Fairfax County Police Department News

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George Mason University’s Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy, the National Policing Institute, and the Fairfax County Police Department are proud to announce a first-of-its kind multi-method longitudinal study of a cohort of police officers to understand how officers progress through their law enforcement careers.

The importance of this study of officers cannot be overstated, especially as police departments across the nation struggle with current and future staffing levels. Agencies around the country have indicated that they are not only losing officers and are understaffed, but they are also finding it difficult to interest people in joining the policing profession in the first place. In turn, understaffing has impacted the ability of some agencies to provide public safety services to their communities.

Recruitment and retention have been longstanding concerns in policing. These concerns are likely due to both internal departmental and external societal factors. These factors are also dynamic and entangled in officer job satisfaction, performance, willingness to carry out various reforms, their views about policing generally and their organizations specifically, and their worldviews. Officers are also impacted — sometimes negatively — by their work overtime. Prior research has found that the profession can increase officers’ cynicism and suspicion, leading to deteriorating mental and physical health. These changes may impact their performance, relationships and interactions with citizens, willingness to remain in the profession, and willingness to engage in innovations and reform.

The study seeks to understand how applicants, recruits, and officers develop regarding their mindsets and performance throughout their law enforcement careers. In particular, the study seeks to understand various stages of officer careers, from their initial motivations and experiences in applying to the police agency, to “turning points” in their careers, which may influence their attitudes, actions, and decision to stay in the profession. This study will also seek to understand what changes police agencies can make to ensure officers can be the most successful in serving their communities throughout their careers.

We will continue to update the community with our partners throughout the progress of this longitudinal study.

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