May 2026
PSO Director Jeremy Wilson and Partner Marshall Jones lead a workshop at the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police conference.
We also feature PSO Perspectives, a briefing series which summarizes research findings, shares early insights on publications, reviews case studies and promising programs, and discusses contemporary issues. Recent topics include trade-offs in lowering minimum education requirements, dimensions of successful recruitment programs, effects of leadership on turnover, simulation methodologies to improve staff efficiency, and use of professional staff. Building on this work, we are completing a workforce planning guidebook in partnership with several state associations of chiefs of police. This guidebook will provide insights into several staffing elements, such as recruitment, promotion, attrition, allocation, and performance metrics. It begins with concise, accessible briefs before progressing to more indepth discussions of key issues, such as strategies to speed up hiring, inexpensive staffing strategies, and the integration of community policing into staffing practices. More examples of our partners’ recent work include:
• A systems approach to workforce planning
• Analysis of the relationship between officer work assignments and retention
• A review of the trade-offs of using different shift schedules for efficiency and wellness
• An assessment of women’ s work-life conflict and personal strategies to overcome it
• Analysis of how early response decisions impact response times and case outcomes
• Extensive review of police retention strategies
• An examination of public awareness of the staffing problem and the implications for policy and practice
Ongoing work at Michigan State University includes projects examining:
• Work schedule simulations for optimizing deployment
• Allocation models for criminal investigations, as well as recruitment and background investigations
• Changes in standards and training
• Movement associated with promotions and special assignments
• Cost efficiency of retention versus recruitment
• First-line supervision workload and span of control
• Recruitment program building
• Use of hiring incentives
• Use of civilian investigators
• Compensation scales
• Effectiveness of recruitment and retention tactics
• Correlates of turnover
New Jersey Police Chief Magazine / 26