everyone who wants to become a police officer can become one
* Citizenship/P.R. requirements
* Need vision/hearing/health requirements - Not everyone who can become a police officer is eligible
* Past behaviour (Background Check)
* Job Testing - Written
- Physical
- Interview
- Background Check
- Lie Detector
- Psychological
- Medical
- Chief Interview (sometimes)
- Not everyone who is eligible is desirable
* Personal fit (culturally, organizationally, retainable)
Advantages for men
Physical Agility Test is generally more advantageous for men then women for biological reasons, and is mostly why men are seen more in police
Advantages of Women in Policing (Ted Talk - Ivonne Roman)
- women are less likely to use force
- less likely to have complaints or lawsuits against them
- the presence of a women reduces the use of force among other officers
- women are met with the same amount of force as colleagues but more successful at defusing violent or aggressive behaviours overall
Solution to gender disparity in policing (Ted Talk - Ivonne Roman)
- change exams that produce dispersed outcomes
- training well-qualified candidates to pass validated, work-related, physiologically-based fitness exams
Todak (2017): Methodology
This study looks at how individuals make the decision to become police officers in the context of a police legitimacy crisis and how men and women’s decision-making processes may be different
* Fewer eligible officers are interested in police careers due to current problems plaguing law enforcement and public relations
Sample:
* 42 university students who planned to become officers
(28 women and 14 men)
Method:
* Semi-structured interviews
Todak (2017): Results
- Motivation
When did they decide to become officers ?
* Childhood = 16 students
* Teenager = 15 students
* College = 11 students
Why do they want to be police officers?
* Help People = 31 students
* Avoid desk job = 18 students
Long-Term Goals?
* Full Policing Career = 16 students
* Stepping stone to other agencies = 15 students
* One option to consider (stable job) = 11 students
- Expectations
Participants had “done their homework” and thought considerably about the realities of police work
Concerns:
* Become more cynical (dark)
* Protective
* Fear of getting hurt, making the wrong decision, etc.
* Coping - Preparation
Participants took many steps to prepare themselves for careers in policing
Ex.
* shooting range
* Ride-alongs
* Worked/volunteered in PD
* Attended events
Method of expanding applicant pool
Recruitments videos: police agencies try to attract applicants to apply for a policing career. Emphasize the warrior philosophy as opposed to the guardian philosophy
Simpson (2023) Introduction
He assesses the content of more than five hundred different recruitment videos for police agencies across the United States
- Data collection began by locating the videos
(department websites, YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, etc.)
Once identified, each coder watched each video multiple times and evaluated them using questions in a codebook
* Questions about video characteristics, department information, officer actions, etc.
Simpson (2023): Methodology
- Video characteristics:
* Wanted to find out how long the video was, day or night, who posted it, etc. - Officer representation
- Informational content:
* What type of content was the agency providing? - Behavioural content:
* What was the officer doing in the videos?
Simpson (2023): Results
⅔ of recruitment videos featured high-speed driving, the use of firearms, and the demonstration of canine and SWAT units. Most videos also included fast-paced music with a focus on male officers.
These finding were Prevalent and Salient.
Why are recruitment videos important?
They are important because they attract certain types of individuals based on the contents of the video and discourage others who don’t believe they fit the description.
Ex. A video featuring tanks, loud music, and energetic officers would attract people who identify and relate to these attributes and discourage others who do not, like more timid individuals for example.
Linos (2018): Methodology
Elizabeth Linos study used Job advertisements and tested targeted messaging in police recruitment by manipulating the content of messages on postcards to emphasize four aspects of the job: challenge, serving the community, impact, and career benefits. Messages focusing on personal benefits (challenge and career opportunities) were three times more effective than community-focused ones, particularly in attracting women and people of colour. The “serve the community” message had no significant impact. there was also a Black male police officer which remained constant to show diversity, the study showed that tailored messaging can attract more diverse and qualified candidates.
What marketing strategy did she talk about?
What did she manipulate as part of her test on marketing and applicant interest?
Linos (2018): Results
found that changing the content of job advertisements for policing careers impacted applicant numbers.
- Public service motivations were not helpful
- Personal Benefits: Challenge/Career Benefits were really good - “particularly effective for people of colour and women” (Linos, 2018 p.67)
