The commitment and satisfaction of lower-ranked police officers: lessons for management

This study reports findings about what factors affect the job commitment and satisfaction of lower-ranked police officers. Over the past decade, there have been significant attempts to reform organisational processes within police services of a number of Western democracies. These reforms have changed the organisational context within which policing takes place and, consequently, the work practices of police officers have changed and, in turn, their commitment and satisfaction may also have been affected. The study used Metcalfe and Dick’s instrument for measuring police commitment and Johlke and Duhan’s instrument for measuring the employees’ satisfaction with communication processes between supervisors and service employees. The findings first suggest a relatively high level of pride in the police service, with reasonable levels of identification with the police service’s goals and increased involvement with rank (from constable to sergeant). On the other hand, there is increasing dissatisfaction with appraisal/promotional procedures and information communication modes as rank increases (from constables to sergeants) and an inverse relationship between rank and organisational commitment overall.