Original Research Article

International Journal of
Police Science & Management
How do law enforcement agencies recruit 2023, Vol. 25(4) 500–515
© The Author(s) 2023

diverse applicants? Analysis of digital Article reuse guidelines:

recruiting materials sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/14613557231185661
journals.sagepub.com/home/psm

Jennifer R Rineer
RTI International, USA

Travis A Taniguchi
National Policing Institute, USA

Brian Aagaard
RTI International, USA

Julia Brinton
RTI International, USA

Sarah E Duhart-Clarke
RTI International, USA

Paige Presler-Jur
RTI International, USA

Sean Wire
RTI International, USA

Abstract
Law enforcement agencies across the country are struggling to recruit qualified candidates and this problem is pronounced
when recruiting demographically diverse officers. Women demonstrate competencies important for effective policing:
restoring trust in police, obtaining high case clearance rates, and using less force. The goal of this study was to understand
how agencies use online recruiting materials to recruit women officers. We assessed the frequency of text, images, and vid-
eos depicting women and racially and ethnically diverse individuals, and content related to hiring and the job itself. We con-
ducted thematic analysis to understand how policing, the agency, and diversity were portrayed. Characteristics known to
discourage women applicants were highlighted prominently in materials. Agencies did not provide consistent messaging
about diversity, resources for women, or support for work–life balance. We found differences between agencies with higher
and lower percentages of women, but they were inconsistent and often in unexpected directions.

Keywords
Recruiting, diversity and inclusion, women in policing, police agency staffing, content analysis

