Pay, Pensions, or Protections? What Really Attracts the Next Generation of Police Recruits
Abstract
Increasing starting salary is a highly effective tool for attracting more college students to policing, but its persuasive power diminishes at salaries above approximately $106,000. Pensions and retirement benefits are not a strong recruitment incentive for young candidates, likely because they are poorly understood. Agencies must better communicate the significant long-term value of these benefits. Legal protection from lawsuits is an important issue for the most qualified candidates. Policy discussions about removing these protections could severely hamper efforts to recruit top-tier officers.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Policing Practices and Perceptions
Employer Branding and e-HRM
Public Policy and Administration Research
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Applied police briefings :
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 5–7
- Publication date
- 4 February 2026