TY - JOUR
AU1 - Gibbs, Jennifer C
AB - Abstract Diversifying has been a challenge for police agencies, despite their increased efforts to attract qualified candidates. Even when recruiters manage an adequately diverse applicant pool, the dropout rate of candidates throughout the notably long hiring process threatens the representativeness of the applicant pool. Thus, police agencies are eager to examine why applicants—especially women and minority applicants—withdraw from the hiring process to address any common reasons and retain desirable candidates. To explore reasons for withdrawal, 143 women and minority police applicants who withdrew from the hiring process reported their reason for withdrawal during a telephone interview conducted in the spring and summer of 2016. The primary reasons for applicant attrition, after changing their mind or another personal reason, was finding other employment and the length of the hiring process. Recommendations for policy include increasing communication to applicants, shortening the hiring process and hiring on a continuous basis. Implications are discussed. Introduction Police agencies face a constant demand for qualified recruits. As of June 2017, Chicago had 1,000 vacancies, New Orleans had 400, Phoenix had 300, and Detroit had 200 openings (Williams, 2017)—a problem that has grown since then (Police Executive Research Forum, 2019). As part of this ‘workforce crisis’ (Police Executive Research Forum, 2019), police agencies are increasingly trying to diversify the police force to better reflect the communities they serve—adhering to the recommendations of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing (2015). Recruiting qualified women and minority applicants are a well-documented challenge (see, e.g. Waters et al., 2007; Jordan et al., 2009; Cordner and Cordner, 2011; Gibbs, 2019; Rossler et al., 2020). However, retaining qualified women and minority candidates throughout the long application process is an additional and understudied problem for police recruiters (Ployhart et al., 2002; Kringen and Kringen, 2015; Todak and Brown, 2019; Donohue, 2020). The police hiring process, compared to that of other professions, is exceedingly extensive, often lasting 1 year or more from the time of application to entering the academy. Typically, the process begins with an application for a police officer position, followed by a written test and a physical fitness test. Successful applicants then have additional hurdles, which may include a panel interview, a medical exam, a drug test, a polygraph exam, a psychological exam and then a background check. The time between each stage of the application process can take months, sometimes with little communication from the hiring agency. While police agencies today recognize these challenges, the fact remains that maintaining the diversity of the applicant pool is difficult, especially considering Millennial applicants’ (i.e. those applicants born between 1981 and 1996; Dimock, 2019) expectations of technology-based, fast-paced communication coupled with a perception of entitlement; furthermore, people of colour applying to police departments may not be coming from police families accustomed to the multiple-hurdle hiring process given that police officers throughout the USA are primarily white men (Arvey et al., 1975; Gallup, 2016; Morison, 2017; Gong et al., 2018; Hyland and Davis, 2019; Police Executive Research Forum, 2019; Gibbs et al., 2020). Expressing this sentiment, Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn reported one problem to achieving diversity is applicant attrition: ‘Our last academy class we recruited an extraordinarily diverse pool but they didn’t get into the class because so many of them dropped out….’ (Luthern and Crowe, 2017). Dropout can be explored in two ways. First, applicant withdrawal can be thought of in terms of candidates failing out of the hiring process. For example, one study of the Rochester Police Department in New York analysed applicant attrition throughout the hiring process (Comeau and Klofas, 2010), finding minority applicants were more likely to fail each stage of the process. At the civil service test, 34% of minority candidates failed the exam compared to 11% of white candidates; 50% of minority candidates compared to 34% of white candidates failed the agility test; 7% of minority candidates compared to 5% of white candidates failed the medical exam; and 71% of minority candidates compared to 55% of white candidates failed the background test (Comeau and Klofas, 2010). Secondly, applicant attrition can refer to self-selection out of the hiring process. About a handful of studies have explored this self-withdrawal (e.g. Arvey, 1975; Schmit and Ryan, 1997; Ryan et al., 2000; Ployhart et al., 2002). The Rochester study examined applicant self-withdrawal at the physical agility test stage, finding a slightly higher percentage of minority applicants who withdrew: of those applicants who passed the civil service test and were invited to the physical agility test, 45% of minority invitees did not appear compared to 43% of White, Non-Hispanic invitees (Comeau and Klofas, 2010). Similarly, studying applicant self-withdrawal in the hiring process for a Midwestern police department, Ployhart et al. (2002) found that significantly more minority applicants did not appear for the civil service test compared to white applicants. Evidence suggests that minority applicants are self-withdrawing from the hiring process at a higher rate than white applicants (Arvey, 1975; Schmit and Ryan, 1997; Ryan et al., 2000; Ployhart et al., 2002; Kringen and Kringen, 2015; Todak and Brown, 2019), which ultimately affects the diversity of the applicant pool used to select police officers. Studying applicant self-withdrawal is important for at least three reasons. First, police organizations must ensure that the stages in their hiring processes do not lead to higher dropout rates for women and minority candidates, leading to fewer qualified women and minority candidates from whom to select for hire (Ployhart et al., 2002). Secondly, ‘when there is a shortage of qualified or skilled applicants in the general population, organizations will want to ensure that skilled individuals remain in the selection process’ (Ployhart et al., 2002, p. 2229). Otherwise, applicant attrition has the potential to adversely impact diversity statistics (Ryan et al., 2000; Ployhart et al., 2002). Thirdly, applicants’ perceptions of their experiences in the hiring process affect their attitudes and opinions of the organization, which they may share with others. Negative perceptions of the police agency can be spread to the community, adversely affecting public opinion of the police. Extremely negative perceptions of the hiring process may even lead to litigation (Ployhart et al., 2002). To meet the recommendations of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing (2015) and to be reflective of the citizens they serve, police agencies are eager to recruit a diverse pool of applicants. However, there is little systematic research identifying reasons why qualified applicants are discontinuing the hiring process. With this knowledge, police agencies could develop plausible actions to recruit and retain more women and minority candidates, thus better diversifying