University of Portsmouth investigates alarming police exodus
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Home Office data shows the number of police officers voluntarily resigning from the force in England and Wales has more than doubled in the last eight years.
Researchers from the University of Portsmouth studied government statistics and discovered the numbers of officers voluntarily resigning from the police service has risen from 1,158 in the year ending March 2012 to 2,363 in the year ending March 2020.
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Hide AdDr Sarah Charman who led the study said: ‘By any measure this rise is steep and troubling, especially when coupled with a more complex policing landscape requiring knowledge and experience. It seems more important than ever therefore to provide an insight into a relatively under-researched aspect of policing - why police officers resign prematurely from the police service.’
After surveying officers who left their roles, poor leadership and management was cited as the main reason along with excessive workload and a lack of career progression.
Dr Charman added: ‘With policing in England and Wales undergoing one of the biggest recruitment drives in modern history and the focus for the Home Office firmly back in favour of retention, an understanding of what contributes to a decline in organisational commitment and ultimately to avoidable turnover within policing is crucial.’
A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron
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