An Empirical Assessment of the Sources of Police Job Satisfaction

Abstract

Dissatisfied workers are at risk for negative occupational behaviors such as job turnover, poor performance, work avoidance, decreased morale among coworkers, and physical or legal liability. Relying heavily on demographic (e.g., sex, race, education) and occupational (e.g., rank, experience, assignment) explanatory factors, early empirical studies failed to effectively model the statistical correlates of police officer job satisfaction. Recent inquiries have found more success in explaining the variation in job satisfaction by examining a variety of work-related attitudes. The current study adds to this burgeoning area of research by assessing the role of internal and external dimensions of the work environment, as well as views of fairness and effectiveness, on the job satisfaction of police officers. Based on survey data from a midsized municipal police department in Florida, the multivariate analysis reveals a number of successful predictors of job satisfaction, especially for those officers with a street-level assignment. A second analysis, based on qualitative coding of open-ended survey questions, finds differences in positive and negative features of the occupation across varying levels of satisfied and dissatisfied respondents. Implications of these findings for police practitioners and researchers are discussed.

Full text

Article
An Empirical
Assessment of the
Sources of Police Job
Satisfaction
Eugene A. Paoline III
1
and
Jacinta M. Gau
1
Abstract
Dissatisfied workers are at risk for negative occupational behaviors such as job
turnover, poor performance, work avoidance, decreased morale among coworkers,
and physical or legal liability. Relying heavily on demographic (e.g., sex, race, educa-
tion) and occupational (e.g., rank, experience, assignment) explanatory factors, early
empirical studies failed to effectively model the statistical correlates of police officer
job satisfaction. Recent inquiries have found more success in explaining the variation
in job satisfaction by examining a variety of work-related attitudes. The current study
adds to this burgeoning area of research by assessing the role of internal and external
dimensions of the work environment, as well as views of fairness and effectiveness,
on the job satisfaction of police officers. Based on survey data from a midsized
municipal police department in Florida, the multivariate analysis reveals a number
of successful predictors of job satisfaction, especially for those officers with a street-
level assignment. A second analysis, based on qualitative coding of open-ended
survey questions, finds differences in positive and negative features of the occupation
across varying levels of satisfied and dissatisfied respondents. Implications of these
findings for police practitioners and researchers are discussed.
Keywords
police, job satisfaction, police attitudes, mixed methods
1
Department of Criminal Justice, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
Corresponding Author:
Eugene A. Paoline III, Department of Criminal Justice, University of Central Florida, 12805 Pegasus Drive,
Orlando, FL 32816-1600, USA.
Email: eugene.paoline@ucf.edu
Police Quarterly
2020, Vol. 23(1) 55–81
!The Author(s) 2019
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/1098611119875117
journals.sagepub.com/home/pqx

Introduction
Job satisfaction is of paramount concern with respect to maintaining a well-
staffed, high-performing workforce. Organizational research has found that job
satisfaction promotes affective commitment and attachment (Yousef, 2017),
reduces burnout (Peng et al., 2016), and increases employees’ intentions to con-
tinue working for the employer (Yousef, 2017). Job satisfaction might reduce
turnover indirectly, as well, through its beneficial impact on organizational
commitment (Fabi, Lacoursie
`re, & Raymond, 2015; Jaramillo, Nixon, &
Sams, 2005; Mathieu, Fabi, Lacoursie
`re, & Raymond, 2016). Some researchers
have modeled organizational commitment as a predictor of job satisfaction
rather than an outcome of it and have found a positive relationship (Peng
et al., 2016).
Like any other organization, police agencies seek to hire and retain hard-
working, dedicated employees. Adequate staffing levels are needed to provide
vital services, such as timely responses to requests for assistance, traffic enforce-
ment, and so on. Staffing shortages exert negative impacts such as longer
response times for calls for service, case backlogs among investigators, and
resultant frustration by the community (see generally Brunson & Gau, 2015).
Similarly, high turnover is a financial burden (e.g., having to constantly train
new recruits) and exacerbates the problems caused by staffing shortages (e.g.,
already-overworked detectives having to conduct background investigations on
applicants). Some dissatisfied officers stay on the job, which could also be prob-
lematic for the organization. Angry or disgruntled officers might carry out their
duties poorly, avoid work altogether, drag down morale among fellow officers,
or be physical or legal liabilities to the agency.
Job satisfaction is a key element in attracting and retaining officers. As yet,
however, there are three primary gaps in the current understanding about job
satisfaction among police. These deficiencies serve as the impetus for the current
inquiry. First, it is not clear what elements of the occupation most strongly
affect job satisfaction, either positively or negatively. Most prior studies con-
centrated on demographic and occupational characteristics of officers, which
have resulted in weak or inconsistent findings (Dantzker, 1994a, 1994b;
Johnson, 2012). Thus, additional research is needed to explain the variation in
job satisfaction among police. For example, officers might be particularly
attuned to elements within the organization (e.g., feeling supported by top man-
agement), within the community (e.g., perceived danger in the work environ-
ment), or in carrying out their duties as an officer (e.g., being fair in making
decisions). A greater understanding of the most impactful sources of job satis-
faction would not only aid in contributing to better statistical models for
researchers but would also assist police managers in making decisions about
recruitment, trainings, policies, promotions, and so forth.
56 Police Quarterly 23(1)

Second, most of the recent research on police officers’ job satisfaction is from
outside the United States. For example, studies have been conducted in coun-
tries such as India (e.g., Kumar, 2017; Lambert, Qureshi, Frank, Klahm, &
Smith, 2018), China (e.g., Chen, 2018), Serbia (Zekavica, Simeunovic-Patic,
Potgieter, & Roelofse, 2018), Slovenia (Aristovnik, Seljak, & Toma
zevi
c,
2016; Toma
zevi
c, Seljak, & Aristovnik, 2014, 2019), Turkey (Kula, 2017), and
Pakistan (Ahmad & Islam, 2019). These international studies have contributed
to the general scholarly understanding of officer job satisfaction, but policing in
the United States differs markedly from that in other countries. Most notable is
the U.S. practice of decentralization, whereby police agencies are independently
operated at the local (e.g., city, county) level (Maguire, 2003). Many other
countries employ a nationalized model in which policies and practices are stan-
dardized across agencies. Besides the internal (organizational) variation that
exists among American police departments, the external environments are het-
erogeneous and exert unique stressors and strains (e.g., the lack of respect for
police, citizen resistance to police authority) on police officers (Paoline & Terrill,
2014). As such, there is a need for development of the research on job satisfac-
tion among police officers in the United States.
Third, little is known about what makes officers stay in their jobs even if they
are dissatisfied, or about specific attitudinal differences between satisfied and
dissatisfied officers. Employees in law-enforcement occupations report a variety
of extrinsic (benefits of the job, such as pay) and intrinsic (the value of the work
itself) motivations for selecting this line of employment (e.g., Moreto et al.,
2019). Job dissatisfaction increases intentions to leave the organization, but
some unhappy officers ultimately remain with the agency. Uncovering their
reasons for doing so (i.e., features of the occupation that they deem positive
enough to keep being employed) would add to the academic literature and offer
policy implications for police managers. Moreover, knowing what satisfied offi-
cers would change about their occupation could assist police administrators in
intercepting potential shifts in satisfaction among their rank and file.
The aim of the current study is to address the three aforementioned gaps in
the existing research on police officers’ job satisfaction. Data are drawn from an
officer survey conducted in a midsized municipal police department in Florida.
The analysis is conducted in two stages. First, regression modeling will be used
to identify and compare the factors that contribute to job satisfaction.
Independent variables are drawn from the internal organizational climate,
aspects of the external work environment (i.e., views of the community), and
perceptions of police fairness and effectiveness. Second, qualitative data will be
examined to discern any differences that might emerge between satisfied and
dissatisfied officers. The survey contained open-ended sections for officers to
elaborate upon what they liked about their jobs and what aspects of their
jobs they would change if they could. Qualitative coding will reveal the positive
Paoline and Gau 57

