Retention of police officers: a study ofresignations and transfers in ten forces

Christine Cooper and Samantha Ingram

May 2004

The views expressed in this report are those of the authors, not necessarily those of the Home Office (nor do they reflect Government policy).

RDS Occasional Paper No 86

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Foreword

Recruiting and retaining staff in the public sector is a problem of national concern. This report shows that thepolice service has a better than average record in both recruitment and retention. There is at the moment arecord number of officers and the rate of leaving is much lower than for most other parts of the public sector.H o w e v e r, within the service, resignation rates are higher for some groups – women, minority ethnic andp ro b a t i o n a ry officers – and more officers leave from forces in South-East England than other areas of thecountry. This report points to reasons for these higher rates as well as common concerns for leavers. It traceswhy people joined, their views on the job as their careers progressed, their reasons for leaving and theirgeneral reflections on the service. By no means all resigners were antagonistic towards their employer whenthey left and the report shows that there are opportunities during the often protracted process of leaving forforces to engage with officers and find out if and how they might be encouraged to stay. The study suggeststhat there is a close link between ways to improve retention and ongoing action being taken to modernise thepolice service.

Carole F WillisAssistant Director (Crime and Policing) Research, Development and Statistics Directorate

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the police forces who took part in the study. They not only provided information forthe database and distributed letters to leavers, but their comments on the initial research proposal and theearly findings from the study were invaluable.

We would also like to acknowledge the contribution of other members of the Crime and Policing Group to thisstudy; in particular David Dalgleish for his assistance with analysis of the data, as well as Julia Morris andRachel Tuffin.

Christine Cooper is a member and Samantha Ingram was a member of the Home Office Crime and PolicingGroup, Research, Development and Statistics Directorate.

The Crime and Policing Group would like to thank Professor Jennifer Brown of Surrey University and ProfessorDavid Guest of King’s College, London for acting as independent assessors for this report.

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Contents

Contents iiiList of Tables ivList of Figures ivSummary v

Background vKey findings vThe survey viConclusions viiKey recommendations viii

1. Background and methodology 1Introduction 1Background 1Methodology 4Summary 8

2. A profile of the ten forces and the areas they serve 9The ten forces 9Profile of the force areas 13Summary 16

3. A career in the police service 17Joining the service 17Career progression 19Summary 22

4. The process of resignation and transfer 23Process of leaving 23Reasons for leaving 24Summary 29

5. Transferers and resigners – what came next 31Transferers 31Resigners 33Summary 36

6. Reflections on the police service 37Opinions of resigners 37Leavers’ suggestions for improvements 38Summary 42

7. Conclusions, policy implications and recommendations 43Conclusions and implications 43Recommendations 47

Appendix 1 51

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List of Tables

Table 1.1: Wastage in the police service in England and Wales 1996 – 2002 3Table 1.2: Sample size and response rate 6Table 1.3: A comparison of selected characteristics of the interview sample and force records

for the ten forces 7Table 2.1: Characteristics of officers in the ten police forces, 2000/2001 9Table 2.2: Resignation and transfer rates for the ten forces 2000/2001 10Table 2.3: Transferers and resigners in the ten forces by age, gender, ethnicity, rank and

length of service 13Table 2.4: Selected characteristics of the force areas, 2000/2001 14Table 2.5: Police salaries by force and region 15Table 2.6: Average property prices in police force areas, December 2001 15Table 3.1: Work roles at time of leaving 20Table 4.1: Reasons to first consider leaving – top five answers for resigners and transferers 24Table 4.2: The percentage of leavers saying factors were very or fairly relevant in decision

to leave – top 5 answers 25Table 5.1: Relevance of factors in attractions of new area 32Table 5.2: The percentage of officers who received changes to their conditions of work on transfer 32Table 5.3: The current and previous roles of transferers (numbers) 33Table 5.4: The jobs resigners did on leaving the service, by work category 34Table 6.1: Resigners views of the police service 37Table 6.2: The proportion of resigners who said that they would return to the police service 38Table 6.3: What would have kept leavers in the service or force, percentages of responses.

Top five categories and typical remarks 41

List of Figures

Figure 2.1: Gains and losses for the aggregated period 2000 and 2001 11Figure 2.2: Transfer flows by proximity to London (calendar years 2000 and 2001) 12Figure 3.1: The main attraction to the police service – top five answers (percentage of leavers) 18Figure 3.2: The percentages of leavers finding aspects of the work better or worse than

expected in the probationary period– top five answers 19Figure 3.3: The percentage of leavers satisfied or dissatisfied with these aspects of the job in

the last six months (top 6 of each) 21Figure 5.1: What resigners did after leaving the force 34Figure 5.2: Comparison of present job with work in police service (percentage of resigners) 35Figure 6.1: Ways to improve the police service – top five answers 39

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Summary

Background

The study was commissioned by the Home Office Police Resources Unit to assist in meeting the government’stargets to increase police numbers. The aim of the study was to fill a gap in knowledge about reasons fortransfer and resignation and to inform the development of effective and practical retention initiatives. Thefindings will help forces to identify ways to reduce resignation and transfer as re q u i red by the NationalPolicing Plan 2003-6.

The study collected information about officers who left the service voluntarily, both those who resigned fromthe service and those who transferred to another force. It identified patterns in the wastage and mobility ofo fficers in the police service and sought to understand better the factors influencing these patterns. Inparticular it looked at:

● forces with high or increasing levels of resignations and transfers● g roups of officers within the service that have dispro p o rtionately high levels of resignations (minority

ethnic, women and probationary officers).

Ten forces took part, six with high levels of resignations and transfers and four with lower levels of wastage.The study used three main sources of information:

● The main focus of the study was a survey of over 300 leavers from the ten forces. The interv i e w sp rovided data on respondents’ careers in the service, the process of leaving and what they didafterwards. Information was gathered from 300 officers who left the forces in 2000 and 2001 (about11 per cent of all leavers in the ten forces). The characteristics of the respondents in terms of their rank,ethnic origin, gender and age matched the characteristics of all leavers from the ten forces.

● A database of basic information on all resigners and transferers from the study forces in 2000 and2001 was also developed. As well as providing information on all leavers the database was used toprovide the basis from which a sample was drawn for the interview survey.

● Figures from Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC) on overall levels of wastage in the studyforces and in England and Wales and information from National Statistics were used to set the context.

Key findings

Context

● There were increasing levels of wastage in the police service, with resignations and transfers accountingfor an increasing pro p o rtion. In the service as a whole the rates for resignation and transfer eachaccount for about one per cent of strength.

● Wastage rates were comparatively low for the police service as a whole (6%). Average labour turnovera c ross all sectors was18 per cent in 2000 and in 2001, staff turnover was 15 per cent in centralgovernment and 16 per cent in local government.

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● T h e re were higher rates of resignations for some groups in the service –women (2%), people fro mminority ethnic groups (2%) and probationers (7%).

● The majority of transferers were men (87%) and were aged 30 to 39 years old (58%).● There were higher rates of all leavers from particular forces. Forces in the South-East generally showed

the highest losses from transfers and resignations.● Forces with higher transfer rates were in those areas with comparatively high house prices and where

police wages were relatively low compared to the average wage for the area.

The survey

Joining the service

● Most respondents had carefully considered and taken time in making their decision to join the policeservice and had expected to stay there for their whole career.

● Most respondents re g a rdless of gender and re s i g n e r / t r a n s f e rer status joined the police service forsimilar reasons, the most popular being ‘varied work’ and ‘service to the public’.

Working for the service

● Opportunities for varied work were valued by most respondents throughout their career, and there weregenerally high levels of satisfaction with this aspect of the work even towards the end of their time withthe force.

● T h e re were comparatively high levels of satisfaction with pay and conditions of service for mostrespondents throughout their care e r. However, for a group of transferers inadequate pay was animportant factor in their decision to leave the force. For many, this was related to issues about the qualityof life and type of housing.

● T h e re were however, high levels of dissatisfaction with the quality of management and manyrespondents said that they did not feel valued. This finding applied to all groups, but there were higherlevels of dissatisfaction among resigners.

● Opportunities for promotion were less important for most people joining the service than many otheraspects of the work, in particular opportunities for specialist areas of work. However, they were animportant factor for nearly two-thirds of police officers with a degree or higher qualification.

