Exploring the impact of retirement on police officers wellbeing
File version
Author(s)
Bates, Lyndel
Sargeant, Elise
Griffith University Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Other Supervisors
Editor(s)
Date
Size
File type(s)
Location
License
Abstract
This paper examines the impact of retirement on police officers. Using semi-structured in-depth interviews with 20 police retirees from Queensland, Australia, we explore the impacts of retirement on police officers’ sense of wellbeing as well as the coping strategies utilised by retirees in the transition from paid employment to retirement. We found experiences of retirement varied amongst participants depending on the role they had whilst policing, the type of social interactions they had pre and post retirement and their financial position. Common themes include conflicting emotions, relevance deficit, anger and disappointment, financial issues and the loss of social networks. Coping mechanisms involved psychological counselling, expanding external social networks and seeking out other interests and hobbies in the lead up to/upon retirement. We suggest these findings can enable policing organisations to provide improved support for police officers leading up to retirement.
Journal Title
Police Practice and Research
Conference Title
Book Title
Edition
Volume
Issue
Thesis Type
Degree Program
School
Publisher link
Patent number
Funder(s)
Grant identifier(s)
Rights Statement
Rights Statement
Item Access Status
Note
This publication has been entered into Griffith Research Online as an Advanced Online Version
Access the data
Related item(s)
Subject
Criminology
Impacts of retirement
Social Sciences
Criminology & Penology
Persistent link to this record
Citation
Carney, C; Bates, L; Sargeant, E, Exploring the impact of retirement on police officers wellbeing, Police Practice and Research, 2019