and negative occupational facets reported by officers who were very satisfied,
very dissatisfied, and more neutral about their job.
Police Officers’ Job Satisfaction
Given the importance of job satisfaction to individual police officers’ work
performance and to overall organizational functioning, it is not surprising
that researchers have devoted a considerable amount of energy to disentangling
its causes. The greatest empirical attention has focused on the relevance of
demographic and occupational characteristics on officer job satisfaction.
Unfortunately, across four decades of research, examinations of factors such
as officer sex, race, age, education, marital status, military service, experience,
assignment, and rank have produced very little in the way of consistent or
robust statistical effects (Brady & King, 2018; Buzawa, 1984; Dantzker,
1994a, 1994b; Dantzker & Kubin, 1998; Forsyth & Copes, 1994; Greene,
1989; Johnson, 2012; Miller, Mire, & Kim, 2009; Paoline, Terrill, & Rossler,
2015; Rhodes, 2015; Zhao, Thurman, & He, 1999).
A second body of research on the correlates of job satisfaction has concen-
trated on work-related attitudes. For example, in a survey of 170 officers from
the Oakland (CA) and Detroit (MI) Police Departments, Buzawa (1984) exam-
ined the impact of seven attitudes (adequacy of benefits, social value and pres-
tige, quality of supervision, job stress, family relations, self-fulfillment, and
satisfaction with advancement opportunities) on a six-item measure of job sat-
isfaction. Results of a multivariate analysis, controlling for demographic and
occupational characteristics, revealed a positive relationship between self-
fulfillment, advancement opportunities, and job satisfaction among the
Oakland police officers, while social value and prestige was positively related
to job satisfaction among the Detroit police officers.
In another study of the impact of work environment perceptions on job
satisfaction, Zhao et al. (1999) used a mail survey of 199 officers from the
Spokane (WA) Police Department. Multivariate analysis, controlling for demo-
graphic and occupational characteristics, illustrated a positive relationship
between perceptions of skill variety, task identity, task significance, and auton-
omy on an 18-item measure of job satisfaction. Of significance, the model
explained 49% of the variation in job satisfaction, 43 percentage points of
which (or 88% of explained variance) was a function of the work-related per-
ceptions. This finding led the researchers to conclude that the “work environ-
ment is an essential feature of police officers’ job satisfaction” (p. 167).
Miller et al.’s (2009) research on 87 officers from a medium-sized southern
police department assessed the role of demographic characteristics; perceptions
of the work environment (skill variety, task identity, task significance, autono-
my, and feedback); and personality attributes (neuroticism, extroversion, open-
ness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness) on a 23-item measure of job
58 Police Quarterly 23(1)

satisfaction. The researchers’ multivariate analyses controlled for demographic
characteristics and revealed no statistical effects for personality attributes, but
officers who perceived more autonomy and more feedback from supervisors and
coworkers were more satisfied with their jobs.
In a more recent examination of the correlates of job satisfaction, Johnson
(2012) surveyed 292 officers from 11 agencies in the Phoenix metro area. In
addition to demographic characteristics, occupational features, and work-
related attitudes (job variety, job autonomy, job stress, role conflict, and cyni-
cism), the author also assessed the relevance of the internal organizational
climate (i.e., supervisor feedback, organizational support, and peer cohesion),
finding that officers who reported more autonomy and peer cohesion were
more satisfied with their jobs, while greater role conflict resulted in less
satisfaction.
Overall, there are a couple of takeaway messages from the burgeoning
research that has examined work-related attitudes on officer job satisfaction.
First, it appears that assessments of the internal and external work environments
matter more than demographic and occupational characteristics in predicting
the satisfaction of police officers. Second, it is evident that researchers are just
beginning to scratch the surface in determining which work-related attitudes to
include in analytical models. That is, just as there is not a universally agreed
upon measure of job satisfaction (Dantzker, 1993; Paoline et al., 2015; Zhao
et al., 1999), perceptions of the work environment cover several features of the
police occupation. As such, this area of inquiry is ripe for further empirical
examination.
Current Study
The present study contributes to the research on job satisfaction among police
officers in the United States. Using quantitative and qualitative data obtained
from a survey of officers in a midsized police department, we examine a variety
of internal and external environmental assessments and views of police fairness
and effectiveness as predictors of job satisfaction. In doing so, we heed the
advice of Johnson (2012), who noted that, “future research should expand the
investigation of job task and organizational environment characteristics, explor-
ing new variables that have yet to be tested” (p. 172). We also present a unique
component that will add an understanding of the angles of the job that are most
impactful to retention among police with varying levels of satisfaction. The
results add to the modest amount of job satisfaction research that has been
conducted in the United States and thereby advance the understanding of
what factors most strongly increase and diminish officers’ enjoyment of their
jobs. These findings will flow naturally into policy implications for police leaders
wanting to recruit and retain officers, maintain positive agency morale, and
avoid the problems caused by unhappy or disgruntled officers.
Paoline and Gau 59

