To cheer or jeer the “quitter”? Role exit and voluntary resignations of police officers within England and Wales

Purpose - The purpose of this article is to explore the applicability of Ebaugh’s (1988) four stage model on role exit to experiences of police officers who have voluntarily resigned.

Design/methodology/approach - This article is based upon qualitative data obtained from semi-structured interviews with officers who voluntarily resigned between 2021 and 2022, from the police service within England and Wales.

Findings - This article evidences the applicability of Ebaugh’s role exit model to voluntary police resigners - who can be perceived as ‘traitors’ - in terms of process and stages. However, the model falls short in understanding the impact of police organisational cultures and the police identity on the leaving process and we suggest that Ebaugh’s original framework should be extended to consider the influential role of others.

Originality/Value - This article provides important evidence both about when potential interventions are more likely to have an impact but also how reactions from supervisors and line managers can potentially influence this decision-making, exploring an under-researched area of police leavers.