● Higher proportions of probationer resigners were negative about the pressure, nature and hours of workthan other resigners. In particular, they complained that they felt isolated and lacking in support,

● There was some limited evidence from the survey that comparatively high proportions of female andminority ethnic officers felt they been subject to bullying and/or discrimination in their time in theservice.

Leaving

● The decision to leave, for many officers, took place over a considerable period of time.● T h e re was not usually one decisive event that made an officer decide to leave; it was often an

accumulation of incidents that motivated leavers. However, some respondents spoke about perc e i v e dunequal treatment, disputes with management or dissatisfaction with wider policies.

● Men and women had similar reasons for leaving, although many women identified domesticresponsibilities as an important factor, which men did not.

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Transferring

● Tr a n s f e rers’ decisions to leave were based on both ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors. The ‘push’ factors thatencouraged them to leave their forces were similar to resigners’ reasons for leaving the service; the ‘pull’factors were based on wanting to move area for what they saw as a better quality of life.

● The majority of transferers between forces were ‘family men’ in pursuit of a ‘better quality of life’.Differences existed in the concerns of officers from different areas. Officers transferring from South-Eastforces with retention problems were particularly concerned about improved pay and conditions. Officerswho transferred from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) had particular concerns about achieving abetter quality of life.

● Transferers’ choices about destination forces were based on personal reasons to do with desirability andcosts of the housing, judgements about the quality of life and, in some cases, personal ties with the area.

Resigning

● Most resigners went into other employment on leaving, although a tenth of women looked after families,something not mentioned by any men.

● Comparing resigners’ new posts with their job in the police service, many mentioned the lessquantifiable factors as being better in the new job, for example the extent to which they felt valued andthe working environment, as well as hours of work. The majority of resigners considered pay, benefitsand promotion prospects in their new employment to be less good than in the police service.

Views of the service

● When asked, many resigners were positive about their time with the service, nearly a half of officerssaid that they would consider returning to the service.

● Respondents, when asked about ways to improve the service, emphasised the need to re d u c epaperwork and bureaucracy and increase support from all levels of management.

● In terms of what would have kept people in the service, resigners wanted improved management, to feelmore valued and to have more support, especially as probationers, whilst transferers wanted improvedpay, help with housing, improved management and being made to feel valued.

Conclusions

● The police service has increasing rates of resignation and mobility, but the rates remain below those ofother public services.

● There were common concerns for many leavers-– the variety of police work was important in attracting officers and remained a source of satisfaction

for many leavers– management was perceived as unfair and ineffective at all levels.

● Many transferers were concerned about improving their quality of life; housing was a particular issue.● There were higher rates of transfer and resignation from forces in the south east of England – for many

MPS officers moving area for a better quality of life was important, for officers from the other south eastforces improved pay and conditions were most important.

● There were higher rates of voluntary resignation for minority ethnic officers, women and probationers.● Minority ethnic resigners were more likely to have fewer years of service and to be older than other

resigners.

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● The reasons women resigned from the force were similar to men’s, but they were more likely to leave theforce because of domestic responsibilities.

● Many of those who resigned as probationers said that they felt isolated and lacked support.

Key recommendations

The main recommendations flowing from the findings suggest that the service needs:

● to improve management, in particular by encouraging openness and transpare n c y, developingleadership in all officers, and increasing support for all officers

● to build on the positive aspects of working in the force, through encouraging team working, developingand delivering appropriate training and identifying opportunities for more flexible ways of working forall officers

● to look at the impact of area initiatives, to ensure re c ruitment literature gives a realistic picture ofpolicing and to improve record keeping

● to address the challenges facing particular groups in the service.

Many of these are already being looked at by some forces and are being addressed by government throughsuch channels as the National Policing Plan. However, many of the underlying reasons for the findings appearrooted in the predominant policing culture and are likely to re q u i re greater eff o rts than in the past toovercome them; areas for action should be prioritised in relation to the consistent messages that come fromthe leavers in this study.

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1. Background and methodology

Introduction

The study was commissioned by the Home Office Police Resources Unit (PRU) in response to the government’stargets to increase police numbers. Action to increase police numbers had tended to focus on the recruitmentof additional officers and less work had been carried out to explore the reasons why officers left the service ort r a n s f e rred between forces. The National Policing Plan 2003–6 (Home Office, 2002) has recognised theimportance of identifying ways in local policing plans to reduce high levels of resignation and transfer and ofassessing the efficacy of these measures.

The aim of this study was to fill this gap in knowledge and inform the development of effective and practicala p p roaches by forces to improve the retention of police officers. The study investigated resignations andtransfers in ten police forces over two years. The focus of the research was on those forces identified by PRUas having high or increasing levels of resignations and on those groups of officers (women officers, officersf rom minority ethnic groups and probationers) that had dispro p o rtionately high levels of re s i g n a t i o n .Following initial discussions with participating forces, it was decided to also focus on issues arising fro mtransfers between forces. Although transfers do not affect overall police numbers and, it may be argued areadvantageous to the service as a whole in retaining officers, the loss of officers impacts disproportionately onforces in some areas of the country.

Background

Research into retention in the police service

T h e re has been comparatively little published re s e a rch in recent years on the reasons why police offic e r sleave the service or transfer between forces. Some large scale, quantitative research was conducted in thelate 1980s and early 1990s (Fielding and Fielding, 1987; James, 1992; Smithers, Hill and Silvester, 1990),but many studies have tended to be descriptive and qualitative providing limited data on which to formulatepolicy (Holdaway and Barron, 1997; Wilson, Holdaway and Spencer, 1984). Much of the re s e a rch onretention within the police service has tended to focus only on under-represented groups such as women andpeople from minority ethnic groups. (Fletcher, 1990; Holdaway and Barron, 1997; Wilson, Holdaway andSpencer, 1984; Scottish Executive, 2002). There has been no recent national research examining why, moregenerally, police officers leave the service and there is little robust research on officers’ movements betweenf o rces, although locally conducted surveys by forces attribute this to ‘pull factors’: either personalcircumstances or promotion opportunities. This research aims to address these gaps and broaden the existingknowledge base.

Why retention matters

A c c o rding to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), average labour turnover in the UK increased toalmost 18 per cent in 2000, although there were substantial diff e rences between industry sectors (CBI,2001). While a certain level of turnover is inevitable and “fresh blood” is viewed positively, abnormally high

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levels of turnover can prove costly both in monetary terms and in terms of workload pre s s u re, incre a s e dnegativity and absenteeism among those who remain:

“The conditions that cause high employee turnover lead to other, hidden, costs. For everydisgruntled worker who leaves, there are others who stay. They may not be able to relocate, or theymay feel the pinch of golden handcuffs from accumulated retirement benefits. These are cases of“mental employee turnover”, the walking wounded of the workforce. In companies with highturnover you can assume higher-than-normal levels of such dissatisfied employees, whose attitudesand behaviour affect the bottom line.” (Hay Group, 2001).

Retention in the public sector

The public sector is made up of many professions and services, and there is evidence that many of theses e rvices are facing severe retention difficulties. Staff turnover in 2001 for those working in publicadministration was 15 per cent for central government and 16 per cent for local government (CIPD, 2002).The number of teachers and nurses who are leaving the profession early is rising markedly. Recent researchby Liverpool University found that 60 per cent of each year’s teaching trainees were moving out of theprofession within three years (Smithers and Robinson, 2000). The NHS is also encountering severe difficultiesin retaining nursing staff with around a third of new nursing graduates not registering to practise (Finlayson etal., 2002a).

A recent report by the Audit Commission (2002) highlighted recruitment and retention problems within thepublic sector as a whole. It found that the experience of work in practice and the sense of not being valuedwere key factors in decisions to leave a range of public sector occupations. Research into retention in specificprofessions and sectors has also found similar reasons among many of those leaving their jobs. According toan article in the British Medical Journal, reasons for retention problems in the NHS can be grouped under fourbroad headings: ‘pay and the cost of living, the changing nature of the job, perceptions of being “valued”,and other employment opportunities’ (Finlayson et al., 2002b). While, according to the National Foundationfor Educational Research:

“Prospective and practising teachers planning to leave the profession both cited heavy workloads, poorpay and the low morale within the profession as reasons for their decision. In addition, those teacherstaking early retirement blamed stress, work overload and excessive bureaucracy.”

(Spear, Gould and Lee, 2000).