Submitted 5 Dec 2022, Revise received 11 Apr 2023, accepted 13 Jun 2023

Corresponding author:
Jennifer R Rineer, PhD, RTI International, 3040 E Cornwallis Rd., Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
Email: jrineer@rti.org
Rineer et al.
Introduction
Women demonstrate competencies that are important for
effective policing. Female officers can restore trust in the
police (Barnes et al., 2018), use less physical force
(Bolger, 2015), and have been associated with higher
reporting and clearance rates for rape cases (Schuck,
2018). Greater representation of women in sworn positions
ensures that law enforcement agencies (LEAs) more closely
reflect the demographics of the communities they serve.
The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing
recommended that LEAs strive to create a workforce that
contains a broad range of diversity along race, gender, lan-
guage, life experience, and cultural backgrounds to improve
understanding and effectiveness in dealing with all commu-
nities (COPS Office, 2015).
Despite these identified benefits, representation of
women in law enforcement has lagged behind that of
other historically underrepresented demographic groups.
For example, although racial and ethnic minority represen-
tation reached 27% (of sworn officers) by 2013, women’s
representation had still only reached 12%. Title VII of the
Civil Rights Act prohibits selection based on sex; LEAs
cannot hire women simply because they are women. Yet,
researchers and practitioners have argued that agencies
should conduct women-specific recruiting efforts and
create work practices and experiences that are attractive
to, and supportive of, women (Bergman et al., 2016).
Policing services in other countries have found more
success in improving representativeness among sworn offi-
cers. The Australian Federal Police achieved sworn staffing
of 22% women in 2021 (a 2% increase since 2016) and has
set a goal of 30% by 2028 (Australian Federal Police,
2021). Among Australian state and territorial police agen-
cies, 27.3% of sworn police staff were female (2021–
2022) ranging from 22% to 34% (Australian Government
Productivity Commission, 2023). In Canada in 2021, 22%
of officers were women (Canadian Centre for Justice and
Community Safety Statistics, 2022). This proportion had
increased since data collection began in 1986 but has
been relatively stable over the past few years (Conor
et al., 2020; Perrott, 2023). In 2022, the 43 police forces
in England and Wales achieved nearly 35% representation
of women in sworn positions (Home Office, 2022).
Beyond failures to attract diverse candidates, law
enforcement has experienced significant challenges with
all recruiting in recent years. Larger LEAs across the US
and in other countries report staffing shortages that have
prevented them from achieving authorized strength [e.g.,
San Francisco Police Department (Shanks, 2023),
Pittsburgh Police Department (Vellucci, 2023), Phoenix
Police Department (Golightly, 2023), territorial police
forces throughout the UK (The Crime Report, 2021), and
501
the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; Cottrill,
2017)]. The reasons for these staffing shortfalls vary; it
has been associated with heightened levels of police–com-
munity tensions in light of high-profile examples of police
abuse of authority (Morrow et al., 2019), competitive job
markets (Copeland et al., 2022), and person characteristics
correlated with demographic cohorts (especially millennials
and later) (Langham, 2017). Given the general, and gender-
specific, struggle to recruit qualified candidates, LEAs need a
better evidence base to identify effective recruiting strategies.
Recruitment theories: Signaling and uncertainty
reduction
This research was guided by two theories that help to
explain why public-facing recruiting material is so critical
to recruiting women into policing. First, signaling theory
(Rynes, 1991; Spence, 1973) explains how information
affects applicant attraction to recruiting organizations.
People make job choices based on imperfect information;
job seekers have limited knowledge of an organization
and job until they are hired and fill the position. Once
employed, it can still take time to fully understand an orga-
nization’s culture, policy and practices, norms, and expecta-
tions and even long-tenured employees may not be privy to
all aspects of an organization or organizational decision-
making. Instead, potential applicants must use observable
information as signals of unobservable organizational char-
acteristics. Within the context of the current study, job
seekers must infer what a job and organization are like
based on the limited information available to them
through channels such as websites, social media, and per-
sonal contacts. Recruitment materials may have stronger
signaling value for people with less pre-existing informa-
tion about the organization.
Second, uncertainty reduction theory (URT; Berger and
Calabrese, 1975), provides an additional framework for
how organizational messaging may impact a person’s
journey to application. Like signaling theory, URT also
assumes that a person first assesses potential person–organ-
ization fit based on visible characteristics of an agency
(McCarthy et al., 2018; Ployhart et al., 2017). URT elabo-
rates on this by describing three different stages of an appli-
cant: a prospective applicant’s journey to a career begins
with general interests based on externally observable char-
acteristics of an organization (the entry phase); transitions
to directly learning more about an organization’s values,
beliefs, and attitudes (personal contact); and resolves in
an applicant’s decision to apply (or not) (exiting from the
application process).
Signaling and uncertainty reduction theories were estab-
lished decades ago, but have continued to be supported in
502
research (Karasek and Bryant, 2012; Pagliaro et al., 2018;
Swider et al., 2022). Their tenets and application to recruit-
ing are straightforward. People seek to make informed deci-
sions about career options but prospective applicants can
only use the information they have access to, and that infor-
mation signals what the job and organization would be like.
Individuals seek to engage with entities where people like
themselves are accepted and valued. If initial signals
suggest potential inclusion and belonging, prospective
applicants will seek additional information and consider
applying. If organizations do not affirm prospective appli-
cants’ identities and align with their values, their recruit-
ment effort will suffer. URT suggests that public-facing
recruiting contact should provide enough information to
move people past the entry phase and streamline the acces-
sibility of people that can facilitate the personal contact
phase (e.g., talking to a recruiter).
Police recruitment strategies
Despite the known benefits of increasing the prevalence of
women in policing (Barnes et al., 2018; Bolger, 2015), there
is little research that agencies can use to develop evidence-
based practices to improve recruitment efforts. This is
unfortunate because research has shown that online recruit-
ment materials matter to potential applicants. One study
found that online recruiting materials were the second
most influential factor in the decision to undertake a
career in policing (second only to friends or family with a
policing background; Castaneda and Ridgeway, 2010).
Limited empirical evidence is available to support the
strategies that agencies use to reflect the various dimensions
of a law enforcement career or how messaging strategies are
optimized for different stakeholders. Among the few
studies, Aiello (2020) examined recruitment materials
from 131 US police agencies and found that agencies
with higher representation of sworn women officers in the
past were significantly more likely to rely on service or
community-oriented policing language in their recruitment
materials.
Only one study has sought to test empirically the
impact of different recruitment messaging commonly used
by agencies. Linos (2018) conducted a field study to
examine the effect of different messaging strategies, includ-
ing appealing to the challenge, service to the community,
and long-term career security, on application decisions.
Linos found that emphasizing the challenge of becoming
a police officer and the long-term career benefits were
each three times more effective at enticing applicants com-
pared with receiving no message at all. The least effective
was messaging around service to the community; it was
no different from receiving no message. Although women
were overall less likely to apply for a position, results
International Journal of Police Science & Management 25(4)
suggested that the likelihood of applying was greater
when presented with a challenge and career security
message in comparison with a call to service message.
Short-form recruiting videos (such as those that make up
the core content of TikTok and Instagram Reels) have
become popular, but only one study has explored the
content of these videos used for law enforcement recruit-
ment (Koslicki, 2021). Community-oriented themes (e.g.,
statements on the value of community-oriented policing,
non-motor vehicle patrols) were found to be more prevalent
than militarized themes (e.g., military-style vehicles and
weaponry) but examples that almost entirely focused on
one theme or the other were found. Among all videos,
85% featured women officers but videos were less likely
to be narrated by a woman (7% versus 27% narrated by a
male voice) or show a female officer being interviewed
(37% versus 49% featuring a male officer).
Besides strategies used in advertising, job descriptions
can also have a significant impact on applicant decision-
making. For women, a job description that confirms pre-
existing beliefs in a male-dominated career may deter
attempts to enter that career (Gaucher et al., 2011).
According to Milgram (2002), police agencies must coun-
teract the strong negative messages women receive about
law enforcement careers with strong, positive messages.
This suggests that LEAs must be proactive and deliberate
about efforts to recruit diverse candidates and that these
efforts must address a variety of different channels and
concerns.
Looking outside the US, few studies have empirically
tested novel recruitment strategies. For the UK police
forces, researchers tested the impact of changing messages
used to invite people to participate in parts of the screening
process. They found that altering messaging could reduce
racial disparities among those that dropped out of the appli-
cation process (Linos et al., 2017). In Australia, several
state, federal, and territorial agencies adopted explicit
goals of achieving 50:50 representation among recruits.
Agencies that had adopted these policies appeared to have
closed the gender gap in recruits, but a lack of data pre-
vented more causal inferences (Ward et al., 2020).
Agencies have also adopted novel strategies that have
yet to be evaluated. The Western Australia Police created
a TikTok video that went viral (Hampton, 2022). The
South Australia Police created a campaign named
“Calling All” that focused on encouraging diverse candi-
date applicants and focused on the rewarding and engaging
nature of policing careers (South Australia Police
Force, n.d.). The Saskatchewan RCMP established an
Indigenous Recruiting Unit to enhance recruiting efforts
in historically underrepresented Indigenous communities
(Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 2023). The UK estab-
lished the National Policing Board1 to support its Police
Rineer et al. 503

Uplift programme (Williams and Sondhi, 2022) designed to
hire 20,000 new officers in three years (Craig, 2019).
Purpose of the study and research questions
Despite knowledge about barriers to entry into a policing
career, little is known about the content and messaging that
agencies are currently using across their websites and social
media accounts. This study contributes to the existing litera-
ture by quantifying and describing current practices used by
a sample of LEAs, identifying limitations in current recruit-
ment materials, and providing recommendations to align
current practices with evidence-based practices. To do so,
we set out to answer the following questions:
1. How is diversity portrayed and described in agency
recruiting materials?
2. How do agencies address barriers and facilitate
entry into law enforcement careers?
3. What themes do agencies use to describe a career in
law enforcement?
4. How do the above characteristics differ between
agencies employing relatively more and less women?
To answer these questions, we conducted a content analysis
of online hiring materials from a set of purposively selected
agencies that varied along location, agency type and size,
and proportion of female officers.
Research methods and data
LEAs that participated in the 2016 Law Enforcement
Management and Administrative Statistics survey served
as the sampling frame. Agencies were stratified into
higher and lower proportion of female sworn officers.
Agencies from these two groups were then purposively
selected based on the overall number of sworn staff,
region of the country, and agency type (sheriff2 versus
municipal). The final sample consisted of 22 general-
purpose LEAs (Table 1). These agencies represented all
regions of the US and varied in the proportion of women
in sworn positions. The proportion of full-time sworn
female officers ranged from 3.5% (Fall River Police
Department) to 41% (Boulder County Sheriff’s Office).
The national average for female officer representation was
about 12%. As such, we used 12% as the level for designat-
ing agencies that were higher-percentage female (>12%) or
lower-percentage female (≤12%).
Coded agencies were evenly divided between municipal
police departments (11), and sheriffs’ offices (11). Higher-
and lower-percentage female LEAs were represented in
both agency types. The mean agency sworn staffing size
was 2,800 officers, although this was largely driven by
the inclusion of the New York City Police Department
(34,454). The median number of full-time sworn officers
was 321. Agencies with higher percentages of female offi-
cers tended to be larger and were more diverse in terms of
racial and ethnic minority representation (Table 2).

