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While the nature of police is possible that if leaders in cor- References
work in municipal and county rections embraced the view that 1. Burgess, Lisa. “Army reaches
agencies is not identical to there is no shame in leaving the recruiting goals at increasing
that of corrections officers, job, then more people would costs to taxpayers.” Stars and
the parallels are noteworthy, leave when they realize contin- Stripes, September 6, 2007.
and the recruiting and reten- ued employment in policing is 2. Buddin, Richard J. Success of
tion challenges are similar. harming themselves or others. First-Term Soldiers: The Effects of
According to the available Recruiting Practices and Recruit
research on suicide among Embracing the Permanent Characteristics. Santa Monica,
CA: RAND Corporation, 2005
law enforcement officers, the Recruiting Initiative
general demographic profile of The military does not stop 3. Military Leadership Diversity
officers who commit suicide are recruiting and neither should Commission. Retention Report.
U.S. Department of Defense,
male (91%), single or divorced leaders in corrections. Rather 2011.
(63%), between the ages of 40 than engaging in a cycle of
and 44, and with 15 to 20 years revving up and cutting back 4. Nanavaty, Brian. “Addressing
officer crisis and Suicide:
of service. This profile describes down, agencies should look to improving officer wellness.”
officers who are likely expe- creating continuous pipelines FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin,
riencing mid-career burnout, of qualified talent. September 2015, pp. 3–8.
but who feel that they have too This requires a change in 5. Solomon, Starr & Johnson,
many years invested in the job mindset—from seeing recruit- Richard. “Subsequent arrests of
to change careers. 4 previously arrested police offi-
ing efforts as an annoyance that
Interestingly, one study we undertake when numbers cers: the influence of continued
of law enforcement officers are low to seeing it as a perma- employment in policing.” Law
who were terminated from nent part of essential agency Enforcement Executive Forum,
employment for having been functions. The military model Vol. 14, No. 2 (2013), pp. 24–34.
convicted of a criminal offense may well be worth considering
found that the vast majority of in working towards a sustain-
these fired officers eventually able model for corrections
found other professional or recruiting and retention in the
semi-professional employment 2020s.
outside of law enforcement.
Despite having a criminal or
drunk-driving conviction on Matt Dolan, J.D., is a licensed
their records, most were work- attorney who specializes in training
ing as accountants, real estate and advising public safety agen-
agents, small business owners, cies in matters of legal liability and
pilots, teachers, social workers, risk management. A member of
paramedics, nurses, college a law enforcement family dating
back three generations, he serves
professors and even lawyers. as both Director and Public Safety
5
The point here is that individu- Instructor with Dolan Consulting
als who have the intelligence, Group. He can be contacted at
courage, and skills necessary to matt@dolanconsultinggroup.com.
work as criminal justice profes-
sionals can generally succeed in
any profession they pursue. It

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