the police force (Ployhart et al., 2002). The purpose of this study was to explore such reasons. This article continues as follows: First, the importance of a diverse police force will be explained, followed by challenges women and minority officers face during the hiring process. Then, the scant research on attrition during the police hiring process will be reviewed. After detailing the study methods, the results of telephone interviews with 143 women and racial/ethnic minority men applicants will be reported and discussed in relation to the academic literature. The article will conclude with recommendations for decreasing attrition in the police hiring process. Importance of a diverse police force Diversity is important for an optimal workforce, generally. Diversity can enhance organizational commitment and motivate employees because a diverse organizational environment is one where everyone is represented and recognized as important to meet organizational goals. In this atmosphere, employees feel valued; thus, there is lower attrition and fewer resources are needed for training. Different perspectives are incorporated leading to various innovative ideas for success (see Donohue, 2020). Diversity is especially crucial in policing, where awareness of and respect for various cultures are necessary for positive police–community relations. Part of establishing trust and legitimacy is having a diverse police force in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, cultural background, and life experiences (President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, 2015). Recent research suggests citizens’ trust in police increases with a larger proportion of women police on the force, as women are viewed as better than men at reducing corruption (Barnes et al., 2017). Furthermore, racial/ethnic diversity of police can develop and strengthen police–community partnerships, as officers from racial/ethnic minority groups tend to have a greater interested in engaging with the community (Lasley et al., 2011; Todak et al., 2018). Officers of colour also may be considered more approachable by citizens of colour (Todak et al., 2018). In their in-depth interviews with 42 undergraduate students who expressed an interest to seek employment in policing, Todak et al. (2018) report a belief that Hispanic officers who are bilingual may be better able to elicit information to help people, with one participant explaining: ‘Being Hispanic, and bilingual too, I can take calls that other people who don’t speak Spanish can’t. And I feel like it just opens up possibilities to people I can help…’ (p. 496). Participants offered other benefits of a diverse police force, including improving interactions between police and people of colour, providing a visual cue of the connection between the police and the public, and decreasing animosity between the police and minority communities (Todak et al., 2018). Additionally, some evidence suggests women officers use force and other controlling behaviours less frequently than their male counterparts (McElvain and Kposowa, 2008; Rabe-Hemp, 2008; Schuck and Rabe-Hemp, 2005). For example, a 2016 Pew Research Center survey of 7,917 sworn officers serving in large (defined as 100 or more officers) indicated that, with the exception of on a gun range or during training, women officers discharged their service firearm far less than men officers (11% of women officers compared with 30% of men officers responding to the survey), controlling for other factors including job assignment, tenure, other demographics, city population, and department size (Morin and Mercer, 2017). However, the research is mixed on minority officer use of force compared to that of white officers (see Paoline et al., 2018). For example, the Pew study found fewer non-white officers (21%) fired their weapon than white officers (30%), controlling for other factors (Morin and Mercer, 2017; see also McElvain and Kposowa, 2008), while Ridgeway (2020) found Black officers were more likely than White officers to engage in a shooting. Other studies found no relationship between officer race and use of force (see also Nicholson-Crotty et al., 2017). Despite the benefits of a diverse police force, women and minorities continue to face challenges throughout the hiring process and their policing careers. Challenges for women and minorities Historically, policing has been a difficult profession for women and racial minorities to enter. The courts began to change this in the 1970s. Several lawsuits banned discriminatory hiring practices blocking women and minorities from police candidacy and other employment (e.g. Blake v. City of Los Angeles, 1979; Vanguard Justice Society, Inc. v. Hughes, 1979; Vulcan Society v. Civil Service Commission, 1973). Legislation also barred discriminatory practices. In 1972, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was amended in the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, which expanded the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigatory powers to state and local governments hiring and promotion practices. Affirmative action programmes soon followed (but see Zhao et al., 2006), and support agencies for women and minority police officers were established (e.g. the International Association of Women Police, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives). Despite these changes, the police hiring process continues to pose challenges to women and minority applicants. In fact, groups of women applicants and minority applicants have filed suit against police agencies for discriminatory hiring practices (Levi, 2014; Miller, 2015; Wood and Nobles, 2019). For example, claims were made against the Corpus Christi, Texas police in 2012 that the physical fitness test discriminated against women (Levi, 2014). The US Department of Justice initiated an investigation into the police exam in Baltimore County, Maryland, for alleged discrimination against minority applicants (Wood and Nobles, 2019). Once hired, women and minorities face several hurdles within the policing profession, including racist, sexist, and generally negative attitudes and even harassment among some colleagues and citizens (Lonsway, 2006; Hassell et al., 2010; Cordner and Cordner, 2011). Women, in particular, may face backlash from the police culture for taking time off for pregnancy and child care, despite the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (again amending Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) and the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. This legislation prohibits discrimination based on pregnancy and mandates accommodations for medical conditions, including pregnancy, and maternity leave. Nevertheless, women may be perceived—however inaccurate—as taking the ‘easy way out’ by some colleagues for going on light duty while pregnant. In their study of women officers, Cordner and Cordner (2011) reported that 45% of women officers claimed ‘police agencies here don’t seem very woman friendly’ (p. 217). Similarly, African American officers face double marginality on the job, whereby they receive hostility from white officers who believe they were hired unfairly and from African American citizens who view them as an enemy. Minority officers also are subject to tokenism when there is a perception that