Table 1. Agencies and characteristics.

Agency State Percentage female (n) Percentage female category

Allentown City Police Department Pennsylvania 4.2 (8) Lower

Ann Arbor City Police Department Michigan 13.6 (29) Higher
Boulder County Sheriff’s Office Colorado 41.4 (48) Higher
Cobb County City Police Department Georgia 17.4 (38) Higher
East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office Louisiana 31.3 (179) Higher
East Orange City Police Department New Jersey 8.4 (64) Lower
Fall River City Police Department Massachusetts 3.5 (8) Lower
Garland City Police Department Texas 7.5 (26) Lower
Greenville Sheriff’s Office South Carolina 8.3 (34) Lower
Huntington Beach City Police Department California 5.1 (10) Lower
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Missouri 5.1 (8) Lower
Kern County Sheriff-Coroner California 7.4 (41) Lower
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office California 17.4 (1,613) Higher
Los Angeles Police Department California 19.1 (1,899) Higher
Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office Texas 17.4 (33) Higher
Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Arizona 5.3 (36) Lower
Miami-Dade City Police Department Florida 23.8 (652) Higher
New York City Police Department New York 16.9 (5,824) Higher
Norman City Police Department Oklahoma 8.5 (14) Lower
Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office New York 17.7 (37) Higher
Pierce County Sheriff’s Office Washington 15.5 (46) Higher
St Paul City Police Department Minnesota 17.7 (107) Higher
504 International Journal of Police Science & Management 25(4)

Table 2. Basic agency information.

Agencies
Higher-percentage Lower-percentage
Constructs Overall female female

Agency type Municipal 11 6 5

Sheriff 11 4 7
Demographics Number of sworn [min–max] M (2,842) M (4,901) M (371)
[116–34,454] [116–34,454] [157–763]
Number of sworn female M (489) M (875) M (25) [8–64]
officers [min–max] [8–5824] [29–5824]
Number of sworn racial/ethnic M (1,655) [8–16,475] M (2,571) M (84)
minorities [min–max] [8–16,475] [11–217]

Content coding To explore concepts related to signaling theory, an add-

itional two-stage iterative approach was used to code
Website content coding has been used in many different
website and social media content for application and
domains including cataloging resources and content
career messaging. In particular, we were interested in
around sexual assault resources provided on college web-
exploring thematic characteristics related to (a) challenge,
sites (Hayes-Smith and Hayes-Smith, 2009), messaging
(b) service to the community, and (c) long-term career
used in hospitality and tourism (Govers and Go, 2005),
security and growth. First, analysts coded content into
and disclosures related to corporate environmental report-
four categories: (a) information about the academy, (b)
ing and sustainability (Hasim et al., 2018; Jose and Lee,
job and career, (c) the organization, and (d) support for
2007).
women or other historically underrepresented employees.
Building on these existing studies, data were collected
Analysts identified content from the websites and social
by reviewing and coding data from official agency web-
media and coded it into the relevant categories and sub-
pages (specifically, the officer recruitment pages if avail-
categories for each agency. For example, as analysts identi-
able), as well as the three most commonly used social
fied content for the top-level category Academy, they
media sites: Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (as available
searched within Academy content for discussion related
for each agency). The review of social media accounts was
to the sub-category Physical Challenge. This task was
time- and post-limited; all content from the ten most recent
done during the fall and winter of 2020. For this task,
statements and images on each feed were coded. Additional
coders revisited agency websites to ensure all content was
material covering six months of social media content
thoroughly coded; for social media pages, coders relied
(beyond the first ten posts, depending on an agency’s
on content saved during the initial review conducted in
posting frequency) was reviewed to locate and code posts
the spring and summer of 2020.
and content specifically related to recruitment.
To explore agency strategy related to URT, analysts also
Analysts began by reviewing agency websites and social
recorded information related to recruitment outreach and
media pages in the spring and summer of 2020. The first
activity. This included descriptions of outreach strategies
step was to document the total number of pictures and
made by the agency to facilitate applicant pipeline develop-
videos that included images of people. This general image
ment and the channels available to potential applicants to
count served as the denominator for the calculations pre-
learn more about the agency (e.g., email, chat). We were
sented below. To explore issues related to signaling
interested in understanding the proactive and reactive
theory, analysts reviewed agency sites for images and
steps that agencies took to move interested people from
content related to female and racial/ethnic minority officers.
the entry phase to the personal contact phase of the recruit-
Similarly, analysts reviewed online materials for written
ment process.
statements or general depictions related to female- and/or
racial/ethnic minority-specific recruiting practices. These
descriptions included content such as career advancement
opportunities for women or racial/ethnic minorities, diver- Quality control
sity recruitment goals, female-officer specific pages, add- Given the potentially subjective nature of the coding, work was
itional resources for women or others to assist with carried out by three independent coders who were overseen by
passing the physical fitness test, and strategies, practices, a coding task lead. A multi-step process was used to ensure
or benefits to support work–life and work–family balance. data reliability. First, the analysts met as a group to review
Rineer et al. 505

Table 3. Recruiting and hiring resources and information.

