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The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of work characteristics on members’ self‐efficacy and collective efficacy, and the subsequent effect on police officers’ performance.

A multilevel model is adopted to analyze quantitative data obtained by using 812 police officers and 54 chiefs of police stations in Taiwan as the research objects.

The authors found that work characteristics affected members’ self‐efficacy and collective efficacy, which further affected the individual‐ and group‐level performance and the contextual effect of social work characteristics (SWCs) and collective efficacy on self‐efficacy and individual performance. The authors also confirmed the cross‐level moderation of social characteristics on the relationship between motivational work characteristics (MWCs) and self‐efficacy, and between self‐efficacy and individual performance.

A limitation was the characteristics of the sample, which consisted of mostly first‐line uniformed police officers in Taiwan. From the perspective of managerial implications, it is felt that police organizations should beef up the training on police officers’ collective efficacy, such as building group spirit, improving members’ sense of responsibility, and building up trust with the organization.

The findings prove that the study of work design is particularly important for enhancing the management effectiveness of police organization, because it explains the causes of a number of organizational behaviors as well as a number of important results that influence the police organization (e.g. efficacy and performance).

This study explores the impact of work environment, work‐family conflict, and coping mechanisms on physical and psychological stresses of police officers. Using survey data from a large police department located in the New England area, we pay specific attention to analyzing similar and dissimilar results while comparing across gender groups. Our research indicates that for both gender groups, work‐family conflict (spillover) and destructive coping mechanisms are among the strongest and most consistent stressors, regardless of the measures of dependent variable employed (i.e. somatization, anxiety and depression). On the other hand, we also find divergent impact of exposures to negative work environment, camaraderie, and constructive coping mechanisms on different measures of work related stresses across the two gender groups. Implications of these convergent and divergent effects are discussed.

The expansion of part‐time or reduced hours working into skilled, managerial and professional jobs is increasing. This expansion is generally viewed positively. Not only does it herald a change of status for part‐time working but also suggests that organisations are taking Equal Opportunities policies and specifically, family‐friendly policies, seriously. However, the emerging literature in this area suggests that part‐time working within professional roles poses a considerable HRM problem. Using an explicitly pluralistic perspective, this paper presents the results of a case study into the management of part‐time working in a UK police force. It is argued that part‐time working has different meanings for managers and part‐time employees, producing conflicting needs and expectations that are not readily reconcilable. The cultural and institutional factors that reproduce these differences are explored and the implications for human resource management are identified.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a methodology for automatically determining the optimal allocation of police officers in accordance with the division and organization of labor.

The problem is defined as the problem of the goal programming for which the mathematical model of mixed integer programming was developed. In modeling of the scheduling problem the approach police officer/scheme, based on predefined scheduling patterns, was used. The approach is applied to real data of a police station in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This study indicates that the determination of monthly scheduling policemen is complex and challenging problem, which is usually performed without the aid of software (self-rostering), and that it can be significantly facilitated by the introduction of scheduling optimization approach.

The developed mathematical model, in its current form, can directly be applied only to the scheduling of police officers at police stations which have the same or a similar organization of work.

Optimization of scheduling significantly reduces the time to obtain a monthly schedule. In addition, it allows the police stations to experiment with different forms of organization work of police officers and to obtain an optimal schedule for each of them in a short time.

The problem of optimal scheduling of employees is often resolved in other fields. To the authors knowledge, this is the first time that the approach of goal programming is applied in the field of policing.

Since the creation of the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration in 1968 there has been a tremendous amount of research on policing, police officers and police departments in the USA. Most of the studies have focussed on the large municipal police agencies that have large numbers of officers and, presumably, face the greatest problems. This means that small and medium‐sized policing largely has been ignored, or it surfaces as a research topic only periodically. Remedies this by looking at the officers serving in four small city police departments. Considers a single research question: is it who the officers are, or what they do that explains their perceptions of the workplace? Based on 162 questionnaires received from certified police officers in four New Mexico police departments, examines the effects of service, gender and work activities on officers’ perceptions of the workplace and their general work world. Finds that officer perceptions of the work world are related more closely to what they do than who they are. Addresses the practical and policy implications of these findings.

The predominant psychological type among senior police officers is the extraverted‐sensing‐thinking‐judgement type, pragmatic and practical and thus ideally suited to many aspects of police work, according to data presented to 119 Australian senior police officers. The high proportion of extraverted‐thinking‐sensing‐judgement types may explain the common macho‐image of policemen. Low levels of self‐actualisation among police officers may limit honesty, openness, flexibility and concern for the good of the police force and society, as well as contributing to stress, so this aspect must be dealt with.