Issues in London and the South-East

There are particular retention issues in London and the South-East for all public services. For example, theNHS has difficulties retaining nurses in London where turnover rates in some hospitals are as high as 38 percent. A recent nursing study cites expensive, poor quality accommodation and difficulties travelling as reasonsfor leaving nursing in London (Finlayson et al., 2002).

Police forces in and around the South-East and London have encountered more severe retention difficultiesthan forces in other regions. Central government has sought to address this for post-Sheehy officers (who donot get a housing allowance) with an increased London allowance and new allowances for eight South-Eastforces. The government has recently allocated £10 million to three South-East forces to enable them to providehousing assistance to officers, targeted at reducing the loss of experienced staff.

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Since 2001 the Metropolitan and City of London Police forces have had an arrangement with the Associationof Train Operating Companies (ATOC), under which their officers receive free (at the point of use) rail travelto and from work, up to a radius of 70 miles outside central London. The Home Office funded thisarrangement. This has been revised and extended for five years. The two forces also have a long-standingarrangement for free (at the point of use) bus and tube travel for their officers. Other south east forces havedeveloped a variety of locally funded packages.

The Police Reform White Paper (2001) highlighted the problem of affordable housing for police officers withinthe region. The Mayor of London, in recognition of the importance of housing for all key workers, hasrecommended that 50 per cent of all new dwellings in two- thirds of London boroughs should be affordableand 35 percent of new dwellings should be affordable in the remainder of London boroughs (GLA, 2002).

Wastage in the police service

The number of police officers depends upon the balance between the numbers recruited and the numbers wholeave forces (wastage). Wastage includes re t i rements, medical re t i rements, those re q u i red to resign anddeaths as well as voluntary resignations and transfers. Total wastage in the police service of England andWales has increased from five per cent in 1996/7 to six per cent in 2001/2002 (Table 1.1).

Table 1.1: Wastage in the police service in England and Wales 1996 – 2002

Police Police Resignations Transfers Retirements Medical Other*full-time wastage (% of total (% of total (% of total retirements (% of total

equivalent as % wastage) wastage) wastage) (% of total wastage)strength of strength wastage)

1996/97 124,792 5.0 12.0 12.7 39.6 32.3 3.21997/98 124,802 5.3 14.0 10.4 44.6 27.3 3.81998/99 123,780 5.0 19.2 9.0 41.3 26.4 4.11999/00 122,043 5.0 20.3 10.5 44.8 20.2 4.22000/01 123,476 5.4 21.9 17.7 39.4 18.0 3.12001/02 127,039 6.0 21.8 21.9 39.0 14.5 2.8*Required to resign, deaths (Source: HMIC)

The importance of resignations and transfers in accounting for losses from the police service has increasedover the period. Against the background of climbing levels of wastage, the proportion of wastage accountedfor by medical retirements more than halved in the period and the proportion of all wastage accounted for byvoluntary resignations and by transfers increased from 12 per cent and 13 per cent respectively in 1996/7 to22 per cent for both resignations and transfers in 2001/2002. The resignation rate for police off i c e r s(measured as a proportion of total strength) more than doubled in the six years from 0.6 per cent to 1.3 percent and in terms of numbers, resignations increased from about 750 in 1996 to over 1,600 in 2001/2002.

Despite the increasing levels of wastage (in particular resignations and transfers) in police service, theyremain low in comparison with the estimates of turnover in all sectors of British industry (18%, CBI op cit.) andre p o rted levels in other parts of the public sector (CIPD, 2002: Finlayson et al., 2002a; Smithers andRobinson, 2000).

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Female, probationary and minority ethnic officers

Although wastage rates are comparatively low for the police service as a whole, some groups have higherresignation rates, in particular women, minority ethnic officers and probationers. In 2000/2001 (the latestfigures available from HMIC with reliable split by ethnicity) the resignation rate was 2.2 per cent for womenand 2.0 per cent for minority ethnic officers, compared with 1.1 per cent for all officers. There was lessdifference between the groups in terms of transfers, in 2000/2001 the rate was 0.9 per cent for women, 1.3per cent for minority ethnic officers and 0.9 per cent for all officers.

Targets for the retention of minority ethnic officers were set by the Home Secretary as part of his response tothe Lawrence Enquiry Report and information has been collected from the forces on the percentage of whiteand minority ethnic officers who resigned or were dismissed, by their length of service. For England andWales, in 2000/2001 for officers with six months to two years service, 4.7 per cent of minority ethnico fficers resigned or were dismissed, compared with 3.5 per cent of white officers. Previous Home Offic eresearch found that minority ethnic officers were twice as likely as white officers to resign from the PoliceS e rvice (Bland et al., 1999). They also identified ‘diff e rences in the careers of ethnic minority and whiteo fficers – in re c ruitment, retention, promotion and selection for specialist posts’. Generally, the higherresignation rates for minority ethnic and women officers have implications for the service in its aim ofreflecting the diversity of the communities it serves and in reaching the targets for the employment of minorityethnic officers.

Methodology

Ten police forces were selected to take part in the study, six with high or increasing levels of resignations andfour forces that were similar in many of their characteristics, but with lower levels of resignation. The studycovered the calendar years 2000 and 2001. Representatives of the forces were involved in initial discussionsof the scope of the project and have been presented with and had the opportunity to comment on earlyfindings from the study.

The project was centred on a detailed questionnaire survey of 300 leavers from the ten forces. This was set incontext, looking at data on resignations and transfers in the whole of the police service and data on allleavers within the ten forces. The project used three main sources of information from which to build a pictureof resignations and transfers from the ten police forces, figures from Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary,force records and a survey of a sample of leavers.

Figures from Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC)

HMIC collects a wide range of data, including personnel information, from the police forces of England andWales on an annual basis. These data were used to provide information about the forces and the policeservice as a whole in England and Wales. Information relating to wastage from the forces and the servicewas analysed for the financial years 2000/2001 and for 2001/2002. This provided useful background anda basis for comparing the forces in the study.

Force records

A database was constructed on Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) using records provided by theforces on all officers who had resigned from or transferred into or out of the ten forces in the study. The dataincluded gender, ethnicity, age, length of service, rank and some basic reasons for transfer or resignation for

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the 2,743 officers who left the ten forces between January 2000 and January 2002. The databasesupplemented the information from HMIC, which is limited and does not provide any detail about officersresigning or transferring. The database was used to provide the basis from which a sample was drawn for theinterview survey. The information from the force records also acted as a check on any bias in the sample.

The survey questionnaire

The questionnaire was developed jointly by members of the research team and MORI who conducted theinterviews, drawing on questionnaires used in previous retention studies, a review of academic and otherliterature and discussions with police forces about the issues that were important to them. The questionnairewas administered through face-to face interviews, rather than by telephone or by self-completion. This wasbecause it was considered important to establish rapport between the interviewer and the interviewee giventhe sensitive issues covered in the questionnaire and the length of the interview. The questionnaire was pilotedin two police forces not included in the main study.

The questionnaire was designed as an exploration of a chain of events that led up to resignation or transfer,building up a picture of respondents’ careers in the service. It investigated what respondents liked and dislikedabout their jobs, in order to tease out the stages in the process of leaving the force from when they first thoughtof resigning or transferring to the point, if it could be identified, when they ‘made up their mind’. The interv i e w sinvestigated respondents’ careers after leaving the force, in terms of the posts they went onto and how thesec o m p a red with their previous work. To inform the development of practical policies, questions were developedto separate out the reasons given for leaving, in terms of factors that related to the work environment, otherconditions of work and personal circumstances. The questionnaire also included direct questions on whethersomething could have been done to make respondents change their minds about leaving.

The questionnaire included prompted, unprompted and open-ended questions. The diff e rent types ofquestioning on similar aspects could be used as a check on whether respondents were giving consistentanswers and they also yielded different types of data, which could be analysed in different ways.

Contacting the sample

The fieldwork was carried out by MORI. A minimum target number of 300 interviews was agreed, to includeat least 150 white resigners, 50 white transferers and as many as possible of the 100 minority ethnic leaversidentified in the force records. The process of contacting the leavers from the ten forces had to take account ofthe requirements of the data protection legislation. Anonymous electronic details of those who had resigned ortransferred from the ten forces in 2000 and 2001 as recorded on force records, were sent to MORI. Randomsamples of transferers and resigners were originally selected by MORI; however, because of initially lowlevels of responses it was decided to include all resigners, all minority ethnic leavers, and a random sample ofapproximately one in four transferers. Letters and pro forma response slips were sent out to the resigners,distributed by the forces. The process to contact transferers was more circuitous, with letters sent to their oldforces, to pass on to their new forces, to send out to the transferers.