Methods
Data
The data used here come from a survey distributed to officers in a midsized
municipal police agency in southern Florida. The 89-item survey was designed
to capture perceptions of the overall work climate, as well as a variety of internal
and external facets of the occupation. The survey also gathered information on
officers’ demographic and occupational characteristics. All sworn personnel of
lower to middle ranks (patrol, sergeant, and lieutenant) and assignments (patrol,
special operations, and investigations) were included in the target population.
Survey administration took place during roll-call sessions at the beginning of
officers’ assigned shifts during a 1-week period in July 2016. Project staff admin-
istered the survey at the start of each of the four primary patrol shifts (5:30 a.m.,
7:30 a.m., 5:00 p.m., and 7:00 p.m.), as well as during two additional shifts for
investigators (2:00 p.m.) and special operations (8:15 a.m.). At each of the roll
calls, researchers gave a brief overview of the aims of the survey, explained that
participation was voluntary, described human subject protections, and assured
confidentiality. Officers returned their completed surveys to project staff before
the end of each roll call.
At the time of the survey, there were 271 non command staff officers,
1
which
represented the population to be queried. After accounting for officers’ sched-
uled or unscheduled days off, training and court obligations, injuries, suspen-
sions, and other roll-call absences, there were 204 officers physically present to
be surveyed, of whom 203 participated. This resulted in a response rate of 99.5%
of those present at survey administration and 74.9% of the official count of
sworn personnel in the department. Of the 203 respondents, 141 reported having
a street-level assignment and thus had daily contacts with citizens which could
impact their overall job satisfaction. Most (n¼96) were in patrol, and the
remainder were in a mix of traffic units, community-response teams, K9
squads, and detective divisions.
Variables
The analyses contain one dependent variable (job satisfaction) and several inde-
pendent variables representing different aspects of officers’ job and work envi-
ronments. All variables are measured on 1 to 4 Likert-type scales with higher
values representing stronger endorsement of the construct being measured.
Appendix A contains a full list of scales and items, along with factor loadings
for all items. Table 1 displays descriptive statistics.
Dependent variable. The dependent variable is officers’ job satisfaction. This scale
contains three items tapping into respondents’ enjoyment of their job,
60 Police Quarterly 23(1)

willingness to consider another job, and generally how much they like their job
(a¼.642). The survey items used here were extracted from Brayfield and Rothe
(1951), representing a facet-free job satisfaction assessment of enjoyment and
commitment (Dantzker, 1997; Dantzker & Kubin, 1998; Paoline et al., 2015;
Terrill & Paoline, 2015) versus a measure comprising specific details (e.g., pay,
benefits). The scale ranged from 3 to 12 and had a mean of 9.23 (Mdn ¼10),
suggesting most officers viewed their job in a positive light. The scale was
skewed toward the higher end but was reasonably normally distributed
(skew ¼–.745, kurtosis ¼.471).
Independent variables. The independent variables capture various facets of offi-
cers’ perceptions of the organizational climate, the external work environment
(i.e., the community), how procedurally just they think their colleagues are
toward citizens, and the overall effectiveness of police at controlling and deter-
ring crime.
The organizational climate domain contained three scales. Officers can per-
ceive the internal environment being just as unpredictable, hostile, and frustrat-
ing as conditions of the street (Brown, 1988). As such, aspects of the
organization can theoretically enhance or suppress job satisfaction. Top man-
agement support contains three items assessing how well officers think that top
managers recognize officers for outstanding performance and handle disciplin-
ary matters fairly (a¼.828). The survey questions that make up this scale were
Table 1. Descriptive Statistics.
Full sample Street-level assignment
Min.–Max. M(SD) Min.–Max. M(SD)
Variable
Job satisfaction 3–12 9.23 (1.91) 3–12 9.31 (1.95)
Organizational climate
Top management support 3–12 7.83 (2.29) 3–12 7.81 (2.36)
Supervisor support 6–24 20.16 (3.35) 6–24 20.48 (2.96)
Stress 3–12 7.86 (1.98) 3–12 7.68 (2.02)
External work environment
Citizen treatment of police 6–24 15.09 (3.15) 6–24 15.21 (3.14)
Cynicism 4–16 9.92 (2.09) 4–16 9.86 (2.21)
Danger 6–12 10.18 (1.32) 6–12 10.09 (1.33)
Police fairness and effectiveness
Procedural justice 7–28 24.79 (2.87) 7–28 24.96 (2.86)
Crime control 1–4 2.09 (0.87) 1–4 2.09 (0.93)
Deterrence 1–4 2.97 (0.80) 1–4 3.02 (0.77)
Street-level assignment 0–1 .72 – –
Paoline and Gau 61

drawn from prior police research (Paoline 2001, 2004; Paoline & Gau, 2018;
Paoline et al., 2015; Terrill & Paoline, 2015). Also adopted from prior police
inquiries (Ingram, Paoline, & Terrill, 2013; Paoline, 2001, 2004; Paoline & Gau,
2018; Terrill, Paoline, & Manning, 2003), supervisor support is a six-item scale
evaluating how well officers feel supported, appreciated, and encouraged by
their immediate supervisors (a¼.839). A three-item stress measure, drawn
from Crank, Regoli, Hewitt, and Culbertson (1995), indicates respondents’ feel-
ings of pressure and frustration while on the job (a¼.680).
The second domain—external work environment—also contains three scales.
Citizen treatment of police measures the extent to which officers feel that citizens
respect them, comply with their directives, and accept their decisions (a¼.833).
These survey items were adapted from research on public perceptions of proce-
dural justice and police legitimacy (e.g., Gau, 2011, 2014; Reisig, Bratton, &
Gertz, 2007) and worded to allow officers to rate how well citizens treat them
rather than the reverse. Frequent interactions with rude or rancorous citizens
could reduce officers’ job satisfaction, so this scale was included to examine this
possibility. Cynicism contains four items representing respondents’ negative dis-
position toward the citizens who call them for help (a¼.640). Over time, officers
can become cynical about the job and about the people they interact with.
Especially in high-crime, disorderly areas, officers might come to see people
(even crime victims) as overly reliant on police and sometimes complicit in
their own misfortune (Klinger, 1997). Finally, danger contains three items,
adopted from Cullen, Lutze, Link, and Wolfe (1989) and measures the level
of threat officers perceive in their external work environment and the likelihood
that they will be injured on the job (a¼.434).
2
Officers are trained to be on
guard at all times and to always maintain the upper hand because citizens can be
unpredictable (Paoline, 2003). Officers are also at risk for car crashes, contract-
ing contagious illnesses, and other on-the-job jeopardies to their well-being. This
sense of vulnerability could reduce their overall satisfaction with the polic-
ing occupation.
The last predictor domain included officers’ perceptions of the fairness and
effectiveness of police in general. Researchers studying public perceptions of
police legitimacy divide these opinions into normative (i.e., procedural justice)
and instrumental (i.e., effectiveness) concerns regarding the quality of officers’
job performance (e.g., Tankebe, 2009; Tankebe, Reisig, & Wang, 2016).
Similarly, the theory of police self-legitimacy suggests that officers need to feel
a solid moral foundation in their work to be confident in their own authority
(e.g., Bottoms & Tankebe, 2012). We therefore include officers’ assessments of
police effectiveness and the level of procedurally just treatment afforded to
citizens. Procedural justice contains seven items capturing officers’ assessments
of how well their colleagues do at treating citizens fairly and respectfully, pro-
tecting their basic rights, making unbiased decisions, and explaining their deci-
sions to people (a¼.832). Crime control is a single item asking officers how
62 Police Quarterly 23(1)