This exploratory study compared job demands, work attitudes and outcomes, social resources and indicators of burnout and psychological health of male and female police officers in Norway.

Data were collected from 173 male and 48 female police officers using anonymous questionnaires.

Many demographic differences were present in that male officers were older, had longer organizational and job tenure, worked more hours and overtime hours, were more likely to work full‐time, worked in smaller units and were at higher organizational levels. Few differences were found on job demands but male officers experienced more autonomy.

The two groups were generally similar on work attitudes, work and career satisfactions, social resources and psychological health. Female police officers did indicate more psychosomatic symptoms, however. While other studies have reported gender differences, few appeared here.

This research indicates that police forces can create a work environment where males and females are treated similarly.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between police investigators' decision‐making styles, degree of judgmental self‐doubt and work conditions, on the one hand, and their wellbeing, stress, burnout tendency and sleep quality, on the other.

The study concerns investigative police officers (n=203). Decision‐making styles were measured by Scott and Bruce's General Decision Making Style scale (GDMS), and judgmental self‐doubt by Mirels et al.'s Judgmental Self‐Doubt Scale (JSDS). Wellbeing was measured by the Satisfaction With Life scale (SWL), and stress and burnout tendency by the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSQ) and a scale for Performance Based Self‐Esteem (PBS). Questions on sleep quality and work conditions were also used.

High values on the decision‐making styles Avoidant (tries to avoid making decisions) and Dependent (dependent on advice from others before important decisions) were associated with higher PBS, higher PSQ and poorer sleep quality. In addition, the Avoidant style was associated with lower SWL. Both the Dependent and the Avoidant styles were associated with higher influence experienced by others in the investigative work. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that JSDS explained the outcome measures better than the Dependent and the Avoidant decision‐making styles. Gender analyses showed that male investigators showed higher values on Rational decision‐making style (“exhaustive information search” and “logical evaluation of alternatives”) and female investigators higher values on the Dependent decision‐making style. Female investigators also evidenced a higher degree of stress and performance‐based self‐esteem.

The data were collected in a Swedish context and may not be fully generalizable to other countries.

These results suggest the need to individualize training programs that seek to ameliorate stress and burnout.

This paper furthers understanding of the relation between decision‐making styles and wellbeing and stress in police investigators.

The evaluation of emotional management in police environments has impacts on their health and on their interventions (Monier, 2014; Van Hoorebeke, 2003). There are significant costs related to occupational diseases in the police force: absenteeism, turnover, deterioration of the work climate (Al Ali et al., 2012). Considering that policing involves a high level of emotional control and management (Monier, 2014; Al Ali et al., 2012; Dar, 2011) and that no study has yet examined the relationship between police officers’ emotional competencies and their psychological health at work (PHW), the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship and influence of emotional self-efficacy (ESE) on PHW in policing.

PHW results from psychological distress at work (PDW) (irritability, anxiety, disengagement) and psychological well-being at work (PWBW) (social harmony, serenity and commitment at work) (Gilbert et al., 2011). ESE is defined as the individual’s belief in his or her own emotional skills and effectiveness in producing desired results (Bandura, 1997), conceptualized through seven emotional skills: the use of emotions; the perception of one’s own emotions and that of others; the understanding of one’s emotions and that of others; and the management of one’s emotions and that of others (Deschênes et al., 2016). A correlational estimate was used with a sample of 990 employed police officers, 26 percent of whom were under 34 years of age and 74 percent over 35. The ESE scales (a=0.97) of Deschênes et al. (2018) and Gilbert et al. (2011) on PWBW (a=0.91) and PDW (a=0.94) are used to measure the concepts under study.

The results of the regression analyses confirm links between police officers’ emotional skills and PHW. The results show that self-efficacy in managing emotions, self-efficacy in managing emotions that others feel, self-efficacy in using emotions and self-efficacy in understanding emotions partially explain PWBW (R²=0.30, p<0.001). On the other hand, self-efficacy in perceiving the emotions that others feel, self-efficacy in using emotions and self-efficacy in managing emotions partially explain PDW (R²=0.30, p<0.001).

This study provided an understanding of the correlation between police officers’ feelings of ESE and their PHW, particularly with PWBW. Beyond the innovation and theoretical contribution of such a study on the police environment, the results reveal the scope of the consideration of emotional skills in this profession.