The letters to respondents outlined the objectives of the survey and asked those willing to participate to sendto MORI their completed pro forma with their contact details. This approach ensured that the requirements ofthe data protection legislation were met:

● neither MORI nor the Home Office were aware of the names of those who were invited to participate inthe research

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● MORI only knew respondents’ names and addresses once they had chosen to complete the pro forma● the police forces were not aware of the identity of officers who agreed to participate in the research.

In order to prompt as many responses as possible from minority ethnic leavers, the MPS Black PoliceAssociation contacted its members to encourage participation and there was an additional mail-out tominority ethnic resigners and transferers. These actions, however, generated few additional leads.

Characteristics of the sample

The minimum target for the number of interviews was reached, with 302 responses, 194 from resigners and108 from transferers. Table 1.2 shows the size of the sample and response rates for different groups in thes u rv e y. Response rates were generally higher among transferers than resigners and among officers whoworked out of London than those in the capital.

Table 1.2: Sample size and response rate

Force Sample Responses Response records rate %

London Resigners White 719 719 78 10.8Minority ethnic 59 59 9 15.3

Transfers White 758 217 50 23.0Minority ethnic 25 25 1 4.0

Non London Resigners White 573 573 103 18.0Minority ethnic 13 13 3 23.1

Transfers White 569 166 53 31.9Minority ethnic 13 13 2 15.4Refused 3

Total 2,729 1,785 302 16.9

The methods for obtaining the interview sample were chosen for pragmatic reasons, primarily to take accountof data protection legislation and to attempt to maximise the number of responses from minority ethnicleavers. The response rate is likely to have been affected by the rather complex procedures for contactingpotential interviewees, although 17 per cent of those sent letters returned them, it is not known how many ofthe initial letters reached their intended recipients. Furthermore, because of the sensitivity of the issues to becovered in the interview, the respondents who agreed to be interviewed may not have been representative ofall leavers. This means that there may have been a response bias in the sample.

Some basic characteristics of the interview sample were compared with those of the population from whichthey were taken (force re c o rds) (Table 1.3). Within the sample there were similar pro p o rtions of minorityethnic leavers as in the database; a slight over-representation of women resigners (33%: 28%); and an under-representation of young leavers aged under 30 (26%: 39%) and of probationers who resign (28%: 42%).

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Table 1.3: A comparison of selected characteristics of the interview sample and force recordsfor the ten forces

Force records Sampleall resigners transfers all resigners transfers

n= 2,743 n= 1,371 n= 1,372 n= 302 n= 194 n= 108% % % % % %

GenderFemale 20.5 28.1 13.0 26.2 33.5 13.0EthnicityMinority ethnic 4.0 5.2 2.8 5.3 6.2 3.7Age18–29 38.5 45.1 31.8 25.9 30.9 16.830–39 50.8 43.4 58.2 50.0 68.2 56.540 and over 10.7 11.4 10.0 19.1 14.9 17.6RankProbationer 22.3 41.9 2.9 17.9 27.8 0Constable (not pro b a t i o n e r ) 67.3 52.7 82.0 68.5 57.7 88.0Sergeant and above 10.3 5.5 15.1 11.3 11.3 11.1

Many of the findings of the study were not affected by these diff e rences between the sample and thepopulation, for example, because the analyses were based on more qualitative data or on comparisonswithin or between some of these groups. The impact on the overall percentages appears to be limited and notsignificant. The authors looked, as an example, at the question about whether leavers found aspects of thework at the end of probation, better or worse than expected. The number of probationers in the sample wasrecalculated to reflect their proportion in the population from which the sample was taken (force records).There were no significant shifts in the overall percentages of leavers’ opinions on any aspects of the work.There were, as would be expected, comparatively large shifts in the percentages of resigners who thoughtthat some aspects of the work were better or worse than expected; these were those aspects on which therew e re significant diff e rences between probationers and other resigners. In re p o rting the results the authorshave been aware of these differences.

Analysis of the data

The study was originally designed to allow comparisons to be made between resigners, who were the mainfocus of the study and transferers who were introduced, part l y, as a comparison group. As the re s e a rc hcontinued it became apparent that transferers were an important aspect of the overall picture of retention inpolice forces and the analysis of data about transfers was an important part of the study. The study was alsooriginally designed to compare between the six forces with high levels of resignations and the fourcomparator forces. However, by the time of the study one of the comparator forces (Sussex) had resignationand transfer rates similar to those forces identified as having retention problems and it was decided that itwould be more useful to use other comparisons between forces based on their distance from London.

T h roughout, the analysis focussed on the main aim of the study, which was to inform the development ofinitiatives to improve retention in the forces. The analysis was conducted to draw out issues that were relevantfor all leavers (resigners and transferers) and to identify issues for particular groups. The numerical data was

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analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The authors were able to compare between groups, forexample: resigners and transferers, men and women, those in different age groups, with different lengths ofservice and from different areas. Significance tests were carried out across a wide range of comparisons,although generally, only those differences that were statistically significant are noted in the text. These arebased on the chi square statistic (unless otherwise mentioned), using a 0.05 significance level, giving a 95per cent confidence level that this result can be inferred to the population from which the sample was taken.

The design of the questionnaire with its mix of prompted, unprompted and open-ended questions gaves t ru c t u re to the analysis. Themes and careers were traced, looking at groups or individual re c o rds andchecking back with the full sample. Some of the richest strands came from the verbatim responses to the openended questions, which gave greater depth to an understanding of the issues. These responses were groupedusing a framework based on the structure outlined by the more quantitative analysis with, if appropriate, eachquote being put into more than one category. The groupings of responses to the open-ended questions werelooked at by more than one of the research team and the quotes that are used in the final report, were thosedecided on as being most illustrative as the result of discussion between the researchers.

Summary

● There is limited research on why police officers leave the service and transfer between forces.● Some public sector professions have acute retention problems.● Wastage rates for the police service are low compared to other professions.● There are increasing levels of wastage in police service, with resignations and transfers accounting for

an increasing proportion and retirement through sickness accounting for a smaller proportion over time.● There are particular retention issues for the public sector as a whole in London and the South-East.● P a rticular groups in the service (women, people from minority ethnic groups and probationers) have

higher than average resignation rates. ● The higher resignation rates for minority ethnic and women officers have implications for the service in

its aim of reflecting the diversity of the communities it serves and in reaching the targets set by the HomeOffice for the employment of minority ethnic officers.

● The project used information from HMIC, force re c o rds and a survey of over 300 leavers from tenforces.

● The questionnaire explored in depth respondents’ views of the service, their reasons for leaving andwhat they did after transfer or resignation.

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2. A profile of the ten forces and the areas they serve

This chapter uses data from HMIC, data from the forces and National Statistics to build up a picture of the tenforces in the study, in terms of rates and patterns of transfers and resignations, characteristics of leavers and aprofile of the regions in which the forces are situated. This provides the context for the detailed analyses of theprocesses of resignation and transfer in the following chapters.

The ten forces

Characteristics of the police officers

The ten forces in the study were very diff e rent from each other. The size of the forces varied from nearly25,000 for the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to fewer than 1,200 for Northamptonshire (Table 2.1). Thetotal wastage (which includes all resignations, transfers and retirements) varied between 4.2 per cent and12.6 per cent of strength. There were diff e rences in the pro p o rtions of women, minority ethnic andprobationary officers in the ten forces. The proportions of women in the forces ranged from 14.6 per cent to19.6 per cent and the pro p o rtions of minority ethnic officers from 0.9 per cent to 4.1 per cent. Thedifferences between forces in the proportion of constables who were probationers (4.5% to 19.3%) reflecteddifferences in the rates of wastage and recruitment in the forces. The particularly high rates of probationers forSurrey and Hertfordshire partly arose from the increased recruitment that was necessary following boundarychanges in April 2000.

