Nearly every periodical I read that has anything to do with police leadership reeks of officer shortages. Countless articles, forums and papers are produced with the need to address officer recruiting and incumbent officer retention issues. Before we surrender to this nemesis, stop and do one thing. Review why your officers are leaving and try to address that problem. If you address the problem, then you have stopped the erosion of staff and therefore put less pressure on recruiting.
Exit interviews are a good way to get a handle on what is driving officers away. Before the officer that has resigned departs, attempt to get honest feedback from them; you may define your problems. By the way, these may not be the answers you want to hear. Younger or disenchanted officers may feel more at ease to tell you now what is grinding them. The exit interview could be their last defiant stand against upper management. I would request a human resources officer to perform this task for they are neutral on the matter.
I received a call from a fairly large agency in the Northeast. It was a larger city that was leaking officers out at an alarming rate. The person that contacted me asked could I come and present to them a methodology to revitalize their recruiting efforts. Asking about the number of vacancies the obvious question was why were the officers leaving. Recruiting is one thing but why they are leaving in droves is complicating the problem. To my chagrin they knew why but would not address it. The voice on the phone told me that the officers were leaving because of the "bravo sierra". Due to editorial decorum, you will have to figure out what that phonetic BS stands for.
This was a Pandora's Box to me but I had it opened now. I asked him to give me a description of what the exiting officers thought his department's BS was. "Well, they did not like the leadership; guess we lack leadership skills," was his response. Now, how can I convince a young man or woman to come to work in a toxic supervision atmosphere? You have got to fix both issues now!
Supervision skills are not caught like a cold. This requires proper selection, training and constant nurturing. Just because you had a 'lucky day' and passed the test does not mean you are destined for greatness. You have to mentor your new supervisors, train them, keep them sharp, and hold them responsible for their performances. Let's face it; every one of us has been a victim of poor supervision. However we have, hopefully, also had a great supervisor who made a difference in our professional lives. The sad reality is that this could be a symptom of far too many agencies today.
Selection of supervisors is a major decision process; these are the ones that hold the departments' destiny in their hands. Proper training in all areas of supervision is required. This is to include human resources, benefits and all those other side issues that a great supervisor should know about. It is not just police work. The training investment you make in your supervisors today will payback great dividends in the future. So, do not just keep recruiting but seek solutions in retaining veteran officers. With each one that walks out the door, there is a loss of institutional knowledge. Do yourself a favor and invest time in improving the quality of supervision; it's money in the bank and cops on the street.