Agencies
Higher-percentage Lower-percentage
Constructs Overall female female

Resources and support Resources for passing physical test 27.3 16.7 40.0
application and hiring (%)
process Informational events offered (%) 22.7 16.7 30.0
Contact information for recruiters 63.6 66.7 60.0
available (%)
Live chat with recruiters available 9.1 16.7 0.0
(%)
Information about benefits Benefits described on website (%) 77.3 83.3 70.0
Career advancement opportunities 50.0 41.7 60.0
described on website (%)
Job characteristics Minimum education requirement 84.2 83.3 85.7
(%)
Minimum entry-level base salary M (44,742) M (43,698) M (46,532)
($) [min–max] [26,772–70,476] [26,772–54,784] [32,027–70,476]
Maximum entry-level base salary M (62,799) M (67,025) M (55,555)
($) [min–max] [35,629–94,546] [40,363–94,546] [35,629–87,300]

and discuss the coding schema for each task. Next, two ana-
lysts independently coded material for each agency; codes
were then compared. If discrepancies were identified, the ana-
lysts met to discuss and deconflict misaligned codes. When
needed, the analysts would revisit the actual materials and
discuss the logic behind their coding. Discussions eventually
lead to consensus and resolution of discrepancies.
Findings
Most agencies had a minimum education requirement and
offered a similar base salary range; observed differences
in these characteristics appeared to be driven by agency
location and size. Most agencies facilitated recruitment by
providing contact information for recruiters, but few
offered web-based live chat (Table 3). Information about
job salary and benefits were commonly communicated.
Agencies with a lower percentage of female officers pro-
vided more expansive resources, including help to pass
the physical test (40%), and informational events (30%).
The portrayal of women and underrepresented groups in
agency website and social media materials was infrequent
and occurred in only about a one-quarter to one-third of
photos (Table 4). Higher-percentage female agencies had
slightly better representation of women and underrepre-
sented groups in website and social media content. It was
very rare for any agency to have recruitment events or mate-
rials targeted directly to women, as measured by dedicated
pages, explicit mention on the site, or specific recruitment
events (although capturing data in mid-2020 means this
should be interpreted with caution).
Characterizations of the academy
The most prevalent types of academy activities highlighted
were related to indicators of physical fitness training (59%
overall) or firearm training (50% overall). Among agencies
with a higher percentage of women, descriptions of firearm
training were most prevalent; among agencies with a lower
percentage of women, descriptions of physical fitness train-
ing were most prevalent. The least reported theme for all
agencies was descriptions of team-building activities. No
agencies with a lower percentage of women included this
information.
It was common for agencies to describe the physical
challenge associated with the academy. Descriptions
varied but were found in textual depictions, photos and
videos, and statements of the importance or difficulty of
physical training. The most prevalent types of messages
related to the physical aspect of the academy were those
focused on the need for rigorous training before entering
the academy, and the physical challenge highlighted as
the most difficult aspect of the academy (each present
among hiring materials for 23% of the agencies). These
messages were more prevalent among agencies that had a
lower percentage of women.
Characterizations of the academic challenge of the
academy varied between agencies with some emphasizing
the importance of officers having good problem-solving,
emotional intelligence, interpersonal, and communication
skills. Agencies also described partnering with local col-
leges or universities to provide more educational training.
Overall (and among the subset of agencies with a higher
percentage of women), the most prevalent theme related
506 International Journal of Police Science & Management 25(4)

Table 4. Focus on diversity in agency materials and efforts.

Agencies
Higher-percentage Lower-percentage
Constructs Overall female female

Portrayal of diversity on Number of individuals in M (71) M (99) M (40)

agency sites pictures [min–max] [10–284] [14–284] [10–71]
Women in pictures (%) 31.4 32.8 27.4
Racial/ethnic minorities in 23.4 24.7 19.8
pictures (%)
Number of individual LEOs in M (59) M (87) M (28)
pictures [min–max] [0–221] [11–221] [0–53]
Women LEOs in pictures (%) 26.0 27.2 21.7
Racial/ethnic minority LEOs in 22.3 23.2 19.3
pictures (%)
Efforts to recruit women Page or section about women 9.1 8.3 10.0
officers (%)
Direct mention of recruitment 9.1 8.3 10.0
of women (%)
Offered information events 9.1 8.3 10.0
specific to women (%)
Note: Picture counts use combined sum from agency website and Facebook. LEO: Law Enforcement Officer.

to the academic challenge of the academy was descriptions
of officers needing good interpersonal skills or emotional
intelligence (32% of agencies overall, 50% of agencies
with higher percentage of women). Among agencies with
a lower percentage of women, descriptions of officers in a
classroom/academic setting were most prevalent (42%).
Messaging about the job and career
Given existing research on motivation to enter law enforce-
ment, we coded thematic data into the different messaging
strategies found in other research: challenge, career bene-
fits, and public service.
Challenge messaging. The most prevalent message pertaining
to the job being challenging were those that depicted policing
as physically demanding and requiring special skills and qual-
ities (Table 5). Overall, and among agencies with a higher
percentage of women officers, descriptions or depictions of
police work as physically demanding were most prevalent
(50% overall, 58% with a higher percentage of women offi-
cers). Among agencies with a lower percentage of women
officers, descriptions of the career as requiring specialized
skills and qualities were the most prevalent (50%).
Some agencies simply referred to the job/career as chal-
lenging without elaboration. Agencies that provided more
descriptive information highlighted aspects of police work
such as saving lives and keeping people safe; that police
officers often work in stressful conditions, including
situations that require fast decision-making; and that
police officers must behave with the highest ethical
standards.
Career benefit messaging. Most agencies included descrip-
tions of compensation (82% overall) and health and well-
ness benefits, such as healthcare, medical leave, or fitness
club membership (77% overall). Fewer agencies included
messaging around the versatility of the job as a benefit
(46% overall) or tuition assistance or reimbursement for
education post-academy (23% overall). Messaging about
career benefits generally took two forms across agencies:
messaging around tangible benefits of the job (e.g., com-
pensation, healthcare) or messaging around personal bene-
fits of being a police officer (e.g., personal fulfilment).
Public service messaging. Messaging around public service
emphasized the ability to make a positive impact through
policing; almost all agencies included messaging of this
type. The most prevalent types of messaging were depic-
tions of officers engaging in activities that would improve
the lives of community members, depictions of public
safety as a key component of the job, and describing com-
munity engagement as a key component of the job. The
largest discrepancy between agencies with a higher and
lower percentage of women officers was in messaging indi-
cating compassion or empathy as an important trait for an
officer: only 17% of agencies with a higher percentage of
women officers depicted this, compared with 80% of agen-
cies with a lower percentage of women officers. Some
Rineer et al. 507

Table 5. Messaging themes about the job/career.