much control police have over crime rates in general, and deterrence is a single
item measuring officers’ endorsement of the idea that police are effective deter-
rents to criminal activity. These three dimensions represent officers’ own nor-
mative and instrumental assessments of police performance.
Control variables. Demographic and occupational variables included officers’ sex
(0 ¼female,1¼male); race (dummy codes for White, Black, Hispanic, and
other); education (0 ¼no 4-year degree,1¼4-year degree or higher); and rank
(0 ¼not patrol,1¼patrol). These statistical controls were initially entered into
the regression models; however, none were significant. This outcome mirrors
findings in previous multivariate studies of job satisfaction (see, e.g., Buzawa,
1984; Dantzker & Kubin, 1998; Johnson, 2012; Zhao et al., 1999), as well as
police attitudinal studies in general (see, e.g., Ingram et al., 2013; Paoline &
Gau, 2018; Paoline, Myers, & Worden, 2000). Given the modest sample size and
the importance of obtaining stable parameter estimates to uncover the true
relationships between the key independent variables and job satisfaction, we
removed the demographics from the main models. The models presented in
the text contain the key independent variables only. The full models that include
demographics are located in Appendix B.
Analytic Plan
The analysis proceeds in two stages: first quantitative, then qualitative. Ordinary
least squares regression models are used to test the effects of the independent
variables on job satisfaction. The model is first run on the full sample of officers
and then on those with street-level assignments only. Officers whose daily work
includes frequent face-to-face interaction with the public might have different
attitudes toward their jobs (and different levels of job satisfaction) compared
with those assigned to administrative duties and other capacities that entail little
or no interface with the general public. Missing data are handled using listwise
deletion, as this caused a loss of less than 10% of cases in both models (7.8%
in both).
Second, the open-ended comments will be analyzed qualitatively using induc-
tive coding to identify primary themes. To compare across varying levels of
officer satisfaction, respondents will be classified into one of three groups. In
accentuating the extremes of job satisfaction, officers will be designated as unsa-
tisfied (i.e., those scoring 3 to 7 on the 12-point scale, representing 19% of the
sample) and highly satisfied (i.e., those scoring 11 to 12 on the 12-point scale,
representing 26.5% of the sample). Respondents not found in one of the two job
satisfaction extremes will be designated as moderately satisfied (i.e., those scor-
ing 8 to 10 on the 12-point scale, representing 54.5% of the sample). This anal-
ysis will allow for an identification (and comparisons across groups) of the
features of the work environment or job duties that matter most to officers
Paoline and Gau 63

and which aspects of their occupation they would change if they could. The
analysis is inductive, meaning themes are identified as the coding takes place,
but particular attention will be paid to uncovering the relative impacts of instru-
mental or extrinsic factors (e.g., salary, equipment) and intrinsic factors (e.g.,
helping people, autonomy). Inductive coding entails reading officers’ responses
multiple times and allowing themes to emerge organically from these writings.
Themes are defined as categories or groupings that logically encapsulated con-
cepts multiple officers wrote about and that emerged often enough across dif-
ferent officers to consider them a significantly shared set of attitudes.
Results
Quantitative Findings
Table 2 contains a correlation matrix for all variables included in the regression
analysis. Several statistically significant correlations emerged, and many of these
were also substantively strong in magnitude. The largest correlations were
between crime control and deterrence (r¼.511, p<.01) and between citizen
treatment of police and top management support (r¼.405, p<.01). Danger and
stress were also strongly connected (r¼.395, p<.01). Stress was the variable
most closely correlated with job satisfaction (r¼.307, p<.01), but top manage-
ment support,supervisor support,cynicism, and deterrence also had statistically
significant relationships with the dependent variable at the bivariate level.
The ordinary least squares regression models are displayed in Table 3. Four
independent variables were statistically significant predictors of job satisfaction
among the full sample. In the street-level sample, five predictors were statisti-
cally significant at .05 and one was significant at the .10 threshold.
The full-sample model explained 21% of the variance in respondents’ job
satisfaction. Stress emerged as the strongest predictor (b¼–.299, p<.001,
b¼–.304). Officers of various ranks and assignments appear to be particularly
sensitive to the pressures and frustrations of the job, and higher stress translates
into greater dissatisfaction. The second-strongest independent variable was
deterrence, or the level to which respondents believe that police in general effec-
tively deter criminal activity. Greater endorsement of policing’s deterrence
capacity was associated with enhanced job satisfaction (b¼.440, p<.05,
b¼.181). This suggests that part of officers’ job satisfaction lies in the intrinsic
value they perceive in serving a public good. Neither crime control nor proce-
dural justice, however, achieved statistical significance. The discrepant results for
deterrence and crime control seem counterintuitive. The disparity might reflect a
sense among officers that policing serves as an important deterrent to many
would-be offenders, yet police cannot fully control the behavior of people deter-
mined to break the law irrespective of the threat of arrest. The null finding for
procedural justice indicates that although officers believed their colleagues
64 Police Quarterly 23(1)

Table 2. Correlations for Variables in Regression Analysis.
Variable (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)
(1) Job satisfaction 1.000
(2) Top management support .142* 1.000
(3) Supervisor support .238** .323** 1.000
(4) Stress –.307** –.149* –.177* 1.000
(5) Citizen treatment of police .070 .405** .111 –.206** 1.000
(6) Cynicism –.271** –.238** –.166* .278** –.239** 1.000
(7) Danger .076 –.179* –.041 .395** –.178* .122 1.000
(8) Procedural justice .127 .122 .152* –.063 .043 –.073 .098 1.000
(9) Crime control .033 .044 .084 –.038 .206** –.117 –.082 .000 1.000
(10) Deterrence .216** .075 .198* –.152* .245** –.143* –.057 .094 .511** 1.000
*p<.05. **p<.01.
65

deliver just, fair, unbiased treatment to citizens (Table 1), their job satisfaction is
not influenced by this assessment.
The final significant variables were danger and cynicism, both part of the
external work environment domain. Danger was positively associated with job
satisfaction (b¼.259, p<.05, b¼.181), which was unexpected. Danger could be
a proxy for the importance of the job, and officers who believe that their work is
dangerous feel a stronger sense of purpose. The negative coefficient for cynicism
(b¼–.154, p<.01, b¼–.155) likewise suggests that officers who question the
value or utility of their work (e.g., responding to calls for trivial, noncriminal
matters) experience dissatisfaction.
In the model containing only respondents with street-level assignments, the
predictors explained 36% of the variance in job satisfaction. This was noticeably
higher explanatory power relative to the full-sample model, suggesting that the
independent variables carry particular weight for job satisfaction among officers
who interface regularly with the public. The general pattern of significance was
similar across both the full sample and the street-level subsample, the exception
being that supervisor support emerged as significant in the street-level model only
(b¼.201, p<.001, b¼.300), and was the strongest predictor in this model. Fair,
supportive, encouraging supervisors enhanced street-level officers’ job
Table 3. Regression Model Results.
Full sample Street-level assignment
b(SE)bb(SE)b
Predictor
Organizational climate
Top management support .052 (0.067) .063 .012 (0.073) .015
Supervisor support .064 (0.043) .110 .201*** (0.055) .300
Stress –.299*** (0.076) –.304 –.290** (0.084) –.295
External work environment
Citizen treatment of police –.043 (0.046) –.072 –.048 (0.051) –.079
Cynicism –.145* (0.069) –.155 –.166* (0.072) –.184
Danger .259* (0.110) .178 .243* (0.122) .164
Police fairness and effectiveness
Procedural justice .031 (0.046) .046 .005 (0.052) .007
Crime control –.178 (0.173) –.081 –.322† (0.179) –.154
Deterrence .440* (0.198) .181 .730** (0.226) .287
Constant 7.632*** (1.989) 5.566* (2.195)
F¼5.249*** F¼7.634***
R
2
¼.211 R
2
¼.364
n¼187 n¼130
†
p<.10. *p<.05. **p<.01. ***p<.001.
66 Police Quarterly 23(1)

