NCJ Number
211330
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 72 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2005 Pages: 108-110,112-114,116,118
Date Published
September 2005
Length
9 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the implications of the characteristics of the "millennial generation" (those born between 1982 and 2002) for law enforcement recruitment and leadership.
Abstract
Members of the 102-million millennial generation have yet to make their full impact on the law enforcement workplace, but they will be the majority of new police officers and deputies hired in the coming decade. By 2020, most police officers will be members of the millennial generation. Currently, law enforcement agencies have an opportunity to prepare for millennials to progress from new arrivals in the profession to its future leaders. The intractability of law enforcement traditionalist and bureaucratic thought may repel many millennials who are seeking employment within flexible and innovative employment structures. Streamlining or revising outdated policies and procedures can address this concern. Research has shown that many millennials project owning their own businesses, which suggests they are inner-directed and want jobs over which they have control of their responsibilities and goals. If law enforcement agencies are to attract such individuals, they must show that law enforcement agencies seek input from and provide discretion for line officers as well as agency administrators. Mentoring relationships will be important to the development of millennial leaders. Further, millennials will be academically trained in the latest technologies of the computer age, which poses both an opportunity and challenge for law enforcement agencies. They can draw from a technologically skilled work force, but they must also have progressed sufficiently in computerized operations to attract millennials to the modern law enforcement enterprise.