Police officer meaning-making through the decision to transfer: an IPA study which explores the lived experiences of police officer turnover.

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20398322

Police recruitment is suffering significantly in many law enforcement organizations across the country and remains one of the most difficult public-sector jobs to staff (PERF, 2019). Police turnover depletes organizations of their financial resources and their officers' institutional, organizational, and community knowledge. However, despite the growing concern associated with police turnover, there is little existing qualitative research regarding why officers voluntarily leave their organizations. (Lynch & Tuckey, 2008; Schuck & Rabe-Hemp, 2018; Wareham et al., 2015). Through the lens of perceived organizational support (POS) theory, this interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) study addressed how police officers made meaning of their decisions to separate and transfer law enforcement agencies voluntarily. This study consisted of open-ended interviews with seven police officers who had recently transferred to the Carlsbad Police Department in California. The results of this study revealed emergent themes of gradual turnover intent, level of agency support, the perceived value of contributions, and professional development as the most significantly associated with turnover intentions. The findings of this study further support the central tenant of POS theory, that employee perceptions of organizational support, the value of their contributions, and care for their well-being are positively related to organizational commitment.