satisfaction. The coefficient for stress (b¼–.290, p<.01, b¼–.295) was similar
in magnitude to the full-sample model and had the second-largest beta weight.
As would be expected, pressure and frustration reduce satisfaction. The third-
strongest predictor in the street-level model was deterrence (b¼.730, p<.01,
b¼.287). The beta weight for this predictor was larger in the street-level
model than in the full-sample model, suggesting that job satisfaction among
officers who work the street rests particularly heavily upon an intrinsic sense
of being a buffer against criminal activity. Unlike in the full-sample model,
crime control came close to statistical significance for street-level officers
(b¼.322, p ¼.075, b¼–.154), bolstering the conclusion that officers with
street-level assignments are especially attuned to their impact on crime.
Cynicism (b¼–.166, p<.05, b¼–.184) and danger (b¼.243, p<.05,
b¼.164) were the next-strongest predictors, respectively. These findings mir-
rored those in the full-sample model. Cynicism toward citizens who call for
help (including many crime victims) likely causes officers to doubt their own
utility and may lead them to develop a dark view of humanity in general. On the
other hand, a sense of peril may reinforce the perceived importance of the police
job, leading officers to believe they serve a noble cause.
The general conclusion from the regression models is that officers’ job satis-
faction derives from a mix of factors inside the organization, outside in the
community, and intrinsic to officers themselves. Officers’ stress levels were con-
sistently strong predictors of increased dissatisfaction, and for officers with
street-level assignments, relationships with their immediate supervisors went a
long way in boosting their job satisfaction. The discussion now turns to the
qualitative findings for an examination of the open-ended responses provided
by officers with varying levels of job satisfaction.
Qualitative Findings
In qualitatively assessing positive and negative features of the police occupation
across levels of job satisfaction, we analyzed open-ended survey questions that
posed the following two questions: “What do you like best about your job?”
and “If you could change one thing about your job, what would it be?” Of the
200 respondents with complete data on the job satisfaction measure, 158 (79%)
wrote responses to the open-ended question asking what they liked best about
their job. The percentage of officers who wrote responses to this question was
similar across the three groups in the trichotomized satisfaction measure (81.1%
of the 53 highly satisfied group, 78.0% of the 109 moderately satisfied respond-
ents, and 78.9% of the 38 in the unsatisfied category). A similar pattern emerged
for the query regarding changing something about the job (76.1% in the mod-
erate group, 81.1% of highly satisfied officers, and 78.9% of unsatisfied officers).
There was therefore no tendency for officers of particularly high or low job
Paoline and Gau 67

satisfaction to write answers to the open-ended questions; all officers responded
at similar rates.
Officers’ responses to each question were coded for themes. As described
previously, theme identification proceeded inductively and themes were identi-
fied on the basis of frequency and commonality. For example, several officers
reported that their favorite part of the job is providing assistance to citizens.
Thus, the theme “helping people” emerged. Responses that pertained to this
theme of offering help or assistance to citizens were added to this category. A
similar process was used in developing what became the “pay/benefits/retire-
ment/pension” theme. Many respondents cited financial aspects of the job as
something they either liked or did not like about working as a police officer.
Responses pertaining to a good retirement plan or the ability to work off-duty
details for extra pay fell into this category, as did complaints about the salary
being too low. This process of inductive coding was repeated until all officers’
responses had been categorized. The first author conducted the qualitative anal-
ysis, as most officers’ written responses were short and straightforward, leaving
no ambiguity as to which category or theme they fell into.
An examination of Table 4 reveals similarities and differences in the rank
ordering of the most-liked features of the occupation across job satisfaction
levels. This information supplies insight into the features of the occupation
that help keep officers employed with the police department even if they find
the job less than ideal. Interestingly, although the percentage of responses was
greatest among highly satisfied officers (39.5%, compared with 30.6% and 27.6
for moderately satisfied and unsatisfied officers, respectively), the most frequent-
ly cited (i.e., top ranked) response across the three groups was “helping people.”
Officers also noted “the people they work with” as what they liked best about
their job—this was the second most frequent response among highly satisfied
officers (20.9%), third most frequent (15.3%) for moderately satisfied officers,
and tied for third (10%) for unsatisfied respondents.
Among the differences across job satisfaction levels was the greater impor-
tance that highly satisfied officers placed on “crime fighting/investigations” and
“citizen contact/interaction/trust” (tied for third at 9.3%), compared with mod-
erately satisfied (fourth rank at 8.2% and fifth ranked at 7.1%, respectively),
and especially their unsatisfied peers (tied for sixth at 3.3%). We also found that
“job variety” was a more positive feature among moderately satisfied officers
(ranked second at 20%), compared with highly (ranked fifth at 7%) and unsa-
tisfied (ranked fifth at 6.7%) respondents. The most drastic difference across
groups was the ranking of extrinsic factors such as “pay/benefits/retirement/
pension” among unsatisfied officers (ranked second at 23.3%), relative to their
highly (tied for seventh with three other responses at 2.3%) and moderately (tied
for tenth with four other responses at 1.2%) satisfied coworkers. Finally, the
findings illustrated the greater importance of “autonomy/discretion,” as a pos-
itive feature of the job, for unsatisfied officers (tied with “the people they work
68 Police Quarterly 23(1)