Table 2.1: Characteristics of officers in the ten police forces, 2000/2001

Force Female Minority ethnic Probationers Total wastagestrength strength group strength strength rate

(%) (%) (%) (% of strength)

Avon and Somerset 2,994 14.6 1.1 4.5 5.2Cambridgeshire 1,296 14.8 2.3 11.0 5.9Hampshire 3,435 17.5 1.1 8.4 6.1Hertfordshire 1,922 19.6 1.6 11.9 7.9Merseyside 4,081 16.4 1.9 5.0 4.2Metropolitan Police 24,935 15.6 4.1 7.9 6.0Northamptonshire 1,159 17.2 2.7 7.9 4.7Surrey 2,066 17.6 1.5 19.3 12.6Sussex 2,855 17.3 0.9 9.6 6.4Thames Valley 3,706 17.6 2.4 10.7 7.310 forces 48,450 16.2 2.9 8.5 6.4England and Wales 123,476 17.1 2.4 7.7 5.3Source: HMIC

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Resignation and transfers

The ten forces were chosen to take part in the study on the basis of their resignation rates. Six forc e s( C a m b r i d g e s h i re, Hampshire, Hert f o rd s h i re, Metropolitan Police Service, Surre y, and Thames Valley) hadhigh or increasing levels over the past five years and four forces had lower levels (Merseyside,N o rt h a m p t o n s h i re, Sussex and Avon and Somerset). There have been some changes in the comparativeresignation rates for the forces in the study from when the project was designed.

Table 2.2 shows the resignations and transfer rates for each of the forces in the study for the financial year2000/2001. The figures are from the database of forces and are diff e rent from the rates published bydifferent sources including RDS and HMIC. The differences are mainly because of using different definitions ofresignation from the service, in particular the figures from the database do not include officers in a careerbreak.

Table 2.2: Resignation and transfer rates for the ten forces 2000/2001

Force Resignation rate Transfer rate Combined rate% strength % strength % strength

Avon and Somerset 0.5 0.8 1.4Cambridgeshire 1.6 0.9 2.5Hampshire 1.4 0.7 2.1Hertfordshire 2.8 2.2 5.0Merseyside 0.5 0.3 0.9Metropolitan Police Service 1.5 1.6 3.0Northamptonshire 0.9 0.8 1.6Surrey 2.1 1.9 4.0Sussex 1.5 1.1 2.6Thames Valley 1.3 2.2 3.510 forces 1.4 1.4 2.8Source: Force recordsNote: Due to rounding, resignation and transfer sum do not appear to total the combined rate

The resignation rates varied between 0.5 per cent and 2.8 per cent; transfer rates between 0.3 per cent and2.2 per cent. About half of the officers who left voluntarily, transferred to another force, with the resignationand transfer rates similar for each force. There were no significant correlations between resignation rates oftransfer rates and any of the characteristics of the forces presented in Table 2.1, except for the percentage ofprobationer constables in the force, which as previously discussed is the result of different levels of wastage.

Losses and gains through resignations and transfers

There was a different pattern of transfers to and resignations and transfers from each of the ten forces. Figure2.1 shows the net gain or loss for each force through transfers into and out of the forces and thro u g hresignations. This does not take account of gains through recruitment or of other losses (mainly retirements).

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Figure 2.1: Gains and losses for the aggregated period 2000 and 2001

Source: Force rec7ordsNote: Due to rounding, losses and gains do not appear to total overall figures.

Generally, there were high levels of transfers from forces in the South-East and the MPS. The rate of transfersfrom the forces varied between 29 per 1,000 officers in Surrey to three per 1,000 in Merseyside. In terms oftransfers in, Hertfordshire had the highest rate of 22 per 1,000 and the MPS the lowest at one per 1,000.There does not seem to be a link between the rate of transfers in and the rate of transfers out. Hertfordshireand Surrey had high levels of transfers out and also high levels of transfers in; Thames Valley and MPS,however, also had comparatively high rates of transfers out, but low rates of transfers in. Only two forces(Avon and Somerset and Northamptonshire) gained more officers from transfers to the force than they lostthrough transfers out and resignations.

Destination and sources of transfers

Many transfers in came from forces in the same region or an adjacent one. Many transfers out were also oftento nearby areas, some to forces further afield and some to other forces including the transport and MoD forc e s .

Figure 2.2 shows the pattern of transfers to and from the ten forces by proximity to London. The MPS had alow rate of transfers in between 2000 and 2001; the majority of which came from the forces adjacent toLondon. Transfers from the MPS were generally to forces outside the South-East. Surre y, Sussex andHertfordshire received over half of their transfers from the MPS and about a third of transfers from Surrey andHertfordshire were to the MPS. There was generally not very much movement between and among forces inthe inner and outer rings. Northamptonshire received a comparatively high proportion of its inward transfersfrom forces in the inner ring adjacent to London.

Figure 2.2: Transfer flows by proximity to London (calendar years 2000 and 2001)

Inner ring: Thames Valley, Surrey, Hertfordshire, Kent, EssexOuter ring: Hampshire, Sussex, BedfordshireSource: Force records

Many of the forces in the study in the South-East of England suffered disproportionate losses through transfers.During the two years covered by the study, new regional allowances were introduced. In summer 2000 MPSofficers received an increase in their allowance to £6,000 a year as well as other benefits such as free travel.In April 2001 officers working for forces in the inner ring adjacent to London received £2,000 a year andthose in the outer ring £1,000 a year. The impact of these allowances on the pattern of transfers in the periodis not clear.

The particular retention issues for forces in the South-East are similar to those in other professions. For examplea recent press release (15th February 2002) by the National Employers Organisation for School Teacherswhich commissions an annual survey of its profession encapsulates many of the problems faced by employersin the South-East:

“The continued upward trend in turnover reflects the relatively buoyant labour market, where b yteachers have increased employment opportunities not only within the education service but alsooutside the service. The particularly high turnover rates in London and the South-East are also partlydue to the ease with which teachers can commute to a number of LEAs (and other employers) within arelatively compact geographical area.”

Characteristics of transferers and resigners

The characteristics of those who resigned and transferred were different to those in the force as a whole.Looking at those characteristics of officers in the ten forces available from published sources (HMIC) and fromf o rce re c o rds (Table 2.1 and Table 2.3), higher pro p o rtions of resigners were women (28%: 16%),probationers (42%: 9%) and from minority ethnic backgrounds (5%: 3%) than their representation in the tenforces. The majority of both resigners and transferers were aged under 40 (89%: 90%), transferers were more

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likely to be aged between 30 and 39 (45%: 32%) and resigners to be younger, aged 18 – 29 (45%: 32%). Ahigh pro p o rtion of resigners left with less than two years’ service (43%); whereas transferers were more likely toleave with two to five years’ service. Tr a n s f e rers were more likely than resigners to be male (87%: 72%).

Table 2.3: Transferers and resigners in the ten forces by age, gender, ethnicity, rank and lengthof service

% transferers % resigners

Age 18–29 32.0 44.930–39 58.4 43.640+ 9.6 11.5

Gender Male 87.2 72.1Female 12.8 27.9

Ethnicity White 97.2 94.7Minority ethnic 2.8 5.3

Rank Probationer 2.9 41.9Constable (excl. Probationer) 82.0 52.5Sergeant and above 15.1 5.6

Length of service in force 2 years and under 3.8 42.6Over 2 to 5 years 44.8 19.66–10 years 23.8 16.311–19 years 24.3 18.320+ years 3.3 3.2

Source: Force records

Women, minority ethnic and probationer resigners

The characteristics of women, minority ethnic and probationer resigners were diff e rent in some respects to otherresigners. Women were more likely than men to have left the force with more than five years service (45%:35%), but they were less likely to be probationers (33%: 45%). Minority ethnic resigners were more likely thanwhite resigners to have served two years or less in the force (42%: 22%) and to be aged 30–39 (61%: 51%).

Probationers who left the force nearly all resigned from the service, because it was accepted practice at thetime not to take transfer requests from those who had not completed their two-year probationary period. Ahigher proportion of probationers who resigned were from minority ethnic groups than were white resigners(8%: 5%). Half of the probationers who resigned from the service did so within six months of joining. In theMetropolitan Police Service (MPS) over two-thirds (68%) of probationers who resigned left within six months.These officers would have spent most of their time in training school with little experience of the job.

Transferers and resigners, men and women, and minority ethnic and white officers leave the forces at differentages and at different stages in their careers. The high proportions of probationers who resign from the servicesuggest that some officers may face specific difficulties in the first two years of service.

