| Turnover rates for police chiefs vary considerably depending on the state or agency studied. Rates are consistently high with chiefs remaining in their positions between only two and eight years. This study sought to identify variables that may contribute to a chief's short tenure and potentially provide insight or guidance to hiring managers as to what types of individuals retain their police chief positions for seven years or longer. This quantitative correlational study utilized two survey instruments and a demographic questionnaire to explore relationships that may exist between a chief's tenure and other variables collected through the surveys. Data was collected from 99 police chiefs regarding their self-perceived leadership behaviors (as measured by the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, Form 5X Short), personality traits (as measured by the HEXACO-PI-R), and demographics related to the person, the profession, and the agency. The findings from this study suggest a relationship between chiefs who have tenure of seven years or more and low scores on the HEXACO-PI-R conscientiousness domain scale, the organization facet scale, and the diligence facet scale that fall under the conscientiousness domain. Weak inverse relationships were also found between a chief's tenure and the length of experience in law enforcement prior to becoming a chief of police and his or her education at the onset of the chief's position. The study ultimately did not result in any statistically significant findings that would suggest why a police chief may have seven or fewer years of tenure in his or her position. There were a few correlations found that were statistically significant at the p < .01 and p < .05 levels, but in each case, the correlations were considered weak or very weak and should not be used to form a profile of an ideal police chief candidate who would have long tenure in his or her position. |