with” for third at 10%), compared with their highly (tied for seventh with three
other responses at 2.3%) and moderately (tied for seventh with three other
responses at 1.2%) satisfied counterparts.
The pattern evident in the findings for what officers like about their jobs
suggest that highly and moderately satisfied officers derive significant intrinsic
value from their work. Previous research on park rangers with law-enforcement
functions found that rangers frequently cited the inherent good of the job itself
as their motivation to stay with the occupation (Moreto et al., 2019). The pre-
sent study’s findings indicate that intrinsic motivation is integral to job satisfac-
tion; that is, officers who feel they are truly helping people and who enjoy their
colleagues’ company are also more satisfied with the job in general. These intrin-
sic factors were evident among unsatisfied officers too, but they were less prev-
alent. In addition, unsatisfied officers were more likely to point to extrinsic
rewards such as pay, benefits, and retirement. This suggests that officers who
do not feel a passion for the work might hang on if the job meets their basic
financial needs. Officers in the study department are eligible for retirement after
10 to 25 years of service, depending on their age and other factors of their
Table 4. What Officers Like Best About Their Jobs Across Levels of Satisfaction.
Response
Highly satisfied
percentage
(Ranking)
N¼43
Moderately satisfied
percentage
(Ranking)
N¼85
Unsatisfied
percentage
(Ranking)
N¼30
Helping people 39.5 (1) 30.6 (1) 26.7 (1)
The people they work with 20.9 (2) 15.3 (3) 10.0 (3)
Crime fighting/investigations 9.3 (3) 8.2 (4) 3.3 (6)
Citizen contact/interaction/trust 9.3 (3) 7.1 (5) 3.3 (6)
Job variety 7.0 (5) 20.0 (2) 6.7 (5)
Pay/benefits/retirement/pension 2.3 (7) 1.2 (10) 23.3 (2)
Autonomy/discretion 2.3 (7) 2.4 (7) 10.0 (3)
Mentoring/being a supervisor 2.3 (7) 5.9 (6) -
K9 - 2.4 (7) 3.3 (6)
Creativity/problem solving - 1.2 (10) 3.3 (6)
Rewards - 2.4 (7) -
Everything 4.7 (6) - -
Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) - - 3.3 (6)
Going home - - 3.3 (6)
The job/being a cop - - 3.3 (6)
Working with the youth - 1.2 (10) -
The fun - 1.2 (10) -
Having opinions that matter - 1.2 (10) -
I don’t know 2.3 (7) - -
Paoline and Gau 69

employment, which might encourage dissatisfied officers to wait it out and look
forward to a second career after retirement from policing.
Turning next to the negative features of the job, or what officers would
change if they could, Table 5 displays the rank ordering of responses by satis-
faction levels. Across the three groups, there was similar discontent regarding
“equipment/uniforms/cars,” as this ranked first (27.3%) for highly satisfied offi-
cers, second (14.5%) for moderately satisfied officers, and was tied for first
(16.7%) among unsatisfied officers. The chief (15.7%) source of wanted
change among the moderately satisfied group was “public perception/scrutiny/
trust/respect/collaboration,” which was ranked second (22.7%) for highly satis-
fied and tied for third (10% with three other responses) for unsatisfied officers.
Changes in “upper management” were also of importance among all three
groups, as this was ranked third irrespective of job satisfaction intensity.
It is curious that “pay/benefits/retirement/pension” was tied for first (with
“equipment/uniforms/cars”) among unsatisfied officers because this group
ranked this same category as the second-best thing about the job (see
Table 4). Perhaps it is the case that although instrumental factors like pay
and benefits are what keep unhappy officers with the department (at least
short term), these officers feel financially deprived nonetheless because they
lack the intrinsic motivation that might make a more satisfied officer willing
to tolerate relatively low pay in exchange for a job they enjoy. This explanation
is bolstered by the finding that fiscal concerns were not as important for the
highly (ranked fourth at 6.8%) and moderately (ranked fifth at 6%) satisfied
officers. People dedicated to public service might be willing to trade lucrative
salaries in exchange for rewarding work. Unsatisfied respondents were also more
likely to identify “politics/local government” and the “expansive police role/
inability to focus on crime” as an aspect of their job that they would change
(both ranked third at 10.0%), while fewer highly satisfied (2.3%, tying for the
ninth ranked) and moderately satisfied (4.8% ranking seventh and 3.6 ranking
ninth, respectively) officers reported as such.
Two other differences across groups are worth noting. First, some highly
satisfied (4.5%) and moderately satisfied (8.4%) officers were unable to think
of something they would change about their jobs (that is, they responded
“Nothing/not applicable/don’t know”), while none of the unsatisfied officers
did so. In other words, all of the dissatisfied personnel who answered the
open-ended question articulated something that they would change. In addition,
among the moderately satisfied group, we found greater variety of sources of
dissatisfaction. Across the 83 officers in this category, a total of 24 different
responses were coded, compared with 11 for the 43 highly satisfied and 12 for the
30 unsatisfied officers. Even in considering the larger number of officers in the
moderate group, when we compare Table 5 with Table 4, the 85 officers noted
just 14 dimensions of what they liked best about their jobs. This suggests a wider
dispersion of sources of dissatisfaction (vs. satisfaction) among a potentially
70 Police Quarterly 23(1)

vulnerable group of occupational members. If the moderately satisfied officers
are “wobblers” who could eventually fall in among their dissatisfied peers,
supervisors and top managers would be wise to strategically enhance the aspects
of the work environment that matter most in keeping these ambivalent officers
happy in the job.
Discussion
The goal of the current study was to add to the existing empirical literature on
police job satisfaction. We used multivariate analyses to model predictors of job
Table 5. What Officers Would Change About Their Jobs Across Levels of Satisfaction.
Response
Highly satisfied
percentage
(Ranking)
N¼43
Moderately
satisfied
percentage
(Ranking)
N¼83
Unsatisfied
percentage
(Ranking)
N¼30
Equipment/uniforms/cars 27.3 (1) 14.5 (2) 16.7 (1)
Public perception/scrutiny/trust/
respect/collaboration
22.7 (2) 15.7 (1) 10.0 (3)
Upper management 15.9 (3) 8.4 (3) 10.0 (3)
Pay/benefits/retirement/pension 6.8 (4) 6.0 (5) 16.7 (1)
Nothing/not applicable/don’t know 4.5 (6) 8.4 (3) -
Politics/local government 2.3 (9) 4.8 (7) 10.0 (3)
Expansive role/an inability to
focus on crime
2.3 (9) 3.6 (9) 10.0 (3)
Organizational equity/
transparency/fairness
6.8 (4) 3.6 (9) -
Promotional process 4.5 (6) 2.4 (12) 3.3 (9)
Media - 6.0 (5)
-Increase staff 2.3 (9) 1.2 (16) 6.7 (7)
Training - 4.8 (7) -
Punish criminals/criminal justice system - 1.2 (16) 6.7 (7)
Current assignment - 2.4 (12) 3.3 (9)
Organizational rumors/gossip/ politics - 3.6 (9) -
Supervisors’/communication/support 4.5 (6) 1.2 (16) -
Shift system - 1.2 (16) 3.3 (9)
Reduced workload - 1.2 (16) 3.3 (9)
Pressure to produce/paperwork - 2.4 (12) -
Morale - 2.4 (12) -
Safety - 1.2 (16) -
Recognition of good work - 1.2 (16) -
New officer socialization - 1.2 (16) -
The survey - 1.2 (16) -
Paoline and Gau 71

