Form seeking function: An exploratory content analysis evaluation of the imagery contained in law enforcement agency police officer recruitment brochures
| Published date | 01 December 2018 |
| Author | Jason R Jolicoeur,Erin Grant |
| DOI | 10.1177/0032258X17740318 |
| Date | 01 December 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Form seeking function:
An exploratory content
analysis evaluation of the
imagery contained in law
enforcement agency police
officer recruitment brochures
Jason R Jolicoeur, PhD and Erin Grant, PhD
Department of Criminal Justice, Washburn University, Topeka,
Kansas, USA
Abstract
The current exploratory study incorporates conceptual content analysis as a means of
examining the imagery contained within a selected sample of police department
recruitment brochures. The study examines the proportional representation of the
different policing styles (watchman, legalistic and service) that were identified by Wilson
(1968) in the recruitment brochure images (n¼62) that were analysed. The results
indicate that the watchman style was most commonly depicted in the recruitment
material images that were included in the study. Additionally, the findings obtained
indicate that the bulk of the remaining images contained in the recruitment brochures
that were examined depicted a legalistic orientation towards policing, rather than one
more aligned with a service orientation. The significance of these findings are examined,
specifically as they relate to the officer hiring and retention issues currently facing the
American law enforcement profession. Additional discussions evaluate how the results
obtained relate to ongoing efforts in many departments to implement a more
community-oriented approach to law enforcement. Limitations of the current study are
identified and discussed and suggestions for future research are advanced.
Keywords
Police recruitment, recru itment materials, communi ty policing, officer selectio n and
retention
Corresponding author:
Jason R Jolicoeur, PhD, Department of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies, Washburn University, 1700 College
Avenue, Benton Hall, #201D, Topeka, KS 66621, USA.
Email: jason.jolicoeur@washburn.edu
The Police Journal:
Theory, Practice and Principles
2018, Vol. 91(4) 339–355
ªThe Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/0032258X17740318
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Introduction
In spite of the increasingly negative portrayal of policing in the media, declining levels
of respect and support for law enforcement officers in some communities, and increased
competition for prospective applicants from employers that oftentimes offer better pay
and benefits, the need that law enforcement agencies have to effectively recruit high-
quality employees remains. The literature surrounding police recruitment suggests that
there may be a need to rebrand departmental recruitment identities in an attempt to
provide those seeking employment with a more realistic and meaningful depiction of
the duties associated with the profession. This is an especially important consideration if
the desire among police agencies and administrators is to define policing along profes-
sional, as opposed to purely occupational lines. While the ongoing discourse related to
police professionalism has continued at an uneven pace for more than the past decade,
there appears to be a growing consensus that certain defining characteristics are associ-
ated with achieving a professional status (Green and Gates, 2014). One of these char-
acteristics pertains to first defining appropriate qualifications for entry into a given field,
followed by the establishment of processes that ensure that prospective employees meet
or exceed any related thresholds (Dive, 2008). Policing is in a somewhat unique position
in this regard, as efforts to professionalise the occupation must account for meeting these
and other characteristics against a continually changing backdrop of community expec-
tations (Green and Gates, 2014).
If law enforcement agencies are to be successful in attracting those seeking employ-
ment in this type of ever-changing and evolving society, efforts to understand and reform
the recruitment process are critical. Done properly, such reforms can result better in law
enforcement agencies becoming better able to identify the proper types of applicants
necessary to support their individualised missions and broader orientations toward the
police function and increasing the likelihood that these individuals will demonstrate an
interest in seeking employment in the policing field. Different types of agencies (urban,
suburban, rural, etc.) and those with different orientations (criminal enforcement, com-
munity engagement, etc.) will require officers with different capacities and outlooks. As
a result, recruiting the right types of potential applicant becomes a critical part of
achieving larger organisational objectives. For the current projects, researchers were
interested in determining which style of policing was most commonly portrayed in the
images contained within police recruitment brochures. Key findings are discussed and
their implications for the police recruitment process are evaluated.
The current study
The current study is part of an ongoing effort by researchers at a Midwestern university
to examine the efficacy of hiring efforts in the law enforcement field. More specifically,
this article examines the significance of recruitment brochures in regard to larger hiring
and retention efforts in local law enforcement agencies. In the state being examined,
there are 371 local and municipal law enforcement agencies in operation. These agencies
employ approximately 11,000 individuals, of whom approximately 7,450 are commis-
sioned law enforcement officers (Reaves, 2011). From this larger population,
340 The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles 91(4)
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