Malta police officers : what is the future of the retirement age

Abstract

The idea of this study emerged from the author's experience as a police officer. It was something that always concerned the author that good police officers would resign from the force upon reaching the 25 years of service to continue to work in another working environment. Witnessing such behavior, this triggered the author's concern that some sort of action should be taken to draw attention towards the authorities vis-a-vis this matter. This long essay addresses the importance of introducing or reactivating any incentive measures to strengthen the retention subject of police members. It discusses the aspect and importance of human resources in the police force and the necessity that experienced officers should be retained. Focusing mainly on ex members of the police, the researcher hypothesized that these members are still valuable and that their experience should utilized in any manner possible because it is an asset to the police force. This brief research seeks to find the answer whether ex members are willing to continue rendering their service within the force if a number of incentive measures are available to them. Furthermore the author delves into whether the police administration is performing any retention measures to try and keep these members. This topic was Initially researched through a review of literature, substantiated by a research design based on both quantitative and qualitative data. A number of self-administered questionnaires where sent either by post or through electronic mail to ex police members who had left the police force in 2008. The main findings of this research gives a clear indication that the majority of respondents are still of a young age and that half of the respondents are still working in another environment. Another indication is that a considerable number of them consider the possibility to continue to render their service in the police force if attractive retention measures are offered.