they receive assignments because of their racial/ethnic group. This is exacerbated for women of colour on the police force, who are subject to both racism and sexism (Todak and Brown, 2019). These issues are understood by prospective recruits (Todak, 2017; Todak et al., 2018; Rossler et al., 2019). In a study of British university students, a young mixed race woman summarized the barrier to considering a job in policing: ‘I wouldn’t want to subject myself to be racially abused and harassed in my place of work, to be honest… The hours, abuse within the force and then also people’s perceptions outside of the force. And also being a black woman… you’ve got a double disadvantage, I mean, by being black and female… I do not understand why [any minority] would even want to join the police’ (Waters et al., 2007, p. 203). Families of applicants may become more aware of the challenges women and minorities face in policing and might attempt to discourage the applicant from continuing the process (Todak et al., 2018). Indeed, families’ input has a significant impact on career decisions (Ryan et al., 2001; Gibbs et al., 2020)—especially for minority applicants (Ryan et al., 2000). Anecdotally, the director of a technical college in Minnesota that trains about half of the state’s police officers reported that several students had withdrawn from the programme from family concern for their safety (Zamora, 2015). In a study of applicants to the Columbus, Ohio Police Department, Ryan et al. (2001) found that perceived work–family conflict among applicants was significantly related to a greater willingness to withdraw from the hiring process, although it did not affect actual withdrawal behaviour. Furthermore, women perceived their families to be less supportive of their potential career in policing—although there were no differences between racial groups (Ryan et al., 2001; see also Todak et al., 2018). Similarly, a study of British university students and British police applicants who withdrew from the hiring process reported a hostile reaction from family members of ethnic minorities who considered a career in policing (Waters et al., 2007). One young man reported ‘…I used to joke to my mum about joining the police, and she always went mad and would just say ‘No way is a son of mine joining the police!’ (Waters et al., 2007, p. 201). A young Black man thought ‘I would lose friends if I joined the Police… I would feel isolated’ (Waters et al., 2007, p. 201). A young Black woman said, ‘I don’t think I will be accepted being black and a female. I do not want ‘pretend niceness’ from my white colleagues’ (Waters et al., 2007, p. 201). When asked to choose from a list of factors that would discourage a career in policing, 39% selected reactions of family, 34% selected reactions of friends, and 30% selected reactions of community elders or community groups (Waters et al., 2007). Similar reactions were reported by students interested in policing careers participating in in-depth interviews; women reported that their culture discouraged them from working in policing, including one Middle Eastern woman who said I told my parents that I had taken the written test, … and that’s when, I guess, all hell broke loose…They’re coming to terms with it now. Originally, no, they did not want that because they didn’t think that a woman should be a police officer. (Todak et al., 2018, p. 498) In addition to persuading recruits that policing is the ideal career, police agencies must change the point of view of hesitant family members (Ryan et al., 2000; Waters et al., 2007; Gibbs et al., 2020)—and this support must last throughout the long hiring process. Applicant attrition Once a candidate submits an application, retaining the applicant is important for police departments financially and to ensure the diversity of the applicant pool. Early research suggests minority candidates are more likely to drop out of the hiring process than white candidates (Arvey et al., 1975). Studying the relationship between time lags in the hiring process and dropout rates among 70 civil service jobs in a large midwestern city between 1972 and 1973, Arvey et al. (1975) found ‘the percentage of minority candidates [40.6%] who failed to appear for the next selection procedure was considerably higher than that of the majority candidates [26.7%] when there was a relatively long time delay between the procedure and application date’ (p. 178). Race along did not reach significance in their models, and the percentage of applicants who dropped out of the hiring process was about the same when the time lag was short (22.1% of minority candidates compared with 25.2% of white candidates). However, there were a small number of minority candidates, making the analyses problematic, and the authors were unable to disaggregate by sex. Further, the authors were unable to assess why minority candidates withdrew from the hiring process and they did not focus on police, specifically. Subsequent research indicates minority attrition from the hiring process is a recurring problem (Schmit and Ryan, 1997; Ryan et al., 2000; Ployhart et al., 2002; Kringen and Kringen, 2015; Todak and Brown, 2019). The Rochester, New York Police Department study described earlier had 15,553 applicants, of which 334 ultimately were hired; 16% identified with a minority racial/ethnic group, lower than the percentage sitting for the exam, of whom 25% were minority applicants (Comeau and Klofas, 2010). However, a search of the literature found only three studies where researchers have directly asked candidates reasons they withdrew from the police hiring process. Exploring factors affecting applicant withdrawal, Schmit and Ryan (1997) conducted follow-up telephone interviews with 618 applicants who self-selected out of the hiring process, of whom 26.1% were African American. Respondents’ main reason for withdrawal was coded into one of 22 categories. African American applicants were significantly more likely than white applicants to cite family obligations (the civil service exam was held on Mother’s Day), they overslept, lateness to exam, and testing time as reasons for withdrawing from the hiring process. Unemployed minority applicants, in particular, either felt they were unqualified or offered personal reasons for withdrawing from the hiring process (Schmit and Ryan, 1997). Ryan et al. (2000) conducted telephone interviews with 597 applicants to the Columbus, Ohio Police Department who dropped out of the hiring process, of whom 413 had complete information for analyses. While the sample for the larger study consisted of 2,385 job applications, of whom 25.3% were women and 25.6% were African American, the demographic breakdown for the telephone interviews is not reported. The research team asked the open-ended question, ‘You applied for the police officer position, but did not attend the testing session. Would you share with me your reason for not attending?’ Of those who applied but withdrew before taking the civil service test, many reported that they had a work conflict (27.1%) or other time conflict (13.9%) the day of the exam, they decided the job was a poor fit (12.3%), and they had transportation problems (8.3%), took another job (7.4%), or had a family emergency (7.2%). Significant differences were found among social groups, with African Americans citing family emergency more often than others and women deciding the job was a poor fit more often than men (Ryan et al., 2000). Similarly, Ployhart et al. (2002) interviewed via telephone 196 applicants who withdrew from the police hiring process before the civil service exam, 30% of whom were women and 34% of whom were non-white. The research team asked reasons why the applicants withdrew and whether they would be willing to reapply to the police department in the future. They found significant differences in withdrawal reasons between minority applicants and whites and between women and men. Minorities were more likely than whites to report that they withdrew because they changed mind about the job; this was the top reason among minority applicants who withdrew (18% cited this reason), followed by having to work or attend class (15% cited this reason), took another job (13% cited this reason), and forgot/overslept/lost registration card (13% cited this reason). Similarly, women were more likely than men to report they changed mind about the job (19% of women compared with 7% of men); women also gave other reasons for withdrawing from the hiring process, including that an illness or injury prevented them from taking the civil service test (14%), they had to work or attend class during the exam time (14%) and they felt they were not qualified or capable (10%). However, the sample was comprised mostly of white men, leaving a low proportion of women and minorities from which to draw conclusions. Summary and research questions In summary, the little research on police applicant attrition is outdated and includes small samples of minority applicants. Consequently, we know very little about reasons women and minority applicants self-withdraw from the hiring process to develop policies to prevent such attrition. In a review of the literature on police hiring process for women and minorities, Donohue (2020) observed, ‘A clear weakness in the literature was the lack of understanding of why recruits dropped out from the process’ (p. 12; see also Arvey et al., 1975; Todak and Brown, 2019). The purpose of this project was to explore contemporary reasons women and minority applicants self-withdraw from the police hiring process and plausible solutions to women and minority attrition. In particular, this study poses two research questions: RQ1: Why do women and minority candidates withdraw from the police hiring process? RQ2: What can police agencies do to retain women and minority candidates throughout the hiring process? Methods These questions were answered through telephone interviews with women and minority applicants to a large police agency in the north-eastern USA as part of a larger project on recruitment and retention. The interview protocol was developed in partnership with the police department administration; it included questions about motivation to seek employment with the police department, whether they believed they were still in the hiring process, whether they dropped out of the hiring process and reasons for discontinuing the hiring process, recommendations for changes in police department process to retain applicants, a series of questions about current employment and career aspirations, and whether they would reapply to the police department and reasons for that response, social media usage, age, sex, and race. After the project was determined exempt by the author’s university Institutional Review Board, the police department provided the contact information of 7,456 women and minorities who submitted an application and subsequently withdrew from the hiring process during the last seven testing cycles (applications submitted approximately between 2009 and 2015), of which 1,287 randomly selected numbers were dialled between December 2015 and July 2016. One hundred and fifty-four telephone numbers were no longer in service, and 838 applicants could not be reached because there was no answer or the line was busy when called. Another 82 applicants asked the interviewer to call back immediately after the introduction and subsequently could not be reached. The research team attempted three callbacks to numbers with no answer, a busy signal or an applicant request to call later. Once an applicant confirmed his or her identity, the interviewer requested verbal consent before continuing with the interview; 16 applicants declined to participate in the telephone interview. Two cases were removed from the sample data for inconsistencies in responses. Thus, the final sample included 195 respondents. No incentives were offered for participation. Ideally, only those applicants who withdrew from the current hiring cycle would have been included in the study, but that was prohibited with the information given by the sponsoring agency and considering that the research team was unable to differentiate to which testing cycle the applicant was affiliated. It is possible that some respondents submitted an application close to seven years prior to contact with the research team, although that is unlikely given the large quantity of telephone numbers that were out of service or no longer affiliated with the applicant and considering the average age of the respondents was 30 (median = 29, s = 5.1, range = 21–44). The police agency confirmed that none of the respondents were recruits or officers with the department at the time of data collection, although some are employed at other police agencies. Measures Withdrawal reason Similar to prior research (Ployhart et al., 2002; Ryan et al., 2000), participants were asked the open-ended question, ‘What caused you to discontinue your pursuit of employment with the [police agency]?’ One hundred and forty-three respondents answered this question; 26.7% (n = 52) could not give a reason for withdrawing from the hiring process. Of those who could not give a reason, 67.3% (n = 35) believed that they did not withdraw, reporting the police agency declined to hire them. Another 23.1% (n = 12) reported they still were in the hiring process. Three independent reviewers coded the reasons for withdrawal into the following categories: (1) found other employment; (2) the hiring process took too long; (3) military deployment; (4) found the agency’s standards/policies (i.e. tattoo restrictions, background checks, physical standards) were too restrictive; (5) changed my mind/personal reasons; (6) inconvenient test location; (7) did not want to relocate for the job; (8) the academy length was too long; (9) the scheduling of the test was in conflict with work schedule/other responsibilities or (10) another reason. The coders agreed on the categorization for each case. Suggestions for change To solicit respondents’ advice regarding what might have kept them in the hiring process, participants were asked another open-ended question, ‘What could [the agency] have done differently to encourage your continuation with the process?’ Three coders independently categorized the responses, with 100% agreement, into the following categories: (1) shorten the process; (2) kept me better informed; (3) offer more flexible test times; (4) change the test location; (5) another suggestion and (6) nothing could have been done. Demographic variables Respondents were asked to identify their sex. Of the 194 respondents who reported their sex, the majority (63.4%) of respondents was men, with more than one-third (36.6%) women in the sample. The sample of women is greater than the overall composition of women in the population of applicants: about 15% of the total applicants to this police agency are women, while the remaining 85% are men. Race/ethnicity was measured by several categories: (1) Black/Non-Hispanic; (2) White/Non-Hispanic (women only, as no non-Hispanic white men were included in the sample); (3) Hispanic; (4) Asian/Pacific Islander and (5) another race. Of the 194 respondents who reported their race/ethnicity, most were Black/Non-Hispanic (32.5%) or White/Non-Hispanic (28.9%). About one-quarter was Hispanic (24.7%). The ‘Hispanic’ category includes those who identified as White/Hispanic (12.9%), Black/Hispanic (4.3%) and Other, but then also identified as Hispanic or Latino. A small portion of the sample was Asian/Pacific Islander (9.8%) or another race (4.1%). Of those who reported their race/ethnicity as ‘other’, two identified as Indian, one claimed to be ‘mixed’, one reported to be Scandinavian, one reported to be Brazilian and three simply said ‘other’. Because of the focus on non-White applicants, the respondents are not reflective of the population of applicants to this police agency, which tend to be 73% White, 16% Black, 9% Hispanic, 2% Asian and less than 1% Pacific Islander. Results One-fifth of the sample (20.3%) reported leaving the hiring process because of personal issues. (see Table 1.) During the application process, 16.8% found other employment, another 15.4% withdrew because the process took too long, and 6.3% were deployed for military service. A minority of respondents cited as reasons for withdrawal the high standards/policies of the police agency (6.3%; some did not want to remove their tattoos, which were against agency appearance policy prohibiting visible tattoos), an inconvenient testing location (4.2%) or schedule (3.5%), that they did not want to relocate (3.5%), and the length of Academy training (1.4%). Some of these applicants were driving to the area in which the police agency is located from another state to take the test. Table 1: Primary withdrawal reason for full sample (n = 143) Reason . Per cent . Changed mind/personal reasons 20.3 Other employment 16.8 Process length 15.4 Military deployment 6.3 Agency standards 6.3 Inconvenient test location 4.2 Inconvenient test schedule 3.5 Did not want to relocate 3.5 Academy length 1.4 Other reason 22.4 Reason . Per cent . Changed mind/personal reasons 20.3 Other employment 16.8 Process length 15.4 Military deployment 6.3 Agency standards 6.3 Inconvenient test location 4.2 Inconvenient test schedule 3.5 Did not want to relocate 3.5 Academy length 1.4 Other reason 22.4 Open in new tab Table 1: Primary withdrawal reason for full sample (n = 143) Reason . Per cent . Changed mind/personal reasons 20.3 Other employment 16.8 Process length 15.4 Military deployment 6.3 Agency standards 6.3 Inconvenient test location 4.2 Inconvenient test schedule 3.5 Did not want to relocate 3.5 Academy length 1.4 Other reason 22.4 Reason . Per cent . Changed mind/personal reasons 20.3 Other employment 16.8 Process length 15.4 Military deployment 6.3 Agency standards 6.3 Inconvenient test location 4.2 Inconvenient test schedule 3.5 Did not want to relocate 3.5 Academy length 1.4 Other reason 22.4 Open in new tab Another 22.4% reported other reasons, such as returning to school. Six reported they never received any communication from the police agency; another received a letter notifying him of the exam date after it had passed. Six suffered injuries and were unable to proceed with the hiring process. Four moved away from the area. One respondent reported, ‘During process there wasn’t a high amount of minority senior [officers] present. [Officers] were condescending to minority applicants. No help when injured during testing’. Another had a similar perception, saying the process was ‘unfair, biased, and nontransparent’. A test of proportions indicated that the distribution of responses is significantly different from chance (χ2= 79.168, df= 9, P < 0.001). Women withdrew from the application process for similar reasons, as shown in Table 2. The most common reason given was personal reasons (26.8%); in fact, respondents often told the interviewers about personal injuries or sick relatives. Women also withdrew from the process because they found other employment (16.1%) or the process took too long (14.3%). Some women (8.9%) dropped out because of agency policies, and another 5.4% were deployed. No women reported an inconvenient testing location and inconvenient test schedule as their withdrawal reason. A test of proportions indicated that, for women, the withdrawal reasons are not evenly distributed (χ2 = 26.571, df = 7, P < 0.001). Table 2: Primary withdrawal reason for women (n = 56) Reason . Per cent . Changed mind/Personal reasons 26.8 Other employment 16.1 Process length 14.3 Agency standards 8.9 Military deployment 5.4 Academy length 3.6 Did not want to relocate 1.8 Inconvenient test location 0 Inconvenient test schedule 0 Other reason 23.2 Reason . Per cent . Changed mind/Personal reasons 26.8 Other employment 16.1 Process length 14.3 Agency standards 8.9 Military deployment 5.4 Academy length 3.6 Did not want to relocate 1.8 Inconvenient test location 0 Inconvenient test schedule 0 Other reason 23.2 Open in new tab Table 2: Primary withdrawal reason for women (n = 56) Reason . Per cent . Changed mind/Personal reasons 26.8 Other employment 16.1 Process length 14.3 Agency standards 8.9 Military deployment 5.4 Academy length 3.6 Did not want to relocate 1.8 Inconvenient test location 0 Inconvenient test schedule 0 Other reason 23.2 Reason . Per cent . Changed mind/Personal reasons 26.8 Other employment 16.1 Process length 14.3 Agency standards 8.9 Military deployment 5.4 Academy length 3.6 Did not want to relocate 1.8 Inconvenient test location 0 Inconvenient test schedule 0 Other reason 23.2 Open in new tab Withdrawal reasons varied by race/ethnicity. Black respondents most often found other employment (22.0%) or reported that the process took too long (14.6%); the same was true of the 13 Asian/Pacific Islander respondents (46.2 and 15.4%, respectively). The most common withdrawal reason for Hispanics was the length of the hiring process (22.2%) and personal reasons or they changed their minds (22.2%) (See Table 3). Fisher’s exact test indicated that race and withdrawal reason are independent (Fisher’s exact test = 26.45, P < 0.933). Table 3: Primary withdrawal reason by per cent of each race/ethnicity (n = 97) Reason . Black (n = 41) . Hispanic (n = 36) . Asian/ Pacific Islander (n = 13) . Other race/ ethnicity (n = 7) . Other employment 22.0 6.3 46.2 0 Process length 14.6 22.2 15.4 14.3 Military deployment 7.3 5.6 0 0 Agency standards 7.3 2.8 7.7 0 Changed mind/ personal reasons 9.8 22.2 15.4 42.9 Inconvenient test location 4.9 0 15.4 28.6 Did not want to relocate 2.4 8.3 0 0 Academy length 0 0 0 0 Inconvenient test schedule 4.9 5.6 0 0 Other reason 26.8 25.0 0 14.3 Reason . Black (n = 41) . Hispanic (n = 36) . Asian/ Pacific Islander (n = 13) . Other race/ ethnicity (n = 7) . Other employment 22.0 6.3 46.2 0 Process length 14.6 22.2 15.4 14.3 Military deployment 7.3 5.6 0 0 Agency standards 7.3 2.8 7.7 0 Changed mind/ personal