Profile of the force areas

Impact of external factors

The forces in the study were concentrated in the south of England. This is because five of the six forces withretention issues were in London and the ring round London. The characteristics of the force areas varied fromthe seven million population of Greater London, with more than one in five of the population from minority

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ethnic groups and high rates of unemployment and recorded crimes to rural Surrey with less than two per centminority ethnic population, an unemployment rate of three per cent and under half the recorded crime rate ofthe MPS (Table 2.4).

Table 2.4: Selected characteristics of the force areas, 2000/2001

Population Minority Population Regional Recorded Recorded (000s) ethnic under 16 unemployment crimes crime

population (%) rate per 1,000 detected(%) (2000) population (%)

Avon & Somerset 1,501 2.0 19.6 4.1 99 22Cambridgeshire 725 3.6 20.1 3.6 96 24Hampshire 1,781 1.8 20.0 3.3 74 29Hertfordshire 1,043 4.1 20.7 3.3 62 24Merseyside 1,404 1.8 20.9 5.3 101 28Metropolitan Police 7,279 20.3 20.7 7.0 137 15Northamptonshire 621 3.5 21.3 6.2 91 33Surrey 1,078 2.8 19.6 3.3 61 28Sussex 1,515 1.9 18.7 3.3 90 23Thames Valley 2,116 6.1 21.1 3.3 89 22Sources: HMIC, Labour Force Survey, Office for National Statistics

The forces in the South-East all mentioned in discussions that their retention problems were exacerbated by thehigh cost of living in their areas. Table 2.5 shows the basic starting salaries for police officers from September2001, which include new allowances and benefits for officers in London and the South-East. There was not asignificant correlation between transfer rates and the average weekly wage of police officers. The table alsocompares the average salary of police officers (sergeants and constables) to the average salary in the region,in an attempt to give an impression of how ‘well off’ a police officer may feel in different areas of the country(it was not possible to get average salaries by force area). In the four areas outside the South-East, policesalaries were about a quarter more than the average salary; in London and the South-East, the average policesalary was between 12 per cent and 14 per cent above the average wage for the area. Generally, thosef o rce areas where police officers’ salaries were comparatively low compared to the average wage hadcomparatively high levels of transfers. Indeed, there was a significant correlation as measured by PearsonProduct-Moment Correlation Coefficient (r= - 0.56) between the transfer rates for the forces and the averagewage of police officers as a percentage of the average wage for the region.

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Table 2.5: Police salaries by force and region

Region Force Average wage Police officer Average wage Police officer £ per week average wage of police officer basic salary(all sectors) (£ per week)* as % of average after training**

wage (all sectors) ( £ per week)

East Cambridgeshire 439 556 127 369South West Avon and Somerset 409 518 127 369North West Merseyside 408 482 118 369West Midlands Northamptonshire 419 519 124 369Greater London Metropolitan 594 679 114 485South-East Thames Valley 473 532 112 407

Hertfordshire 473 532 112 407Surrey 473 532 112 407Hampshire 473 532 112 387Sussex 473 532 112 387

Source: New Earnings Survey 2001*Average gross salary including overtime of police officer below inspector for the region**From September 2001

Another aspect of the cost of living is the cost of housing. Table 2.6 shows the average house price for theforce area. Those force areas with the highest average house prices were generally those that had high levelsof transfers and resignations. There was a significant correlation between average house prices and both thetransfer and resignation rates as measured by Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient (r=0.80 andr=0.68 respectively).

Table 2.6: Average property prices in police force areas, December 2001

Average price £ (in ascending order)

Merseyside 72,222Northamptonshire 102,848Avon and Somerset 130,171Cambridgeshire 134,130Sussex 150,863Hampshire 161,895Hertfordshire 175,285Thames Valley 181,145Metropolitan Police 203,499Surrey 227,256England and Wales 118,827Source: Land Registry

The forces were located in different areas with different demographic and social characteristics. There doesnot appear to be an association between these characteristics of the area and the level of transfers andresignations. There was a significant correlation between comparative wages and transfer rates and as t ronger correlation between house prices and transfer and resignation rates in the ten forces. Given thed i ff e rent bases (force and region) of the measurement of transfer rates and the links between wages andhouse prices it is not possible to quantify the impact of these two factors, but only to say that both explainsome, but not all of the variation in transfer rates between the forces.

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Summary

● The forces in the study were different in their composition in terms of size and proportions of minorityethnic, women and probationer officers.

● The combined resignation and transfer rates varied from 0.9 per cent to 5 per cent of strength.● F o rces in the South-East and in London generally showed the highest losses from transfers and

resignations.● T h e re were diff e rences in the ages and lengths of service of officers who left as resigners and as

transferers. ● Women and minority ethnic officers had higher rates of resignations than men and white officers and left

at different ages and at different stages in their careers.● Nearly a half of all resigners were probationers and of these a half resigned within six months of

joining. A higher proportion of probationers who resigned were from minority ethnic groups than wereall resigners.

● T h e re were correlations between the transfer rate of officers in the force and house prices and thecomparative salary of police officers in the area that the force serves.

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3. A career in the police service

This chapter examines respondents’ careers in the police service. It reports on the responses to a series ofquestions in the interviews looking at whether there was a mismatch between officers’ expectations of the jobon joining and their experiences in the service. The questions investigated officers’ motivations andexpectations on joining, whether and how their expectations were met in their subsequent careers in theservice and their levels of satisfaction with aspects of the service at particular stages in their career.

Joining the service

Before joining

The extent of respondents’ prior knowledge about the police service, the amount of consideration given tothinking about joining the police and their previous occupation were explored. This was to give a picture oftheir experiences and expectations on joining the police service against which to examine their views of thepolice service as their careers progressed and when they made their decision to leave the force.

Respondents were asked when they had first thought about joining the police service. Over two-thirds (68%)said that they had first thought about joining the service for more than a year before they joined and one inten said that they had thought about it since they could remember. More than a fifth of respondents had beenin the specials or the cadets before joining the service. However, only just under a tenth of respondents saidthat they felt that they knew a great deal about the police service on joining. The majority of all respondents(71%) had joined from another job, with 17 per cent having joined straight from school or college. Themajority (72%) of all leavers expected the police service to be a long-term career; there were no significantdifferences between resigners and transferers, men and women or officers of different ages.

A picture emerges of respondents who had spent some time thinking about their decision to join the police,although their decisions were generally not particularly well informed. They had generally expected to stay inthe service for the majority of their working lives. A national survey of former policewomen and curre n tserving police officers carried out some years ago also showed that the majority of female leavers (58%) hadexpected to stay in the police service for the ‘long term’ when they joined the force. However the mean lengthof service of women leavers in that survey was just over eight years (Fletcher, 1990).

Attractions of the police service

Respondents were asked what had initially attracted them to the police service. There was a similar pattern ofresponses for resigners and transferers and for men and women. Issues relating to the nature of the job (87%); inp a rt i c u l a r, varied work (42%) and being of service to the public (38%) initially had attracted many re s p o n d e n t s .One in five mentioned job security and good career prospects, with pay mentioned by 17 per cent of re s p o n d e n t s .

When asked to state one single factor that attracted them to the police service, the expectation of ‘variedwork’ was most important for just under a quarter of all respondents (Figure 3.1). Other single factors thatw e re mentioned most frequently were ‘being of service to the public’ (16%), ‘job security’ (7%), ‘alwayswanted to be in the police service’ (7%) and ‘good career prospects’ (6%).

Figure 3.1: The main attraction to the police service – top five answers (percentage of leavers)

When respondents were asked which factors from a list were important or unimportant in their decision tojoin the police service, their responses were very similar to the open ended question and were similar forresigners and transferers, and for men and women. Almost all (98%) respondents said that ‘varied work’ wasvery important or fairly important, with ‘being of service to the public’ considered important by 96 per cent ofrespondents. Fewer respondents (75%) considered ‘pay’ to be important in their decision to join the servicethan other conditions of work, for example, ‘job security’ (92%).

All the respondents in the surv e y, transferers and resigners, men and women generally joined the policeservice for similar reasons with expectations of varied work and service to the public being by far the mostcommonly given reasons. This had been found in other research, for example an early study of black ex-police officers’ experiences also found that black resigners had not joined the service for different reasons tothe white resigners (Wilson, Holdaway and Spencer, 1984).