Percentage of agencies
Higher-percentage Lower-percentage
Constructs Overall female female

Challenge Describes of post-academy training as challenging 13.6 16.7 10.0

Describes police work as physically demanding 50.0 58.3 40.0
Describes police work as mentally demanding 22.7 16.7 30.0
Describes police work as requiring special skills and 40.9 33.3 50.0
qualities (e.g., “only the best”, “not everyone can do it”,
only for those who thrive in a challenging environment)
Describes police work as adventurous (e.g., for 22.7 16.7 30.0
thrill-seekers, high-adrenaline)
Career benefit Describes career pathways/opportunities for 50.0 58.3 40.0
advancement (e.g., options for moving between roles,
units, promotions)
Describes the job as personally fulfilling (e.g., through 54.5 58.3 50.0
camaraderie between colleagues, meaningfulness of
work)
Describes benefits related to health and wellness (e.g., 77.3 83.3 70.0
healthcare, medical leave, fitness center membership,
flexible schedule)
Indicates additional education post-academy tuition 22.7 16.7 30.0
assistance/reimbursement benefits (e.g., criminology
degree, language classes)
Describes compensation/pay structure 81.8 91.7 70.0
Describes versatility of the job as benefit (e.g., different 45.5 50.0 40.0
kinds of activities within given job)
Public service Describes community engagement as a key component of 81.8 75.0 90.0
the job
Describes police officers engaged in activities to improve 90.9 91.7 90.0
the lives of community members (e.g., volunteer
activities)
Indicates compassion or empathy as an important skill/ 45.5 16.7 80.0
trait for an officer
Describes increasing public safety as a key component of 86.4 83.3 90.0
the job
Discusses the positive impact officers make on people or 54.5 58.3 50.0
communities (e.g., officer testimonials)

agencies emphasized public safety, such as stressing the
importance of keeping people and communities safe,
when describing policing. Others emphasized community
service and partnerships, often describing the impacts
police officers have on people and communities. In add-
ition, agencies highlighted the public service aspects of
policing by providing pictures, videos, or descriptions of
police officers engaging in community service events.
Messaging about the organization
Organizational orientation was coded for two characteris-
tics: militaristic style and community policing (Table 6).
Militaristic themes included photos, videos, or descriptions
of officers in military gear or engaged in other kinds of force
operations. Community-oriented policing themes focused
on photos, videos, and descriptions of service and engage-
ment with the community.
The most prevalent militaristic depictions were officers
with firearms (45.5%), followed by depictions of officers in
military-style gear (33.3%) and performing militarized opera-
tions such as helicopter rappelling and bombings (31.8%).
Interestingly, these messages were more prevalent among
agencies that had a higher percentage of women, compared
with agencies that had a lower percentage of women. Of agen-
cies that showcased this aspect of the job, visual depictions of
militaristic activities were consistent and tended to display
multiple high-intensity activities such as rappelling from heli-
copters or tall buildings while wearing SWAT gear, shooting
long guns, and using smoke grenades.
508 International Journal of Police Science & Management 25(4)

Table 6. Messaging themes about the organization.

Percentage of agencies
Higher-percentage Lower-percentage
Constructs Overall female female

Militaristic Depictions of officers in military gear 33.3 45.5 20.0

Depictions of firearms training 45.5 58.3 30.0
Depictions of officers engaging in militarized operations 31.8 41.7 20.0
(e.g., no-knock warrants, bombs, helicopter
rappelling)
Recruitment messaging aimed at people coming out of 13.6 25.0 0.0
the military
Depictions of militarized training (e.g., yelling, screaming, 22.7 33.3 10.0
“in line”)
Gender imbalance in photos/videos showing militaristic 22.7 25.0 20.0
images
Community Stated importance of community engagement (including 100 100 100
oriented in mission statement)
Depictions of police officers engaging with community 90.9 91.7 90.0
members in a positive way (e.g., helping/serving
community members)
Promoting community service/partnerships 95.5 91.7 100
Description or statement of the approach to/ 68.2 66.7 70.0
components of community engagement
Mention of a specific program or part of the department 77.3 75.0 80.0
that focuses on community engagement
Depictions of police officers in positive interactions with 54.5 58.3 50.0
BIPOC community members specifically

All agencies had some type of content associated with
community-oriented policing. The most prevalent themes
were those that described the importance of community
engagement (100%), promoted community service/partner-
ships (95.5%), or had depictions of officers engaging with
community members in a positive way (90.9%). Agencies
with higher or lower percentages of female offices did not
seem to differ in terms of embracing community-oriented
policing.
Depictions of community-oriented policing showed con-
siderable variation. Although all agencies noted community
engagement as an important facet of their mission, agencies
differed in terms of what sort of community engagement
activities they pursued with community members. For
example, some agencies had a dedicated community
engagement coordinator as part of their team or had specific
partnerships or programs established with existing commu-
nity organizations. Other agencies focused on informal
interactions with the community in terms of offering a
ride-along, police meet-and-greet opportunities for children
and adults, and volunteering.
Agencies varied in the content reported through their
various dissemination channels. In general, agencies
expressed their interest in community policing as part of
their values or mission statement on their website and
posted pictures of their community engagement activities
and efforts on their social media pages.
Women-specific or diversity-targeted messaging
Over half (59.1%) of the agencies made statements to illus-
trate a commitment to serving a diverse community;
this included messages that featured supporting Black,
Indigenous, (and) People of Color (BIPOC) and LGBTQ
+ communities as well as non-native English speakers
(Table 7). However, fewer than half (40.9%) described
the role or importance of having a diverse workforce. The
difference between the two stated commitments lay with
agencies with a lower percentage of female officers where
70% of these agencies made statements about serving a
diverse community, whereas 30% described a commitment
to developing a diverse workforce. In addition to valuing
the diversity of their communities, agencies also mentioned
the importance of having individuals with diverse back-
grounds in their workforce.
Agencies with lower percentages of women were more
likely (40%) to highlight the increased pay for bilingual
officers, compared with agencies with a higher percentage
of women (0%). Despite not always offering increased
pay, some agencies highlighted the importance of having
Rineer et al. 509

Table 7. Women-Specific or diversity-focused messaging themes.

