Reasons for choosing a police career: changes over two decades Pamela F. Foley, Cristina Guarneri and Mary E. Kelly All authors may be contacted at Seton Hall University, 400 South Orange Avenue, South Orange, NJ, USA. Tel: +1 973 275 2742; Fax: +1 973 275 2188; email: foleypam@shu.edu Received 11 September 2006; accepted 11 January 2007 Keywords: police recruiting, police careers, choosing a police career Pamela F. Foley (corresponding author) holds a PhD in counselling psychology, and she is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pro- fessional Psychology and Family Therapy at Seton Hall University, where she directs courses in research, statistics, and career theory. She has worked in clinical practice with police and other emergency personnel, and serves as a consult- ing psychologist to local emergency service agencies. Cristina Guarneri holds a master’s degree in both counselling and psychology. She is cur- rently a doctoral student at Seton Hall University, and Discipline Vice Principal for Washington Park School in Totowa, NJ. She has published and presented in the areas of corrections and crim- inal justice, and she is the director of the Engine 9 Foundation for Professional Firefighters. Mary E. Kelly holds a master’s degree in both business administration and psychology, and she is currently a doctoral student at Seton Hall University. Her research interests include career choice and career satisfaction for individuals in service occupations. ABSTRACT In recent years, police officers in the US have been under increased public scrutiny, which may have affected both the public perception of the police as well as the desire of individuals to choose a career in law enforcement. In particular, many police departments have been criticised for their treatment of racial and ethnic minorities. This study compared responses of 131 police recruits and graduates with the results of a study with an earlier cohort of this population con- ducted in 1983. The goals of the present study were (a) to determine whether the relative import- ance of reported reasons for choosing a police career had changed; (b) to evaluate how demo- graphic variables may play a role in career choice; and (c) to replicate the factor structure of the original questionnaire to assess its ongoing utility. Results indicated that the relative importance of reasons changed slightly, with small but sig- nificant differences for women and minorities. The factor structure of the original study was essen- tially replicated, indicating that the factors motiv- ating individuals to seek a police career have remained stable over time. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for career counsellors working with individuals considering a career in police work. INTRODUCTION Police officers constitute a growing propor- tion of the workforce in the United States, making this field an important area for career counsellors to understand. According to the US Labor Department (2005), about 625,000 individuals were employed as police officers in 2002, comprising approx- imately 0.4 per cent of the total workforce. Further, the US Labor Department projects that the number of police officers will increase by 24.6 per cent by the year 2012, International Journal of Police Science and Management, Vol. 10 No. 1, 2008, pp. 2–8. DOI: 10.1350/ijpsm.2008.10.1.59 International Journal of Police Science & Management Volume 10 Number 1 Page 2