Experience of probation

All police officers have to complete a two-year probationary period, which includes classroom sessions and‘ l e a rning on the job’. Respondents were asked to say whether overall the pro b a t i o n a ry period met theirexpectations. About a third (34%) of all leavers said it had just met their expectations, under a third (28%)that it exceeded their expectations and over a third (37%) that it failed to meet expectations. A significantlyhigher proportion of resigners than transferers (42%: 27%) and probationers than other resigners (68%: 33%)said that it failed to meet expectations.

Respondents were asked about whether various aspects of their probationary period were better or worsethan expected to examine how their first experiences of police work corresponded with their expectations. Allleavers generally considered issues relating to pressures of work (volume of work and amount of paperwork),management (management in force overall and feeling valued) as well as organisational culture to have beenworse than expected (Figure 3.2). These were aspects of the work they had not necessarily considered whenjoining the service. Many leavers thought that the content of the work (being varied, opportunities for reactivework) as well as relationships within teams and with immediate supervisors were better than expected.

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Figure 3.2: The percentages of leavers finding aspects of the work better or worse thanexpected in the probationary period – top five answers

Differences between resigners and transferers began to emerge in their views of the service at the end of thep ro b a t i o n a ry period. Significantly higher pro p o rtions of transferers than resigners thought that theirrelationship with (54%: 36%) and their management by their immediate superior (52%: 37%) was better thanexpected, as was team working (60%: 45%). However, transferers were more negative than resigners in theirviews of management in the force overall and their expectations on pay. Seventy-five percent of transfererscompared to 63 per cent of resigners considered that force management was worse than expected, and 25per cent of transferers (compared to 9% of resigners) said that the pay was worse than expected.

There were also some significant differences in the views of their expectations of the service between thosewho resigned as probationers and those who resigned later in their career. Probationers were more likely tosay that pressures caused by volume of work (71%: 54%) and relationship with their tutor constable (40%:16%) were worse than expected at the end of their pro b a t i o n a ry period. The levels of discontent amongprobationer leavers with pressures emanating from the amount of work and the comparatively high proportionwho were dissatisfied with their relationship with tutor constable – a very important figure for the first twoyears in the service – should be taken into consideration in developing policies for the training and support ofprobationers. This echoes many of the recommendations in the HMIC report Training Matters (HMIC, 2002)and the findings of a study where minority ethnic resigners from the police service expressed concern at thenumber of diff e rent sergeants to whom probationers re p o rt during the two years (Holdaway and Barro n ,1997).

Career progression

Respondents were asked about their progress within the service both in terms of promotion opportunities andaccess to specialist roles and functions within the service, to assess the impact of these on re s p o n d e n t s ’attitudes towards the service and the force.

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Promotion

Promotion was important for 43 per cent of respondents when they joined. A significantly higher proportionof respondents with a degree or higher qualification (62%) considered promotion to be important to them atthe time of joining the police service compared to those with lower qualifications (35%). Just over a quarter(26%) of respondents had sat a promotion board. Higher proportions of those with degrees than those withlower educational qualifications (39%: 21%) and of men than women (29%: 18%) had sat a board. Therewere no significant differences in the pass rates in part I of the examination by educational qualification or byg e n d e r. It was not possible to look at success rates for part II because of the small numbers taking theexaminations in this study, but other studies suggest that women have higher success rates than men in part II.

Areas of specialism

To establish whether respondents felt that they had been able to access opportunities for career developmentavailable to them, they were asked about the areas of police work in which they were working just beforeleaving the force, where they had worked during their career and where they had wished to work. Theirresponses were put into 5 categories, based on HMIC notes for guidance (these are no longer used by HMICbut have been adopted here to provide consistency with earlier research – see Appendix 1).

Some respondents said that they were working in more than one category of work, if their job covered morethan one role. Table 3.1 shows the percentage of responses that related to each role. Forty percent of theroles that were being carried out at the time of leaving were in uniform or beat work, with nearly one in fiveof the roles being in indirect operational support (19%) and in CID (18%). The patterns were similar for menand women and for transferers and resigners.

Table 3.1: Work roles at time of leaving

Work area % of total responses (n=431)

Uniform/beat work 40Indirect operational support 19CID specialisms, aide and support 18Functional support 9Taskforce 5Other 10

Looking in more detail at respondents’ careers, there were some differences between men and women in thedepartments in which they had worked. A significantly higher proportion of women than men had worked inareas which have been perceived as ‘female’ areas of work, for example 25 per cent of women had workedin departments dealing with domestic violence, and 15 per cent in child protection, compared with nine percent and four per cent respectively of men.

More than four in five (83%) leavers said that there were specific roles they would like to have undertaken intheir career. These were headed by CID specialisms (34% of responses), indirect operational support (21%),functional support (12%) and taskforces (11%). There were also differences in terms of gender and status inthe areas of work in which respondents wanted to be. More than twice the pro p o rtion of transferers toresigners (22%: 10%) would have liked to work in the force fire a rms unit, a much higher pro p o rtion ofwomen (27%) than men (4%) wanted to work in the child protection unit and generally surveillance andcovert work appealed to more men than women.

Less than a half of respondents thought that opportunities for promotion were an important reason to join thepolice service. Other aspects of the work were more important, in particular many respondents wanted theo p p o rtunity to undertake specific roles within the service. However, promotion was important for someofficers, in particular for those with a degree or higher qualification. Other research has shown that there is alack of career planning within the police service. A comparative study of graduates in the Metropolitan PoliceService and other organisations (James, 1992) found that sectors other than the police were nine times morelikely to have a career plan for their graduates, and the graduates in other organisations were more likely tohave their expectations of development met.

Experience of last six months of service

Respondents were also asked about their level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with various aspects of the jobin their last six months of service in the force to ascertain how their experiences in the service had influencedtheir views since joining.

Figure 3.3: The percentage of leavers satisfied or dissatisfied with these aspects of the job inthe last six months (top six of each)

The pattern of responses was similar to those after the probationary period (Figure 3.3). Most leavers wereconcerned about management in the force, with different levels of satisfaction with high level managementand local supervision. Thre e - q u a rters of the respondents were dissatisfied with management in the forc eoverall, indeed nearly a half of all leavers (49%) were very dissatisfied and nearly three-quarters (74%) ofleavers were dissatisfied with the extent to which they felt valued by the force. There were more mixedfeelings about local management. Over a half (55%) of leavers were satisfied with their relationship with theirimmediate superior, but a lower proportion (44%) said that they were satisfied with management by theirimmediate superior, with a reasonably large minority (29%) saying that they were dissatisfied. The amount ofpaperwork, the organisational culture and pressures of work were also aspects with which respondents weregenerally dissatisfied.

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A high proportion of leavers (56%) expressed satisfaction with team working. Just under a half (48%) weresatisfied with pay and other conditions of service. Many leavers were satisfied with the content of the workand the opportunities provided to use their skills and undertake varied work. Indeed, varied work was themost important reason given as to why people joined the service and there were comparatively high levels ofsatisfaction with this after the pro b a t i o n a ry period and in the last six months of service. This confirms thefindings of other studies. A study of women resigners found that the overwhelming majority of respondents(men and women) joined the police in the belief that it would offer an interesting and varied career and thatfor many respondents this had kept them in the service (Alexander, 1995).

There were, however, significant differences between resigners and transferers in the levels of satisfaction withmany facets of their work in the police service in their last six months in the force. Higher proportions oftransferers than resigners were satisfied with the content of the work; opportunities to use skills (61%: 42%)and for reactive work (58%: 35%), varied work (60%: 43%), control over work (52%: 32%) and hours ofwork (43%: 31%) and with shift work (40%: 26%). Transferers were also more likely to be satisfied with teamworking (68%: 52%) and management by their superior (62%: 36%). However, higher pro p o rtions oftransferers than resigners were dissatisfied with levels of pay (41%: 21%).

Although the reasons for joining the service were similar for all groups, the attitudes of transferers andresigners towards work in the police service became more divergent as their careers continued. Highproportions of all leavers were dissatisfied with management. However, transferers were more satisfied thanresigners with local management and the content of their work during probation and in their last six months ofservice in the force. Although overall there were comparatively high levels of satisfaction with pay, in the lastsix months of service over two-fifths of transferers expressed dissatisfaction with pay levels. The themes of theattraction of, and general satisfaction with, varied work and the negativity around higher management levelsresurface, as respondents discuss the process of leaving and their reasons for leaving.