Percentage of agencies
Higher-percentage Lower-percentage
Constructs Overall female female

Commitment to Description or statement of the agency’s 40.9 50.0 30.0

diversity commitment to having a diverse workforce
Description or statement of the agency’s 59.1 50.0 70.0
commitment to serving a diverse community
Specific page or initiative about promoting 27.3 33.3 20.0
diversity (in general) in recruiting and hiring
practices
Specific page or initiative about promoting 9.1 8.3 10.0
inclusion/representation of women in
recruiting and hiring practices
Quotes from members of the department about 9.1 8.3 10.0
diversity
Information about increased pay or other value 18.2 0.0 40.0
placed on hiring bilingual individuals
Highlighting Description or depiction of women in…
women officers patrol function 77.3 83.3 70.0
specialty units 63.6 66.7 60.0
leadership positions 63.6 75.0 50.0
Description or depiction highlighting 36.4 50.0 20.0
achievements of female officers
Female officer case studies/profiles (including 31.8 41.7 20.0
accomplishments or “success stories”)
Quotes from women about their experiences 22.7 25.0 20.0
Resources for Information about special events, written 27.3 41.7 10.0
women recruits materials, or references for contact specifically
relevant to women in the recruitment process
Information about special events, written 4.5 8.3 0.0
materials, or references for contact specifically
relevant to women in the academy
Description of mentorship program or resource 4.5 8.3 0.0
group for female officers
Description of policies or practices for women on 9.1 16.7 0.0
public-facing resources
Work–life balance Description or depiction of organization’s 4.5 8.3 0.0
commitment to work–life balance
Information about the policies and practices the 18.2 33.3 0.0
organization uses to ensure a work–life balance
Description or depiction of officers that mention 22.7 16.7 30.0
their children or support for families
Descriptions or depictions of officers with their 13.6 16.7 10.0
families
Descriptions or depictions of officers engaged in 27.3 16.7 40.0
pursuits outside of work functions

bilingual officers. Less variance between agencies with
higher and lower percentages of females (33.3% and
20%, respectively), was found in having a specific
webpage or initiative illustrating recruiting and hiring prac-
tices focused on diversity between agencies with a higher
percentage of females.
Most of the agencies highlighted women in a variety of
roles including patrol (77.3%), specialty units (63.6%), and
leadership (63.6%). There were differences between the
higher and lower percentages of female agencies with
depictions in patrol functions and leadership positions.
Most often, these depictions were done with images show-
casing female officers either individually or in diverse
groups of officers. In addition, agencies with a higher per-
centage of female officers more often highlighted achieve-
ments of female officers (50%), including case studies or
510 International Journal of Police Science & Management 25(4)

Table 8. Greatest differences (%) between agencies with relatively high and low percentage of female officers.

Higher-percentage Lower-percentage
Constructs female female Difference

Indicates compassion or empathy as an important skill/trait for an officer 16.7 80.0 63.3
Depiction of the need for rigorous training prior to entering the 0.0 50.0 50.0
academy
Information about increased pay, or other value placed, on hiring 0.0 40.0 40.0
bilingual individuals
Depiction of physical firearm training 66.7 30.0 36.7
Information about the policies and practices the organization uses to 33.3 0.0 33.3
ensure work–life balance
Depiction of officers needing good interpersonal skills or emotional 16.7 50.0 33.3
intelligence
Information about special events, written materials, or references for 41.7 10.0 31.7
contact specifically relevant to women in the recruitment process
Depiction of officers in a classroom/academic setting being engaged in 41.7 10.0 31.7
educational activities
Depiction of classroom/educational training 41.7 10.0 31.7
Depiction highlighting achievements of female officers 50.0 20.0 30.0

profiles (41.7%) featured on their websites or social media.
Showcasing quotes from female officers on these public-
facing resources was less common for all agencies
(present in less than a quarter of agency content).
Few agencies had extensive resources specifically tar-
geted towards recruiting woman officers (<10%). Where
additional information was provided, it included targeted
information for women during the recruitment process
(41.7%) and descriptions of practices specifically for
women (16.7%). Among agencies with a lower percentage
of female officers, 10% featured information specific to
women during the recruitment process, but none offered
women-specific resources for later points in the career tra-
jectory, such as in the academy or as established officers.
Overall, information related to how agencies promote
work–life balance was low (4.5%). Agencies with a higher
percentage of female officers provided information about pol-
icies and practices that would promote a healthy work–life
balance (33.3%), whereas no agencies with a lower percentage
of female officers featured this information. The predominate
ways that agencies spoke to work–life balance included
descriptions and depictions of officers mentioning their
children and support for families (22.7% overall; 30%
lower-percentage female agencies) and of officers
engaged in pursuits outside of work functions (27.3%
overall; 40% lower-percentage female agencies).
officer agencies. The largest difference was whether
agency materials highlighted compassion and empathy as
an important skill, with about 17% of higher-percentage
female and 80% of lower-percentage female agencies indi-
cating its value. Agencies with a lower percentage of female
officers more often described the need for rigorous training,
bilingual preference, and the need for interpersonal skills.
Agencies with a higher percentage of female officers
more often highlighted firearms training, work–life
balance, special events for recruiting women, highlighting
the achievements of female officers, and depicting the aca-
demic aspect of training.
In general, we did not find support for the idea that agen-
cies differ consistently based on their current proportion of
women officers. Although there were differences between
these two groups, the difference was not always in the
expected direction. Given that recruitment efforts should
be about what the agency wants to be in the future, rather
than what the agency is currently, this finding should
perhaps not be surprising. Agencies that currently have
higher levels of women officers do appear to provide
more targeted outreach to women recruits, but the overall
adoption of these activities was low. These agencies were
also more likely to highlight the role and achievement of
women officers. Although we can provide no definitive
explanations for this finding, several possible explanations
can be hypothesized:

Differences in agencies with higher and lower levels

1. We captured a cross-sectional snapshot of what is
of woman officers likely a longitudinal relationship. Assessing recruit-
Table 8 summarizes the characteristics that had the greatest ment efforts, and the resulting impact on agency
differences between high- and low-percentage female demographic composition, over time would facilitate
Rineer et al.
a better understanding of how recruiting eventually
influences agency demographics.
2. Online recruiting materials represent only one facet
of an agency’s recruiting strategy. In-person agency
events and connections through personal networks,
for example, may be stronger determinants for the
demographic composition of the agency.
3. Sworn officer recruitment may be relatively insensi-
tive to agency recruitment strategies. Agency
recruitment strategies may not be effective in
general or may not be effective at changing the com-
position of candidates that apply.
Discussion
This study contributes to our understanding of police
recruitment research in several ways. First, it establishes a
reliable method of conducting website content analysis
that can be replicated with additional agencies. Additional
research with a larger sample of agencies over different
periods (especially tracking content longitudinally) would
be valuable for understanding causal relationships.
Second, results found that women-specific recruiting
content was limited. Content directly addressing known
barriers to women entering the policing profession was
also limited. Third, results identified practical gaps
between agency recruiting efforts and theoretically
optimal practices. Fourth, we found fewer differences
between agencies with more or fewer female officers than
hypothesized. The findings from the current study, placed
within signaling and uncertainty reduction theories, identi-
fied several deficiencies in current recruitment practices.
Diversity
Many agency websites did not clearly articulate the value or
goals of diversity and missed a key opportunity to demon-
strate organizational values. Related to uncertainty reduc-
tion, there were missed opportunities for agencies to
clarify and expand upon the process of going from an inter-
ested candidate to a successful officer. Well-established
barriers, especially those that are known to have differential
impacts on women such as physical fitness requirements,
were often left unaddressed.
Communication
The majority of agencies (64%) provided contact informa-
tion for recruiters, but few (9%) offered live chat with
recruiters. Depending on prospective applicants’ communi-
cation preferences, it is possible that offering more real-
time, interactive options for receiving guidance and
answers about the application process could engage a
511
broader applicant pool. Text-based interactions can also
provide greater flexibility and responsiveness for prospect-
ive candidates. URT suggests that agencies should take
steps to remove barriers to making contact with recruiters
to ensure that candidates move from the entry phase to
the personal contact phase in the information-seeking
process.
Physical fitness
Physical fitness was frequently described by agencies but
fewer than one-third of agencies provided resources for
passing physical fitness testing. Previous research has
found that concerns about physical fitness standards were
a frequently cited barrier to recruiting more women into
policing. Contrary to hypotheses, fewer of the agencies
with higher proportions of women (17%) provided
resources and support for passing the physical test than
agencies with a lower proportion of women (40%).
Agencies should provide more resources for addressing
physical fitness concerns while not overemphasizing the
physical fitness aspect of policing.
Women-specific recruiting efforts
Few agencies (9%) presented content specifically targeted
toward recruiting women officers. Research in other
industries shows that targeted recruitment is essential to
increasing the representation of underrepresented groups.
Signaling theory suggests that women-specific recruiting
efforts can enhance perceived organizational climate
towards candidates that may not fit with the traditionally
male law enforcement officer. Concerning women-specific
and diversity-focused messaging, a few findings stand out.
First, agencies with higher percentages of female officers
were more likely to provide information about policies
and practices the organization uses to promote work–life
balance (33%, compared with 0% of agencies with fewer
women). This aligns with the Special Report by the
National Institute of Justice (2019: 19) on women in
policing, which states, “The biggest obstacle for women
in police work is the ability to balance work and family
life. A lot of women simply opt out of policing for this
reason”. Second, agencies with higher percentages of
female officers were more likely to present information
about special events, written materials, or references for
contact specifically relevant to women in the recruitment
process (42%, compared with 10% of agencies with fewer
women). Finally, agencies with a higher percentage of
women officers were more likely to highlight the achieve-
ments of women officers (50% compared with 20%). The
research on women in policing, and on women in the male-
dominated fields more broadly, consistently shows the need
512
for female role models and mentoring to attract and retain
women candidates.
Implications for practice
Results from this study suggested an inconsistent pattern in
the way academies, police work, careers in policing, and
policing organizations were portrayed by agencies.
Regardless of the reasons, the proportion of women in
policing in the US has remained stagnant for decades and
recruitment of qualified officers (regardless of gender) has
become more challenging. To broaden the potential appli-
cant pool and bring new talent into policing, better on-
and offline strategies are needed to reach a different and
larger pool of potential officers. Results from the current
study, placed within the signaling and uncertainty reduction
theories, provide initial actions that can improve web-based
recruitment efforts.
• Articulate diversity messaging. Few agencies have
reached their diversity goals. As such, agencies
should clearly articulate their goals, the reasons for
those goals, and what they are doing to reach those
goals. Strong efforts towards meeting diversity
goals can help reassure potential applicants that
they will be supported in the organization.
Signaling theory suggests that agencies should
clearly communicate agency goals to facilitate appli-
cations from diverse applicants.
• Promote multiple channels for communication. The
stages of candidate conversion in URT suggest that
agencies should provide direct connections to recrui-
ters through voice and text. The ability to quickly
connect to a person that can address concerns can
help facilitate conversion from a candidate to an
applicant.
• Present a balanced representation of policing. Career
benefits, public service, or the adventure of policing
are all likely to appeal to some subset of potential
candidates. Web content should present a balanced
thematic approach to presenting policing careers.
• Ensure consistent messaging between text and
graphical elements. How policing careers are repre-
sented, as well as the diversity of candidates
sought, can be highlighted in both text and graphical
elements. Agencies should consider how informa-
tion is presented across all components of a
website or other media channels.
• Highlight the achievements of women officers in
recruiting materials. Agencies should demonstrate
to prospective female applicants that individuals
like them can be successful. This should include
both early- and later-career officers.
International Journal of Police Science & Management 25(4)
Other agency strategies that can improve recruiting of
women will need to go beyond online content, presence,