satisfaction across three dimensions of work-related attitudes. Our findings illus-
trate a number of statistically significant effects. In particular, officers with
higher levels of stress and cynicism were less satisfied with their jobs.
Conversely, respondents who assessed their job as dangerous and believed
that police effectively deter criminal activity experienced higher levels of job
satisfaction. Finally, while supervisor support was not statistically related to
job satisfaction for the full sample, it was the most powerful correlate for
those with frequent contacts with citizens.
The qualitative analyses provided additional insight into police job satisfac-
tion. Open-ended survey questions offer an opportunity to examine facets of job
satisfaction that closed-ended questions might miss (Mossholder, Settoon,
Harris, & Armenakis, 1995). For the current study, qualitative analyses
helped disentangle intrinsic and extrinsic dimensions of the job that assist in
understanding the variation in occupational satisfaction. Our findings, in many
ways, comport with Herzberg’s (1968) claim that “the factors involved in pro-
ducing job satisfaction (and motivation) are separate and distinct from the
factors that lead to job dissatisfaction” (p. 56). Interestingly, the top-cited pos-
itive feature, across all levels of job satisfaction, was an intrinsic motivating
factor—“helping people.” Many officers, regardless of job satisfaction level,
also noted “the people they worked with” as what they liked best about their
jobs. In this sense, the camaraderie and cohesion noted by traditional accounts
of police culture are salient positive characteristics of being a police officer
(Paoline, 2003). At the same time, we found that unsatisfied officers valued
extrinsic conditions (i.e., pay/benefits/retirement/pension) more than their mod-
erately or highly satisfied peers did.
When respondents were queried regarding what they would change about
their job if they could, we found extrinsic factors of “equipment/uniforms/cars”
as primary sources of dissatisfaction, across all groups of officers. We also found
discontent across groups of satisfaction levels with respect to intrinsically moti-
vating factors related to the public (i.e., perception/scrutiny/trust/respect/collab-
oration). The “inability to concentrate on crime/the expansive role of police” (an
intrinsic factor) was also a negative feature of the occupation for the unsatisfied,
although much less of a concern for moderately and highly satisfied police. This
finding corroborates Herzberg’s (1968) assertion that the factors which produce
satisfaction are different from those that generate dissatisfaction. Contrary to
his claims though, for those who were most dissatisfied, was the finding that
“pay/benefits/retirement/pension” was both an important positive feature of the
occupation as well as a primary negative one.
The results of the current inquiry have implications for police practice, espe-
cially for police managers concerned about the organizational dynamics of their
agencies. Specifically, our multivariate analyses revealed that for officers with
street-level assignments, supervisor support is a major source of job satisfaction,
and, conversely, the lack of support is associated with dissatisfaction. With this
72 Police Quarterly 23(1)

in mind, leaders interested in the satisfaction of their rank and file should be
mindful of applicants’ leadership and mentoring skills when they make promo-
tion decisions. Once promoted, supervisors should be monitored and evaluated
to ensure that overall organizational morale (Engel, 2001) or subordinate satis-
faction (Ingram & Lee, 2015) is not negatively affected by their style of super-
vision. Along these lines, instituting a corporal rank could serve as a method of
preparing patrol officers to transition into supervisory positions and equip them
with the skills they need to become effective leaders.
The present findings underscore the importance of police leaders endeavoring
to minimize job stress and cynicism as a means of enhancing job satisfaction. We
are not able to discern the sources of officers’ stress and cynicism in the current
study, but previous research suggests that working high-crime beats puts officers
at risk for cynicism (Klinger, 1997) and even misconduct (Kane, 2002). Officers
who appear to be succumbing to the stress of working extremely busy beats
should be rotated to slower beats or placed in a different assignment temporarily
or permanently.
Another finding with relevance to employee retention is the significant
number of officers in this study who fell into the middle of the job satisfaction
scale. These “wobblers” might be vulnerable to the negative influences of dis-
satisfied or cynical officers (see Paoline & Terrill, 2014). Supervisors and top
managers should not assume that moderately satisfied officers will stay that way
long-term—investments need to be made to maintain a positive work climate
that buffers all officers from the morale-dampening impacts of a disgrun-
tled few.
To this same end, the prevalence of intrinsic drive is something police leaders
can capitalize upon. Most officers seem genuinely committed to helping the
public and providing a vital public service; indeed, even officers dissatisfied
with the job in general still commonly cited “helping people” as a positive
attribute of their work. Top managers should implement award and accolade
systems to recognize exemplary efforts. Formal annual awards, informal men-
tions in newsletters, or even private e-mails from the chief applauding someone
for outstanding performance are effective ways to reinforce the intrinsic satis-
faction officers derive from the job.
Relatedly, and positive news for police leaders, many of the noted sources of
frustration are within the control of top managers and supervisors. For example,
extrinsic concerns over equipment, uniforms, and cars are a manageable starting
point for enhancing satisfaction. At the same time, concerns over upper man-
agement, while not something that has an immediate tangible remedy, could be
addressed with subtle changes in top leadership style (e.g., transparency in
decision-making, organizational justice for behavioral transgressions, monthly
street-level tours of duty).
In further addressing the satisfaction of their employees, commanders in
charge of work assignments could selectively assign less satisfied personnel
Paoline and Gau 73

with highly satisfied ones. By altering the workgroup, and thus socialization
patterns, management could potentially achieve desirable outcomes. Recent
empirical work on police workgroups (Ingram et al., 2013; Ingram, Terrill, &
Paoline, 2018) has illuminated the cultural homogeneity of attitudes within the
primary workgroup (and differences across), which also impacts street-level
behavior (i.e., generation of complaints and the application of force) within
this immediate and proximal organizational context. That being said, altering
workgroup membership would require monitoring to ensure that less satisfied
officers do not negatively affect their satisfied peers. Monitoring could be done
in the form of systematic administration of employee satisfaction surveys, like
the one conducted here. This, inexpensive organizational assessment, would not
only assist in understanding potential shifts toward dissatisfaction but would
help document what is working.
While the current study adds to the research on officer job satisfaction, it is
not without limitations. It is our hope that future empirical studies can expand
on the work presented here and address the following shortcomings. First, the
findings of our study are from one medium-sized, southern, municipal police
agency. While departments like the one examined here represent the modal size
of agencies nationwide (Reaves, 2015), the extent to which our results would
generalize to agencies of varying sizes and locales is unknown. Future research
on the causes and consequences of job satisfaction would benefit from multi-
agency examinations across a variety of organizational contexts.
Second, while the population of officers studied here represent various levels
of satisfied (and unsatisfied) personnel, all chose to stay employed with the
police department. That is, like other research in this area, we did not capture
the occupational assessments from those who left the organization or occupa-
tion. In-depth interviews with officers who previously left one agency for anoth-
er or with former officers who left the occupation entirely would enrich the
scholarly understanding of job satisfaction and aid police organizations in man-
aging turnover. The examination of turnover might also illuminate the extent to
which job dissatisfaction was the driving force in the decision to leave. For
example, events such as family commitments, better financial opportunities, or
medical conditions might intercede and take perfectly satisfied police from
the occupation.
Another avenue for future research relates to our open-ended measures of
positive and negative occupational assessments. While we were able to capture
what officers liked best about their jobs and the one thing they would change, there
are likely additional aspects of policing that cumulatively add to satisfaction and
dissatisfaction. In-depth qualitative interviews would assist in this area.
Researchers could examine the extent to which multiple aspects of policing
additively produce or erode satisfaction. Qualitative interviews would also
assist in further explaining the “why” in our multivariate findings.
74 Police Quarterly 23(1)