Summary

● The police service was generally considered as a career for some time before respondents applied andthe majority of respondents expected to stay in the police service for their whole career.

● Similar reasons for joining were given by all respondents regardless of gender and resigner/transfererstatus; the main reason was ‘varied work’. Many respondents continued to be satisfied with varied workoffered by the service throughout their career.

● Opportunities for promotion were less important for most people joining the service than many otheraspects of the work. However, it was an important factor for nearly two-thirds of police officers with adegree or higher qualification.

● Many leavers said that there were specific roles within the police service that they would have liked tohave undertaken.

● Those who resigned as probationers were more likely than other resigners to say that the pre s s u re scaused by the volume of work and their relationship with their tutor constable were worse than expected.

● After probation and in the last six months of service high proportions of all leavers expressed discontentwith issues of management and paperwork and were content with many aspects of the content of thework and relationships in work.

● As careers progressed the views of the service expressed by resigners and transferers became moredivergent, with transferers being more satisfied with local management and the content of their work, butmore dissatisfied than resigners with pay levels towards the ends of their service with the force.

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4. The process of resignation and transfer

This chapter traces through the process of leaving the force. It attempts to identify key stages in the processand whether there was a critical event that ‘tipped the balance’. The chapter focuses on the reasons thatpeople gave for leaving or transferring, but it also considers the length of time that people took to leave andwhether they discussed their decision with anyone. The length of time it took from initial dissatisfaction tomaking a decision to leave and actually leaving was important in exploring the ‘triggers’ that lead to anofficer’s disengagement with the force and was considered important to the subsequent planning of possibleinterventions. Similarly, finding out whether their decision was discussed and, if so with whom, may also beimportant in deciding strategies for early interventions.

Process of leaving

Nearly all (97%) of the officers were working at the time of leaving; three per cent of resigners were on ac a reer break. The sample only included those resigners who were categorised by the force as havingvoluntarily resigned. However, ten per cent of resigners said that they had disciplinary proceedings underwayat the time of leaving, with two-thirds of these saying that the length of time taken for these pro c e e d i n g sinfluenced their decision to leave. A quarter of the officers with outstanding disciplinary proceedings (n=5)said that they were forced to resign, however this had not been recorded as such by the force.

Respondents were asked a series of questions about the process of leaving, from what made them initiallyconsider this, through to the decisive moment or event that was pertinent to their decision to resign or transfer.The process was explored defining the factors that were considered important to leaving, and the time spansinvolved to help plan intervention strategies. Respondents were asked about how long it was from when theyfirst thought about resigning or transferring to the actual event. For about a half of all leavers this was over sixmonths. For younger officers and those with shorter lengths of service the process was often speedier.

Just under thre e - q u a rters (74%) of leavers said that they had spoken to one or more people about theirdecision to leave; a higher proportion of transferers (83%) than resigners (69%) said that they had spoken tosomeone. However of these nearly one in five (18%) had only spoken to family and friends outside work. Ofthose that had spoken to one or more people at work, the majority (77%) had spoken to a colleague, a halfto their immediate supervisor and 17 per cent to the HR department. Those respondents who had not spokento anyone about their decision were either sceptical that anyone would do anything, 46 per cent of resignersand 27 per cent of transferers expressed this view, or they were determined to leave, 47 per cent oft r a n s f e rers and 27 per cent of resigners stated this reason. This implies that it may be more difficult toconvince transferers to stay in the force once they had considered leaving than to persuade resigners toreconsider their decision to leave the service.

Like joining, leaving the police service or force seemed to be a decision generally taken over a period oftime, however many people did not talk to anyone in the force about their decision to leave. The challenge forforces is to create an environment in which those who are considering leaving are enabled to discuss theirconcerns, giving forces the opportunity to intervene.

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Reasons for leaving

First thoughts on leaving

Leavers were asked what had first made them consider resigning or transferring. Just over half (51%) gavereasons that included those relating to the nature of the work, with a higher proportion of resigners (57%)than transferers (41%) giving these reasons: a little under half of leavers gave reasons relating to care e rdevelopment (45%), relationships at work (44%) and personal circumstances (41%).

Looking in more detail at the reasons which first made respondents consider leaving, there are somedifferences between resigners and transferers in the most popular reasons for wanting to leave (Table 4.1).

Table 4.1: Reasons to first consider leaving – top five answers for resigners and transferers *

Resigners % Transferers %

1. Lack of staff support 21 1. Move area 442. Organisational culture 20 2. Different housing 273. Not valued by force 19 3. Lack of career opportunities 184.= Relationships with superior 16 4. Inadequate pay 14

= Lack of recognition 16 5. Lack of job satisfaction 13*Respondents could give more than one answer

The majority of transferers decided to transfer because of wanting to move, significantly higher proportions oftransferers than resigners gave moving area (44%: 5%) and wanting different housing (27%: 2%) as reasonsfor leaving. Other frequently given reasons for transfer were concerned with aspects of the work, includinglack of career opportunities (18%) and job satisfaction (13%), and inadequate pay (14%). Just over a half oftransferers (55%) included moving area and/or wanting different housing in their reasons for first consideringleaving, with 16 per cent giving only these factors. However, although these were the most important reasonsfor wanting to transfer, just under a half of transferers (45%) did not mention either of them. This group oftransferers (n=49) were most likely to include lack of career opportunities (28%) and inadequate pay (24%)as their reasons for first considering leaving the force.

Comparatively high pro p o rtions of resigners were concerned about issues relating to their experience ofworking in the police service, and significantly higher proportions of resigners than transferers mentioned lackof support for staff (21%: 4%) and their working relationship with their immediate superior (16%: 4%) asreasons for leaving. Few resigners mentioned inadequate pay (7%). Generally, men and women gave similarreasons for resigning from the service. However, a significantly higher proportion of women than men (28%:6%) said that domestic responsibilities were one of the first things that made them consider leaving; indeed itwas the most frequently given reason among women.

Leavers who left the force for reasons that could be considered to be within the control of the police forces asemployers were identified. Respondents who included in their reasons for first considering leaving any factorsthat related to personal reasons (such as wanting to move area) or service wide conditions (such as pay) weretaken out of the analysis. This left 42 per cent of the respondents (55% of resigners and 19% of transferers),who considered leaving the service or force only because of factors that could be considered to be within theremit of the force, including nature of work (excluding pay), career development and relationships at work.The rates were similar for leavers from forces in different areas of the country.

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Respondents were also asked to say, from a list, which factors were very relevant, fairly relevant, not veryrelevant and not at all relevant in their decision to leave. The overall pattern was very similar to responses tothe open ended questions (Table 4.2).

Table 4.2: The percentage of leavers saying factors were very or fairly relevant in decision toleave – top five answers.

%

1. Quality of management 752. Not valued by force 743. Job satisfaction 604. Organisational culture 575.= Working relationships with superiors

= Understaffed 45

About three-quarters of all leavers said that the quality of management and not being valued by the forcewere relevant to their decision to leave. There were however, significant differences between resigners andt r a n s f e rers. More than four in five of resigners said that the quality of management (81%) and not beingvalued by the force (81%) were very or fairly relevant in their decision to resign, indeed about a half ofresigners (55%) said that these factors were very relevant. This compares to about two thirds of transfererswho said that the quality of management (66%) and not being valued by the force (63%) were relevant intheir decision. Transferers were much more likely than resigners to say that location was relevant (66%: 20%).

When transferers were specifically asked to say from a list what factors were relevant to their decision totransfer. The majority (86%) said personal reasons were very or fairly relevant. Looking in more detail at this,52 per cent of these transferers said that a better quality of life was relevant, 45 per cent better housing and39 per cent returning to the part of the country where they had came from or where they had family.

For many leavers in this study, issues concerning the quality of management and not being valued were veryi m p o rtant in their decisions to leave. Poor management was the most commonly given reason fordissatisfaction with, and resignations from, the police service in a number of other studies (Smithers et al.,1990; Holdaway and Barron, 1997; Cragg, Ross and Dawson, 2001). Similarly, not feeling valued wasmentioned by leavers from many professions within the public sector (e.g. Finlayson et al., 2002b).

A decisive event?

Respondents were asked to describe whether there was a particular moment or decisive event that waspertinent in their decision to resign or transfer. Respondents often mentioned many different factors in theirresponse and few ment