reasons 9.8 22.2 15.4 42.9 Inconvenient test location 4.9 0 15.4 28.6 Did not want to relocate 2.4 8.3 0 0 Academy length 0 0 0 0 Inconvenient test schedule 4.9 5.6 0 0 Other reason 26.8 25.0 0 14.3 Open in new tab Table 3: Primary withdrawal reason by per cent of each race/ethnicity (n = 97) Reason . Black (n = 41) . Hispanic (n = 36) . Asian/ Pacific Islander (n = 13) . Other race/ ethnicity (n = 7) . Other employment 22.0 6.3 46.2 0 Process length 14.6 22.2 15.4 14.3 Military deployment 7.3 5.6 0 0 Agency standards 7.3 2.8 7.7 0 Changed mind/ personal reasons 9.8 22.2 15.4 42.9 Inconvenient test location 4.9 0 15.4 28.6 Did not want to relocate 2.4 8.3 0 0 Academy length 0 0 0 0 Inconvenient test schedule 4.9 5.6 0 0 Other reason 26.8 25.0 0 14.3 Reason . Black (n = 41) . Hispanic (n = 36) . Asian/ Pacific Islander (n = 13) . Other race/ ethnicity (n = 7) . Other employment 22.0 6.3 46.2 0 Process length 14.6 22.2 15.4 14.3 Military deployment 7.3 5.6 0 0 Agency standards 7.3 2.8 7.7 0 Changed mind/ personal reasons 9.8 22.2 15.4 42.9 Inconvenient test location 4.9 0 15.4 28.6 Did not want to relocate 2.4 8.3 0 0 Academy length 0 0 0 0 Inconvenient test schedule 4.9 5.6 0 0 Other reason 26.8 25.0 0 14.3 Open in new tab Exploring reasons for attrition across race–sex categories would be ideal because Hispanic women may have different reasons than other women or minority for withdrawing from the police hiring process. However, the sample size is too small for further exploration, given the small number of minority women who responded to the survey (8 Black women, 11 Hispanic women, 2 Asian women, and no Indian women).1 Preventing dropout Of the 142 applicants who reported withdrawing from the application process (one applicant did not give a response), the most common response (47.9%) was that nothing could have been done to keep the applicant in the process (See Table 4). One-fifth (19.7%) would like to have been kept better informed and, similarly, 7.7% suggested shortening the application process. Some respondents wanted to ‘talk more frequently with a recruiter’ or ‘a real live person’: ‘communicate the process steps, dates and times’ and be ‘more aggressive with recruiting [because the police agency] didn’t seem to want me’. A few respondents suggested offering more flexible test times (4.9%) and locations (3.5%). Table 4: Suggestions for agency change to prevent attrition for full sample (n = 142) Suggestion . Per cent . Nothing could have been done 47.9 Kept me better informed 19.7 Shorten the process 7.7 Offer more flexible test times 4.9 Change the test location 3.5 Other 16.2 Suggestion . Per cent . Nothing could have been done 47.9 Kept me better informed 19.7 Shorten the process 7.7 Offer more flexible test times 4.9 Change the test location 3.5 Other 16.2 Open in new tab Table 4: Suggestions for agency change to prevent attrition for full sample (n = 142) Suggestion . Per cent . Nothing could have been done 47.9 Kept me better informed 19.7 Shorten the process 7.7 Offer more flexible test times 4.9 Change the test location 3.5 Other 16.2 Suggestion . Per cent . Nothing could have been done 47.9 Kept me better informed 19.7 Shorten the process 7.7 Offer more flexible test times 4.9 Change the test location 3.5 Other 16.2 Open in new tab Other suggestions were recommended by 16.2% of the respondents. One applicant suggested the police agency accept certification from other police academies. Another requested assistance with the physical exam. One respondent suggested that the ‘pay [is] too low for recruits with families’. Only two applicants referenced the tattoo policy, which prohibits visible tattoos, with one respondent suggesting the police agency ‘allow full sleeve tattoos’. As one would expect, the recommendations tended to follow the reason for withdrawal. For example, of those who dropped out of the process because it took too long, most recommended improved communication with the applicant (45.5%), suggested shortening the hiring process (18.2%) and said nothing could have been done (22.7%). Of those who withdrew because of military deployment, all but one said nothing could be done, and the remainder suggested more flexibility with testing times. Aside from the majority (55.4%) of women who did not think anything could have been done to keep them in the hiring process, 16.1% of women suggested keeping applicants better informed and 8.9% recommended shortening the hiring process. Women also suggested offering more flexible test times (1.8%) and locations (1.8%) (See Table 5). Table 5: Suggestions for agency change to prevent attrition for women (n = 56) Suggestion . Per cent . Nothing could have been done 55.4 Kept me better informed 16.1 Shorten the process 8.9 Offer more flexible test times 1.8 Change the test location 1.8 Other 16.1 Suggestion . Per cent . Nothing could have been done 55.4 Kept me better informed 16.1 Shorten the process 8.9 Offer more flexible test times 1.8 Change the test location 1.8 Other 16.1 Open in new tab Table 5: Suggestions for agency change to prevent attrition for women (n = 56) Suggestion . Per cent . Nothing could have been done 55.4 Kept me better informed 16.1 Shorten the process 8.9 Offer more flexible test times 1.8 Change the test location 1.8 Other 16.1 Suggestion . Per cent . Nothing could have been done 55.4 Kept me better informed 16.1 Shorten the process 8.9 Offer more flexible test times 1.8 Change the test location 1.8 Other 16.1 Open in new tab Suggestions for encouraging applicants to remain in the application process were similar across racial/ethnic group.2 (See Table 6). For all groups, the greatest proportion said that the police agency could not have done anything to keep them in the hiring process. The exceptions were the one Indian applicant who recommended offering more flexible test times and the other race/ethnicity group whose top recommendation was keeping applicants better informed. After those who said nothing could have been done, the next most common suggestion was to keep applicants better informed: 22.0% of Blacks, 25.0% of Hispanics, and 15.4% of Asian/Pacific Islanders suggested improved communication. Table 6: Suggestions for agency change to prevent attrition by per cent of each race/ethnicity (n = 97). Suggestion . Black (n = 41) . Hispanic (n = 36) . Asian/ Pacific Islander (n = 13) . Other race/ ethnicity (n = 7) . Nothing could have been done 39.0 50.0 46.2 28.6 Kept me better informed 22.0 25.0 15.4 42.9 Shorten the process 4.9 8.3 15.4 14.3 Offer more flexible test times 9.8 0 0 14.3 Change the test location 0 5.6 15.4 0 Other 24.4 11.1 7.7 0 Suggestion . Black (n = 41) . Hispanic (n = 36) . Asian/ Pacific Islander (n = 13) . Other race/ ethnicity (n = 7) . Nothing could have been done 39.0 50.0 46.2 28.6 Kept me better informed 22.0 25.0 15.4 42.9 Shorten the process 4.9 8.3 15.4 14.3 Offer more flexible test times 9.8 0 0 14.3 Change the test location 0 5.6 15.4 0 Other 24.4 11.1 7.7 0 Open in new tab Table 6: Suggestions for agency change to prevent attrition by per cent of each race/ethnicity (n = 97). Suggestion . Black (n = 41) . Hispanic (n = 36) . Asian/ Pacific Islander (n = 13) . Other race/ ethnicity (n = 7) . Nothing could have been done 39.0 50.0 46.2 28.6 Kept me better informed 22.0 25.0 15.4 42.9 Shorten the process 4.9 8.3 15.4 14.3 