Voluntary turnover of field operations officers: A test of confluency theory

This article explores classic and contemporary explanations for voluntary police turnover in one of the largest police departments in, the Southeast-the Birmingham (Alabama) Police Department (BPD). It specifically tests confluency theory and eight variables associated with jab satisfaction as predictors of turnover among field operations officers. Confluency theory, an untested theory, attributes police turnover to an absence of preemployment job awareness and to incongruencies between job expectations and job realities. Results from a survey of 232 current officers and 60 former officers disagreed with conventional wisdom and the majority of turnover research findings. Former BPD officers were generally more satisfied with their jobs in BPD than current officers. Logistic regression further indicated that confluency theory and the job satisfaction variables investigated are poor predictors of field operations officers who leave the BPD. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.