European Seminars on the Economics of Crime (ESEC)

Growing evidence shows that 1) police officer performance differs by personal characteristics, and 2) many countries are struggling to retain officers. How do different types of officers respond to different retention strategies? We study this using detailed Swedish data that include officers' emotional stability (as measured in military enlistment assessments). Using geographic shocks to outside options, we show that higher relative pay increases retention, but especially so for less emotionally stable officers. Using exogenous manager turnover in the midst of organizational crisis, we show that more stable management also increases retention, particularly for more emotionally stable officers. These results suggest that strategies for increased officer retention can vary in their effects on the composition of the police force.