Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-03T08:58:24.301Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Retiring from the police service in England and Wales: a multi-dimensional perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2018

Karen Bullock*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
Jane Fielding
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
Graham Hieke
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]

Abstract

The experiences of police officers who have retired from the police service have rarely comprised the focus of empirical studies in England and Wales. Drawing on the findings of a survey of former police officers, this article examines the circumstances within which officers leave the service and aspects of the transition to retirement. We find that that certain individual, role and organisational factors come together to explain how the transition to retirement is experienced by police officers. We conceptualise police retirement as a multi-dimensional process during which a number of factors may come into play and have different effects depending on the circumstances in which retirement occurs. Findings are considered in light of wider conceptualisations of the process of retirement and implications are discussed.

Type
Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, C and Weber, J (1993) Preretirement planning and perceptions of satisfaction among retirees. Educational Gerontology 19, 397406.Google Scholar
Beehr, TA (1986) The process of retirement: a review and recommendations for future investigation. Personnel Psychology 39, 3156.Google Scholar
Beehr, T (2014) To retire or not to retire: that is not the question. Journal of Organizational Behavior 35, 10931108.Google Scholar
Beehr, T and Adams, G (2003) Introduction and overview of current research and thinking on retirement. In Beehr, T and Adams, G (eds), Retirement: Reasons Processes and Results. New York, NY: Springer, pp. 15.Google Scholar
Beehr, TA and Bennett, MM (2015) Working after retirement: features of bridge employment and research directions. Work, Aging and Retirement 1, 112128.Google Scholar
Blau, J (1993) Social Contracts and Economic Markets. New York, NY: Plenum Press.Google Scholar
Brandl, S and Smith, BW (2012) An empirical examination of retired police officers’ length of retirement and age at death: a research note. Police Quarterly 16, 113123.Google Scholar
Caudill, C and Peak, K (2009 a) Retiring from the ‘thin blue line’: a need for formal preretirement training (Part One). FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 78, 10, 1118.Google Scholar
Caudill, C and Peak, K (2009 b) Retiring from the ‘thin blue line’: a need for formal preretirement training (Part Two). FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 78, 11, 1218.Google Scholar
Charles, D (1971) Effect of participation in a pre-retirement program. The Gerontologist 11, 2428.Google Scholar
Crawford, R and Disney, R (nd) Reform of ill-health retirement of police in England and Wales: impact on pension liabilities and the role of local finance. Institute for Fiscal Studies, Working Paper W13/06. Available at https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/6660.Google Scholar
Fielding, N, Bullock, K, Earthy, S, Fielding, J, Garland, J and Hieke, G. (2016) Injury on Duty Project: Former Officers Final Report. https://www.pdtrust.org/research/injury-on-duty/ (30/7/2018).Google Scholar
Flynn, M (2011) Mandatory retirement in the police service. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management 34, 6782.Google Scholar
Forcese, D and Cooper, J (1985) Police retirement: career succession or obsolesce? Canadian Police College Journal. Available at https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=101317.Google Scholar
Glamser, F (1981) The impact of preretirement programs on the retirement experience. Journal of Gerontology 36, 244250.Google Scholar
Glamser, F and DeJong, G (1975) The efficacy of preretirement preparation programs for industrial workers. Journal of Gerontology 30, 595600.Google Scholar
Hill, S, Snell, A and Sterns, H (2015) Career influences in bridge employment among retired police officers. International Journal of Aging and Human Development 8, 101119.Google Scholar
HM Treasury (2010) Spending Review 2010. Cm 7942. London: HM Treasury. Available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/203826/Spending_review_2010.pdf.Google Scholar
HM Treasury (2011) Independent Public Sector Pensions Commission: Final Report. London: HM Treasury. Available at http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/hutton_final_100311.pdf.Google Scholar
Kamouri, A and Cavanaugh, J (1986) The impact of preretirement education programmes on workers’ preretirement socialization. Journal of Occupational Behaviour 7, 245256.Google Scholar
Patterson, M, Poole, D, Trew, K and Harkin, N (2001) The psychological and physical health of police officers retired recently from the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Irish Journal of Psychology 22, 127.Google Scholar
Rehm, B (1996) Retirement: a new chapter not the end of the story. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 65, 6, 611.Google Scholar
Reiner, R (2010) The Politics of the Police. Oxford: OPU.Google Scholar
Ruiz, J and Morrow, E (2005) Retiring the old centurion: life after a career in policing – an exploratory study. International Journal of Public Administration 28, 11511186.Google Scholar
Shultz, K and Wang, M (2011) Psychological perspective on the changing nature of retirement. American Psychologist 66, 170179.Google Scholar
Szinovacz, M (2003) Contexts and pathways. In Beehr, T and Adams, G (eds) Retirement: Reasons Processes and Results. New York, NY: Springer, pp. 652.Google Scholar
Violanti, J (1990) Police retirement: the impact of change. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 59, 3, 1215.Google Scholar
Wang, M and Shi, J (2014) Psychological research on retirement. Annual Review of Psychology 65, 209233.Google Scholar
Wang, M and Shultz, K (2010) Employee retirement: a review and recommendations for future investigation. Journal of Management 36, 172206.Google Scholar
Winsor, T (2011) Independent Review of Police Officer and Staff. Remuneration and Conditions, Part 1 Report. Cm 8024. London: Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Winsor, T (2012) Independent Review of Police Officer and Staff. Remuneration and Conditions, Final Report. Cm 8325. London: Stationery Office.Google Scholar