Offer more flexible test times 9.8 0 0 14.3 Change the test location 0 5.6 15.4 0 Other 24.4 11.1 7.7 0 Suggestion . Black (n = 41) . Hispanic (n = 36) . Asian/ Pacific Islander (n = 13) . Other race/ ethnicity (n = 7) . Nothing could have been done 39.0 50.0 46.2 28.6 Kept me better informed 22.0 25.0 15.4 42.9 Shorten the process 4.9 8.3 15.4 14.3 Offer more flexible test times 9.8 0 0 14.3 Change the test location 0 5.6 15.4 0 Other 24.4 11.1 7.7 0 Open in new tab Discussion Diversity is important to police agencies for several reasons, but the diversity of the police applicant pool diminishes throughout the hiring process because women and minorities self-withdraw from the process at a higher rate than white men, leaving a smaller proportion of qualified women and minority candidates from whom to select for hire. Although identifying the reasons for attrition is important to develop policies to retain qualified women and minority applicants, the handful of studies on police applicant attrition are outdated and incorporate small proportions of women and minority applicants. This study focused on only women and minority applicants who withdrew from the police hiring process. In line with other research on reasons for applicant self-withdrawal (e.g. Ployhart et al., 2002; but see Ryan et al., 2000), the results of this study indicate that the hiring process was too long for some applicants, who found other employment while waiting for the next stage of the hiring process. Police agencies should explore ways to reduce the length of the hiring process—an issue documented over four decades ago by Arvey et al. (1975): ‘the time lag between the initial application and subsequent psychological testing or other selection procedures (interview, physical, etc.) may represent a significant barrier in the recruitment and hiring of minority group applicants’ (p. 175). This likely is a daunting task, but like in most professions, the best candidates will be picked up by the agency that makes the first offer (Waters et al., 2007). Recognizing the technology-rich world the next generation of police officers is familiar with, converting the application process to a paperless system would reduce frustrations with the typical lengthy paper-based application materials while simultaneously allowing everyone in the police agency hiring process to review the candidates’ materials in real time (Morison, 2017). When the DC Metropolitan Police Department went paperless, the hiring process drastically dropped from 12–18 months to 3–4 months (Morison, 2017). Before the hiring process officially begins, police agencies can prevent exceptional women and minority candidates from accepting offers from other employers. One innovative recruitment programme is the police cadet programme, which is a way to promote diversity and build positive relationships with the community. In this programme, local youth (after vetting) are hired in civilian positions to perform administrative tasks while in uniform and are given preferential status when formally applying for a sworn officer position (Morison, 2017). Some agencies, such as the Minneapolis Police Department, offer tuition assistance (Morison, 2017). Police cadet programmes offer an opportunity for paid employment to reduce the likelihood of the candidate leaving for another profession and allow the police agency to evaluate and mentor qualified candidates (Morison, 2017). Of course, this reflects the recruiting issue of attracting minority candidates to the position from the outset. In the Rochester, New York study of applicant attrition, for example, minority citizens were far less likely to take the civil service test to begin with: of the 11,311 applicants who sat for the civil service test, 25% identified with a minority racial/ethnic group (Comeau and Klofas, 2010). This creates a smaller pool of minority applicants, which returns to the problem of trying to recruit applicants from diverse backgrounds. One challenge is that some applicants may be automatically disqualified due to zero-tolerance policing practices. That is, an applicant may have a minor arrest or have his/her application flagged because of several contacts with police. Here, police agencies may wish to use their discretion to determine whether the police contact or minor arrest is significant enough to disqualify the applicant or whether the applicant would be an asset to the agency. For example, the New Orleans Police Department no longer excludes applicants for prior drug use (e.g. heroin and cocaine), provided the last use happened 10 years or longer prior to the application (Williams, 2017). Chicago is considering dropping its automatic prohibition on those with a juvenile record (Williams, 2017). Some departments, such as the Baltimore City Police Department, are assisting residents with expunging minor arrests from their records, thus helping residents gain employment with the police or other professions (Morison, 2017). By doing so, the Baltimore police are building trust with the community while also recruiting (Morison, 2017). Another way to keep women and minorities in the applicant pool is to increase communications to candidates. Most (90.4%) candidates who could not give a reason for withdrawing from the hiring process reported they were either still in the hiring process or the police agency declined to hire them, yet they all were on the police agency’s list of applicants who withdrew from the hiring process. Seven applicants (4.9%) specifically cited communication issues as a reason for withdrawal. Perhaps providing monthly or weekly automated status updates to applicants via email, text or a hiring app may alleviate any confusion about applicants’ standing in the hiring process. Seventeen per cent of applications withdrew because they found other employment; increased communication also may encourage top candidates who are considering other offers to continue with the recruiting police agency if the agency is their top choice. In line with increasing communication with applicants, some respondents suggested having a live person/recruiter contact them and help them through the process. Similar to a military ‘battle buddy’ who is a ‘best friend’ tasked with watching over his/her partner, perhaps assigning current police officers to serve as a ‘mentor’ to a small group of top candidates would signal the police agency’s commitment to hiring high-quality applicants and further encourage their engagement with the hiring process. Such mentors might telephone, text, email or meet these candidates monthly to check in with the applicants, answering their questions and working with them to prepare for the physical fitness test. For example, the DC Metropolitan Police Department recruiters participate in ‘live chats’ with applicants (Morison, 2017). Expanding their current mentoring programme to cadets, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin Fire and Police Commission recently experimented with mentoring applicants, including practice test sessions, ride-share programmes and frequent communications via text and emails to keep applicants engaged with the police department (Luthern and Crowe, 2017). Some agencies have programmes specifically for women, such as the Women’s Leadership Academy in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which