and recruitment activity. Larger, more coordinated efforts
will be needed to attract new candidates to careers in
policing.
• Implement woman-specific recruiting activities.
Women-specific recruiting events, physical fitness
training, and website content can help to counterbal-
ance the prevailing image of a male-dominated pro-
fession. Agencies should provide support through
the recruitment and application process that is tar-
geted toward women. This should include the oppor-
tunity to speak with women officers and holding
women-focused recruiting events.
• Address the barriers caused by physical testing.
Provide resources and strategies for addressing the
physical testing requirements. This may include a
range of strategies from clearly defining physical
fitness requirements so that people can adequately
prepare beforehand to providing in-person fitness
training sessions. Longer-term, agencies have
started to reconsider the type of physical fitness
needed for policing and the methods used to assess
those demands. More research to connect physical
conditioning to relevant policing outcomes is
necessary.3
• Promote work–life balance and strategies to reduce
work–family conflict. Implement and communicate
policies and practices that have been demonstrated
to promote work–life balance (e.g., International
Association of Chiefs of Police, 2021). Studies
across different types of LEAs in different countries
have consistently found work–family conflict to be a
significant predictor of burnout (Burke, 2017) and
satisfaction with pay, supervision, promotion,
work, and coworkers (Howard et al., 2004). Taking
steps to better support women in policing careers is
likely to help agencies better recruit and retain
talent among all employees.
The recently launched 30 × 30 initiative, which aims for
30% of all police recruits to be women by the year 2030,
seeks to bring together researchers and practitioners to
develop effective solutions to recruiting challenges.4 In
the meantime, it is incumbent on agency leaders to act on
the research and practical knowledge, such as those out-
lined in the special report published by the National
Institute of Justice (2019), to improve the representative-
ness of the modern police force. Policing needs diverse
top talent today more than ever, and women officers can
improve policing and provide better support and safety to
communities.
Rineer et al.
Limitations and avenues for future research
The study conducted here was a one-time cross-sectional
analysis of recruiting materials. However, if the presenta-
tion of recruiting materials matters, it would seem likely
that the impact would occur over time. Future research
that conducts a longitudinal assessment of recruiting mate-
rials, and their subsequent impact on agency composition,
would significantly contribute to our understanding of
their causal relationship.
Second, we coded materials from a relatively small
number of agencies. Although we attempted to pick agen-
cies that varied on key characteristics (such as the number
of sworn officers), we were limited in the number of agen-
cies that could be coded. Generalizing these findings to how
all agencies recruit candidates should be approached with
caution. Replication work, with a greater number of agen-
cies, could better inform on the generalizability of these
findings.
Third, recruitment efforts by LEAs are not limited to
online activities. Other outreach efforts such as career
advertisements, job fairs, and direct personnel outreach
contribute to a holistic recruiting strategy. It is largely
unknown how these efforts work together to influence
agency demographic composition. Future research should
explore how online and offline recruitment strategies
work together to explain agency personnel composition.
Finally, the bulk of the coding for the analysis was con-
ducted in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic
when agencies were changing policies and practices to
adjust to the evolving public health crisis created by
COVID-19. Agencies transitioned some traditionally
in-person activities to virtual ones, which may have affected
websites and social media content. Additional research now
that agency recruiting activities have become more normal-
ized should be explored further.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support
for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article:
This work was supported by the National Institute of Justice
(grant number 2019-R2-CX-0027).
ORCID iD
Jennifer R Rineer https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8542-7772
Sarah E. Duhart-Clarke https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1544-
9447
513
Notes
1. https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/national-policing-board
2. Sheriffs that did not provide policing services were excluded.
3. See Lonsway (2003), for example.
4. https://30 × 30initiative.org/.
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Author biographies
Jennifer R Rineer, PhD is a program director and research psych-
ologist in RTI International’s Center for Public Safety and
Resilience. Her research focuses on workplace and workforce
issues in policing and other criminal legal settings, with a focus
on diversity and inclusion and occupational health. She publishes
in outlets such as the Journal of Applied Psychology, Work, Aging,
and Retirement, and Policing.
Travis A Taniguchi, PhD is a research criminologist. His research
focuses on program and policy evaluation in law enforcement
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agencies with an emphasis on field randomized controlled trials.
His publications can be found in Criminology, Justice Quarterly,
Policing, and the Journal of Experimental Criminology.
Brian Aagaard is a research associate in the Policing Research
Program at RTI International. He has over 10 years of experience
working as a crime analyst with several law enforcement agencies
at the state, county, and local levels. He is a Certified Law
Enforcement Analyst through the International Association of
Crime Analysts. His publications can be found in Policing and
Society and Police Quarterly.
Julia Brinton is a program manager and research analyst in RTI
International’s Applied Justice Research Division. Ms Brinton’s
work focuses on technical assistance, implementation and evalu-
ation, survey instrumentation, and research design. Her research
interests include intimate partner violence, sexual assault, officer
health and wellness, school climate and school safety, and com-
munity partnerships.
Sarah E Duhart-Clarke is a public health analyst in RTI’s
Community Health and Implementation Research Program. Dr
Duhart-Clarke is an applied psychologist who has worked in
behavioral health research for nearly 10 years. She conducts
community-based research using both qualitative and quantitative
methods to examine the impact of legal system policies and reform
efforts on individuals’ behavior.
Paige Presler-Jur is a research public policy analyst for RTI
International’s Applied Justice Research division. She supports
research initiatives addressing health, social, and justice issues
in the contexts of substance misuse and abuse community pro-
grams, sexual assault case reform, forensics, and multidisciplinary
approaches. Ms Presler-Jur’s current work is focused on under-
standing the challenges and barriers communities encounter
while trying to solve problems in criminal justice and public
health contexts, including providing improved services to
victims of interpersonal violence and facilitating effective
responses to illicit substance use and misuse.
Sean Wire is a research analyst at the Center for Policing
Research and Investigative Science at RTI International, and a
doctoral student in the Criminology, Law, and Society department
at George Mason University. He received his MA from George
Mason University and BS in criminology from The College of
New Jersey. His research interests include policing, crime and
place, and the intersection between public health and crime.