Across the United States, law enforcement agencies are confronting a staffing challenge that feels both urgent and enduring. Vacancies remain high, experienced officers are leaving earlier than expected, and agencies are under increasing pressure to maintain public safety with fewer people and fewer margins for error.
Recruitment pipelines fluctuate, but retention has emerged as the more stubborn problem. Officers are not only asking whether they want to join the profession. They’re asking whether they want to stay.
Much of the public conversation around police staffing focuses on external factors such as pay, benefits, work schedules, and public scrutiny. These factors certainly matter. But research increasingly shows that what happens inside an agency—organizational culture, leadership practices, and other day-to-day realities for officers on the beat—plays a decisive role in shaping recruitment and retention outcomes (Hoogesteyn, 2025; Davies, 2024; Tyson, 2023). In other words, staffing is as much a leadership issue as a workforce issue.
This month’s InFocus blog examines what the research tells us about the relationship between leadership culture and police staffing, where important gaps in the evidence still remain, and how the National Policing Institute (NPI) is helping agencies move beyond short-term fixes toward sustainable, evidence-based solutions.
The Big Picture
Staffing shortages aren’t new, but they have become more pronounced and persistent in recent years (Hoogesteyn, 2025). Agencies report difficulty replacing retiring officers, backfilling resignations, and maintaining adequate staffing levels throughout their departments (Wojslawowicz, 2024). High turnover carries tangible costs, including increased overtime, reduced supervision, and diminished institutional knowledge. Over time, these pressures can affect officer safety and community trust and they diminish your department’s ability to effectively serve the community.
While recruitment receives much of the attention, research suggests that retention deserves equal—if not greater—focus (Wilson, 2023, PERF, 2023). Replacing an experienced officer is expensive and time-consuming, and frequent turnover can destabilize teams and leadership pipelines (Hoogesteyn, 2025). Importantly, many officers who leave do not cite a single incident or external factor as the reason. Instead, they point to cumulative organizational stress, lack of support, or dissatisfaction with leadership.
NPI’s research shows that leadership culture is one of the strongest determinants of officer well-being and retention. How leaders supervise, communicate expectations, and invite officer input strongly influence job satisfaction and burnout has as much an impact on job satisfaction and burnout as the inherent risks of the profession itself (NPI, 2025). These outcomes reflect leadership choices and organizational culture, not unavoidable features of policing.
What the Research Tells Us About Leadership and Retention
A growing body of research from NPI and other research institutions underscores the importance of leadership culture in shaping officer outcomes.
For instance, studies consistently show that officers who perceive their leaders as fair, transparent, and supportive report higher job satisfaction and stronger organizational commitment (Hoogesteyn, 2025). Supervisors who communicate clearly, explain decisions, and involve officers in problem-solving help build trust and legitimacy within the organization (Tyson, 2023). This concept, often referred to as internal procedural justice, mirrors what agencies seek to achieve externally in the communities they serve.
When officers feel a shared sense of purpose and pride in their agency, they’re more likely to remain engaged and invested in their work. A strong organizational identity must be reinforced through everyday leadership behaviors, recognition, and alignment between stated values and actual practices.
Longitudinal research is especially important in this area. Our Behind the Badge project, a multi-year study led by NPI in partnership with George Mason University, is one of the first efforts to systematically follow officers from recruitment through their early careers. This research is beginning to shed light on how leadership experiences, organizational climate, and stress accumulate over time and influence decisions to stay or leave. Early findings reinforce what many practitioners intuitively know: leadership matters most at critical transition points, such as the end of field training, early supervisory interactions, and moments of organizational change.
Where the Gaps Remain
Despite increased attention to staffing, significant gaps persist in the research.
First, while many studies identify factors associated with turnover, fewer rigorously evaluate which retention strategies actually work. Agencies often implement wellness programs, leadership training, or incentive structures without strong evidence of their long-term impact. As RTI International has noted, empirical evaluations of retention interventions remain limited, particularly those that track outcomes over time.
Second, much of the existing research treats staffing as a static issue rather than a dynamic process. Officers’ needs, expectations, and stressors change across their careers. Without longitudinal data, agencies risk applying one-size-fits-all solutions that fail to address when and why officers disengage.