offers a 1-week crash course on everything involved in policing, instructed primarily by women, and includes a follow-up with recruitment officers who help participants through the application process (Jany, 2019; Prather, 2019; see also https://www.womensleadpd.org/). Contact throughout the hiring process is especially necessary for minority candidates, who may not have a family or friend who is a police officer (Gibbs et al., 2020) and, thus, may have little exposure to the multiple hurdle hiring process. To that end, a fraternal organization called The Guardians Association for Black New York Police Department (NYPD) officers also helps Black candidates navigate the NYPD hiring process, with members often serving as liaisons between the applicant and the appropriate contact in the NYPD (Swarns, 2015). Indeed, research suggests that police need to make more positive connections with minority youth and inform applicants and prospective applicants about the policing career and hiring process (Waters et al., 2007). Some applicants cited the inconvenient testing time and location. Notably, a higher percentage of applicants who identified as another race/ethnicity and Asian/Pacific Islander noted this drawback, compared to a low percentage of Black and Hispanic applicants. It is possible that the testing location is inconvenient for some groups more than others as a function of segregation. This is a question for future research to explore. Nevertheless, police departments should examine ways to improve flexibility in this area. For example, the Rochester, New York Police Department moved their physical agility exam from a suburban college to a high school in the middle of the city, which was perceived as a more convenient location for those without personal transportation (Comeau and Klofas, 2010). Another innovative idea for retaining attractive candidates is continuous hiring—making offers to qualified candidates before a class of recruits is full (Morison, 2017). Many of these suggestions require investment and commitment from the hiring agency. Indeed, an increase in recruits comes with more resources devoted to the hiring process. In fact, Jordan et al. (2009) found that an increase in the recruitment budget of $16,900 significantly increased the number of women officers hired by 48% and an increase in the recruitment budget of $17,000 increased the number of minority officers hired by 60% (p. 338). However, the resources available to police departments vary by the size of the agency, with smaller agencies typically having fewer resources than larger police departments (Jordan et al., 2009). Further, resource availability becomes a moot point in areas with little to no population heterogeneity, as applications from women and minority applicants depend on their representation in the community (Jordan et al., 2009; see also Todak and Brown, 2019). Police agencies should avoid lowering standards to increase diversity, as has been done in some agencies to fill open vacancies. For example, the New Orleans Police Department also eliminated its education requirement in 2015, and Philadelphia Police Department followed suit in 2016 (Gregg, 2017). Lowering or removing the education requirement may exacerbate any existing problems and create more. In fact, some studies suggest that less stringent requirements may dissuade some minority applicants from applying (see Donohue, 2020 for a review; but see Jordan et al., 2009). That said, New Orleans Police values higher education, offering free tuition programmes for officers; the Deputy Chief of Staff summarized the rationale for dropping the requirement: ‘It seemed wrong to disqualify candidates who may not have had the financial means or opportunities to go to college. The change was our way of getting additional folks in the door and then helping them get additional education, rather than making it a barrier to even applying’ (Morison, 2017, p. 10). The change may, in fact, help increase diversity, which is a research area to be explored. Limitations These findings of the study should be considered in the light of the limitations of the study. The study focused on women and minorities, excluding white men. This precludes comparison with the largest group of police officers and applicants. Thus, this study is unable to ascertain whether there are any differences between white men applicants and women and minority applicants. That said, the strength of this study is the exclusive focus on women and minority applicants, who typically comprise small portions of study samples. Future research may wish to oversample a random selection of women and minorities, while also including white men. Similar to other research, this study interviewed applicants sometime after they had withdrawn from the hiring process. It is possible that their reasons for withdrawal and recommendations to keep applicants in the hiring process were influenced by later exposure to police work, affecting their recollections. Future research should explore applicants soon after withdrawal from the hiring process. An additional limitation is the study design itself. Participants were interviewed over the telephone, and respondents may have reacted to the researcher. While interviewers were instructed to have a pleasant demeanour and adhere to the questionnaire, social desirability may have influenced the responses, with respondents presenting themselves in what they believe is the best possible light. Despite assurances from the interviewer that their responses were anonymous and the police department would only have access to aggregated results, participant awareness of police department involvement in the study may have influenced responses, as well. In fact, 64% of the sample claimed they may reapply to the police department; they may be hesitant to say anything negative about the agency. Additional research on applicant attrition should supplement telephone interviews with in-person follow-up interviews for a more thorough exploration into this phenomenon. Despite these limitations, the recommendations provided by the participants in this study offer feasible avenues to increase retention of women and minority applicants throughout the hiring process. Conclusion Ultimately, diversity in policing is important. As a retired police chief summarized, ‘This is an issue of who it is that we’ve decided we would allow to police our country… Who you hire to do the job makes the difference’ (Williams, 2016). To keep a diverse applicant pool throughout the hiring process, police agencies should shorten the hiring process for today’s Millennial applicants who expect a faster, technology-based process or explore programmes to hire exceptional candidates outside of or even before the regular hiring process. Mentoring candidates throughout the lengthy, multiple hurdle process may be a beneficial avenue to maintain diversity among candidates. 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TI - Preventing Attrition among Women and Minority Police Applicants
JF - Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice
DO - 10.1093/police/paaa069
DA - 2020-12-03
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/preventing-attrition-among-women-and-minority-police-applicants-M60JDOlkvb
SP - 1
EP - 1
VL - Advance Article
IS - 
DP - DeepDyve
ER -