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Retiring from the police service in England and Wales: a multi-dimensional perspective

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2018

Karen Bullock ,
Jane Fielding  and
Graham Hieke
Karen Bullock*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
Jane Fielding
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
Graham Hieke
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: k.bullock@surrey.ac.uk
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Abstract

The experiences of police officers who have retired from the police service have rarely comprised the focus of empirical studies in England and Wales. Drawing on the findings of a survey of former police officers, this article examines the circumstances within which officers leave the service and aspects of the transition to retirement. We find that that certain individual, role and organisational factors come together to explain how the transition to retirement is experienced by police officers. We conceptualise police retirement as a multi-dimensional process during which a number of factors may come into play and have different effects depending on the circumstances in which retirement occurs. Findings are considered in light of wider conceptualisations of the process of retirement and implications are discussed.

Keywords

police officersretirementill-healthinjurygender
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 40 , Issue 1 , January 2020 , pp. 1 - 24
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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