Abstract
Police departments are finding it difficult to hire good candidates to fill the void of officers that retire, resign, or leave for other agencies. Recently, there has been a significant increase in the number of officers retiring or resigning and a slight decrease in hiring. Research does not indicate a dominant reason for officers’ resignations nor a single solution to police force retention. Department administrators must understand why their officers are leaving and try to accommodate their needs, so they do not resign. This research uses a national survey to determine elements that contribute to the mass resignation as well as retention strategies.
