Rekindling Police Burnout 1

A qualitative research design was utilized to address the issue of police burnout as described in the pertinent literature. The goals of the study were to determine the causes of burnout among a sample of recently retired or separated police officers and what could be done to alleviate those feelings. Data gleaned from respondents produced three common themes: benefits of higher education (graduate degrees); physical separation from the policing environment coupled with critical reflection of their careers; and the art or practice of teaching traditional age students courses in criminal justice in a higher education setting. Respondents reported all of these factors combined to alleviate their former feelings of burnout and to significantly transform their previous perspectives of the field of policing. The conclusions section of the report offer sound recommendations for an improved response to the individual and organizational consequences of police burnout. Rekindling Police Burnout 3 Advances in technology, increasing budgetary constraints, changing police roles, and generational differences regarding attitudes and beliefs within the law enforcement community all combine to create problems with the recruitment and retention of qualified personnel more than ever before. Regarding retention issues specifically, burnout plays a critical role. In its most basic sense, burnout is described as "...a chronic state of emotional exhaustion stemming from an unrelenting series of on-the-job pressures with few moments of positive experience&quot