In closing, the current study found that work-related attitudes matter in
predicting job satisfaction of police. We also found that there were similarities,
as well as important differences, in the positive and negative features of the job
across levels of job satisfaction. It should be encouraging to know for police
leaders, researchers, and observers that police officers as a group are generally
satisfied with their job (i.e., only 5.3% were unsatisfied), and more importantly,
the most frequently cited response regarding what is liked best about the police
occupation (irrespective of satisfaction level) was the ability to help people. This
is especially important given much of the public scrutiny and police suspicion
that has been highlighted in a post-Ferguson era of policing. The present find-
ings offer insight into how police leaders might effectively recruit a diverse,
talented workforce and retain those officers once hired.
Appendix A
Table A1. Scale Items and Exploratory Factor Analysis Loadings.
Scale and items Loading
Job satisfaction
I find real enjoyment in my job. .816
I would not consider taking another job. .710
I like my job better than the average police officer does. .793
Top management support
When an officer does a particularly good job, top management will publicly
recognize his or her performance.
.864
When an officer gets written up for rule violations, he or she will be treated
fairly by top management.
.809
When an officer contributes to a team effort rather than look good indi-
vidually, top management here will recognize it.
.916
Supervisor support
My supervisor looks out for the personal welfare of his or her subordinates. .801
My supervisor’s approach tends to discourage me from giving extra effort.
(reverse coded)
.764
My supervisor will support me when I am right, even if it makes things difficult
for him or her.
.781
The decisions or judgments I make are seldom criticized or modified by
my supervisor.
.464
My supervisor lets officers know what is expected of them. .821
I have complete faith in my supervisor. .885
Stress
I am usually under a lot of pressure when I am at work. .714
A lot of time my job makes me very frustrated or angry. .776
(continued)
Paoline and Gau 75

Table A1. Continued.
Scale and items Loading
When I am at work, I often feel tense or uptight. .848
Citizen treatment of police
When XXPD police officers issue formal orders directly to citizens, those
citizens comply.
.731
Citizens accept the decisions of XXPD officers even if those citizens do not
like the outcomes.
.740
Citizens believe that complying withXXPD officers is the right thing to do. .824
Citizens trust that XXPD officers genuinely act in the best interests of
the community.
.769
Citizens treat XXPD officers with respect. .799
Citizens show deference to the authority of XXPD officers. .553
Cynicism
Most citizens who call the police for help have real problems that need police
attention (reverse coded).
.727
Many citizens who are victims of crime bring it upon themselves. .679
Citizens call the police for too many noncrime matters that they should
handle themselves instead of involving police.
.653
In general, when I answer a call for service, I believe I am truly helping
someone (reverse coded).
.717
Danger
My job is a lot more dangerous than other kinds of jobs. .638
In my job, a person stands a good chance of getting hurt. .827
A lot of people I work with get physically injured in the line of duty. .605
Procedural justice
Officers in my department treat citizens with respect. .822
Officers in my department treat citizens fairly. .826
Officers in my department take time to listen to citizens. .738
Officers in my department make decisions based on facts and law, not on
their personal opinions.
.776
Officers in my department explain their decisions to citizens. .616
Officers in my department are often rude or discourteous to citizens
(reverse coded).
.595
Officers in my department protect citizens’ basic rights. .691
76 Police Quarterly 23(1)

Appendix B
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publica-
tion of this article.
ORCID iD
Eugene A. Paoline III https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9483-8629
Table B1. Regression Model Results With Demographics.
Full sample Street-level assignment
b(SE)bb(SE)b
Predictor
Organizational climate
Top management support .079 (.072) .093 .016 (.079) .020
Supervisor support .045 (.047) .074 .240*** (.063) .331
Stress –.352*** (.081) –.355 –.368*** (.089) –.368
External work environment
Citizen treatment of police –.035 (.048) –.058 –.027 (.053) –.044
Cynicism –.119 (.079) –.124 –.170* (.086) –.183
Danger .294* (.115) .203 .279* (.125) .189
Police fairness and effectiveness
Procedural justice .027 (.052) .039 .019 (.058) .027
Crime control –.182 (.180) –.083 –.429* (.187) –.205
Deterrence .474* (.214) .187 .907*** (.242) .341
Male –.332 (.399) –.060 –.287 (.452) –.050
Race (White ref.)
Black –.142 (.476) –.024 –.519 (.493) –.092
Latino .139 (.401) .026 –.018 (.458) –.003
Other –.300 (.699) –.031 –.787 (.747) –.080
Education (BA or more) –.233 (.284) –.060 .242 (.310) .061
Patrol rank –.232 (.346) –.050 –.734 (.454) –.128
Constant 8.070** (2.272)
F¼3.132*** F¼5.036***
R
2
¼.227 R
2
¼.416
n¼176 n¼122
*p<.05. **p<.01. ***p<.001.
Paoline and Gau 77

Notes
1. Specifically, the agency employs 221 officers at the patrol rank, 36 sergeants, and 14
lieutenants. In terms of command staff, there were seven captains, two assistant chiefs,
and one chief.
2. The low alpha in the present study is similar to the alpha in danger scales used in past
research (Paoline & Gau, 2018; Terrill & Paoline, 2013). None of the three items in the
scale was demonstrably problematic in dragging the alpha down. Nonetheless, sup-
plementary analyses were examined. All regression models were run using a two-item
version of the scale as well as individual items instead of the entire scale. Results varied
and were inconsistent across items and across groups (full sample vs. street level). As a
result, we decided to retain the three-item scale, with the acknowledgment of the low
internal consistency of the items.
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Author Biographies
Eugene A. Paoline III is a professor and graduate director in the Department of
Criminal Justice at the University of Central Florida. His research interests
include police culture, police use of force, and occupational attitudes of criminal
justice practitioners. Dr. Paoline is the author of Rethinking Police Culture
(LFB Scholarly Publishing) and Police Culture: Adapting to the Strains of the
Job (Carolina Academic Press).
Jacinta M. Gau, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Criminal
Justice at the University of Central Florida. Her research expertise is in policing,
with an emphasis on police–community relations, race, procedural justice and
police legitimacy, and policing innovations. Dr. Gau has published numerous
articles in peer-reviewed journals and is the author of Criminal Justice Policy:
Origins and Effectiveness (Oxford University Press) and Statistics for
Criminology and Criminal Justice (SAGE Publications). She is also the editor
of the peer-reviewed journal Race and Justice.
Paoline and Gau 81