Finally, there’s a gap between research and practice. Even when evidence exists, agencies may lack the tools, data capacity, or external support needed to translate findings into actionable strategies tailored to their organizational context.
How NPI Is Bridging Research and Practice
Addressing these gaps is central to NPI’s mission to advance evidence-based policing and help agencies apply that knowledge in practical, sustainable ways. Through initiatives like Behind the Badge, NPI is building the longitudinal evidence base needed to understand officer career trajectories and organizational influences.
We also provide agencies with applied tools such as workforce wellness and organizational health assessments, which help departments identify internal stressors, leadership challenges, and opportunities for improvement.
NPI’s approach emphasizes independence, rigor, and collaboration. By working alongside agencies, researchers, and policymakers, NPI helps ensure that staffing solutions are grounded in data rather than assumptions, and that leadership interventions are evaluated for effectiveness rather than adopted on faith.
Practical Steps Agencies Can Take Now
While the research continues to evolve, there are concrete steps agencies can take today to strengthen leadership culture and support retention.
- Assess organizational climate regularly. Honest assessment is the foundation of meaningful change. Agencies should use surveys and structured feedback mechanisms to understand how officers experience leadership and workplace culture.
- Invest in frontline supervisors. First-line supervisors have outsized influence on officer morale and retention. Leadership development should emphasize communication, fairness, coaching, and problem-solving—not just technical skills.
- Embed wellness into organizational policy. Wellness initiatives are most effective when they’re integrated into leadership expectations and operational practices, rather than treated as add-ons. This includes addressing workload, providing access to peer and mental health support, and normalizing help-seeking behavior.
- Create opportunities for voice and growth. Officers are more likely to stay when they feel heard and see a future within the organization. Participatory decision-making, mentorship programs, and clear career pathways can strengthen engagement and commitment.
- Use data to guide decisions. Exit interviews, retention metrics, and program evaluations can help agencies identify patterns and test whether interventions are working. Continuous learning should be a core leadership function.
The Bottom Line
Sustainable solutions to recruitment and retention problems require attention to the internal environments officers experience every day. Leadership culture—how leaders communicate, support, and align their organizations—shapes whether officers choose to stay or leave.
By investing in evidence-based leadership practices and organizational health, agencies can move from reactive staffing strategies to proactive workforce development. NPI’s research and applied support help make this shift possible, providing agencies with the tools and insights needed to lead from within.
Strengthening leadership culture isn’t a quick fix. But it’s one of the most powerful levers agencies have to stabilize their workforce and build organizations capable of meeting today’s challenges and tomorrow’s demands.
NPI conducts independent, evidence-based staffing studies to help law enforcement agencies better understand recruitment, retention, and workforce dynamics over time. Connect with our research team to explore how leadership culture, organizational climate, and workforce dynamics influence recruitment and retention in your agency.
Learn more about NPI’s staffing research.
References
Davies, Amanda Jane, Antony Stephenson, Belinda Briggs, and Douglass Allen (2024). “What do we know about key influences on police attrition and retention rates? A literature review 2019–2023.” Policing: An International Journal.
Hoogesteyn, Katherine, Meret S. Hofer, Travis A. Taniguchi, and Jennifer R. Rineer (2025). “Addressing Police Turnover: Challenges, Strategies, and Future Research Directions.” RTI Press.
National Policing Institute (2025). “Harmful Organizational Stress in Policing: Can It Be Prevented or Reduced?” National Policing Institute.
National Policing Institute (2023). “Behind the Badge: Understanding Pathways and Turning Points in Policing Careers.” National Policing Institute.
Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) (2023). “Responding to the Staffing Crisis: Innovations in Recruitment and Retention.” Police Executive Research Forum.
Tyson, Jemma and Sarah Charman (2023). “Leaving the table: Organisational (in)justice and the relationship with police officer retention.” Criminology & Criminal Justice.
Wilson, Jeremy M., Clifford A. Grammich, Terry Cherry, and Anthony Gibson (2023). “Police Retention: A Systematic Review of the Research.” Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice.
Wojslawowicz, Ashleigh N., Jeffrey S. Payne, Anthony Gibson, and W. Terry Cherry (2024). “I really felt wanted’: Police recruitment strategies within a competitive labour market.” Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice.
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