Is the force still with you? Measuring police commitment

There have been few studies that have explored commitment among police officers in the UK. Our research aims to fill a gap in the police commitment literature. Using survey data (100 per cent population = 3,828) the paper analyses the extent to which organisational commitment is shaped by: employees’ experiences of the level of management support, organisation support and performance appraisal. The commitment measure we use is derived from the real life HR concerns of the participating police organisation ForceCo. Results show that these factors strongly influence commitment at all ranks. Key new findings reveal that the level of commitment varies according to position in the hierarchy, and police commitment increases with tenure. The paper discusses the limitations in management style and personnel procedures and suggests ForceCo needs to re‐evaluate existing systems.