Confidence in Their Craft: Assessing the Relationship Between Officer Work Experiences and Their Perceptions of Self-Efficacy

• Author: Logan J. Somers,William Terrill
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00938548221105879
• Published date: 01 November 2022
• Date: 01 November 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, 2022, Vol. 49, No. 11, November 2022, 1656 –1675.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00938548221105879

Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions

© 2022 International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology

1656

CONFIDENCE IN THEIR CRAFT

Assessing the Relationship Between Officer Work

Experiences and Their Perceptions of Self-Efficacy

LOGAN J. SOMERS

Georgia Southern University

WILLIAM TERRILL

Arizona State University

The detailed study of officer experience has received relatively little attention within the policing literature despite it being

integral to nearly every facet of their role. Drawing on survey data (N = 691 officers), the current study examines how the

unique work experiences of officers (i.e., shifts, crime areas, duty assignments, in-service trainings) are related to their per-

ceptions of confidence (i.e., self-efficacy) in the ability to perform different job-related tasks. Results revealed that more

tenured officers, having worked a greater number of shifts, and those who completed increased in-service trainings had sig-

nificantly higher confidence in performing both law enforcement and order-maintenance/service-oriented duties. Several

other officer characteristics were also found to have varying levels of significance in relation to their confidence. Overall, the

findings support the inclusion of more nuanced measures of officer experience, as well as the potential applicability of self-

efficacy theory within policing research moving forward.

Keywords: officer experience; self-efficacy; confidence; police work; law enforcement; order-maintenance

INTRODUCTION

The ambiguous nature of the police role leaves patrol officers with a wide range of

responsibilities. Not only are they tasked with reducing crime and enforcing laws, but a

significant portion of their job is also related to other duties such as directing traffic, provid-

ing emergency first-aid, and settling disputes (Germann, 1969; Parks et al., 1999; Scott,

1981; Willis & Mastrofski, 2014, 2017, 2018). To resolve these matters efficiently, officers

are believed to build necessary skills from experiencing constant repetition and exposure to

unique situations while working different shifts (i.e., times of day), crime areas (i.e., high,

medium, low), duty assignments (i.e., patrol, supervisors, investigations), and attending

AUTHORS’ NOTE: No financial support was received for this project. The authors would also like to

acknowledge Drs. Cody W. Telep and Jacob T.N. Young for their comments on early iterations of this manu-

script. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Logan J. Somers, Assistant Professor,

The Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia Southern University, 11935 Abercorn Street,

Savannah, GA 31419; e-mail: lsomers@georgiasouthern.edu.

1105879CJBXXX10.1177/00938548221105879Criminal Justice and BehaviorSomers, Terrill / Officer experience and self-efficacy

research-article2022

Somers, Terrill / OFFICER EXPERIENCE AND SELF-EFFICACY 1657

in-service trainings. Prior research contends that through this learning process officers also

develop confidence in their abilities (Bayley & Bittner, 1984; Brown, 1988; Wilson, 1968).

The relationship between experience and confidence is also at the very root of self-efficacy

theory, which provides a theoretical framework for how perceptions of confidence influ-

ence an individual’s decision-making, whether they can problem solve, their effort and

motivation to complete goals, and their willingness to persevere when faced with adversity

(Bandura, 1997, 2000). With this theoretical positing in mind, an officer with high self-

efficacy could be expected to think more strategically, refrain from avoiding difficult tasks,

operate well in unpredictable situations, better handle the stress of the job, and use the least

amount of coercion necessary to resolve a situation. However, despite both police research-

ers and practitioners acknowledging the connection between officer experience and their

confidence beliefs, this relationship has rarely been explored.

This gap in the literature is largely attributable to two limitations. First, the majority of

research articles that include officer experience measure it based solely on the length of an

officer’s tenure (Alpert et al., 2005; Brandl & Stroshine, 2013; Kaminski et al., 2004;

Lawton, 2007; McCluskey et al., 2005; Paoline & Terrill, 2005, 2007; Rydberg & Terrill,

2010). Although widely accepted, operationalizing experience in this way fails to capture

the nuance and complexity that comes with a policing career that may consist of working

in different shifts, crime areas, and duty assignments. Second, there is only a small sample

of studies that have examined self-efficacy (i.e., perceptions of confidence) in relation to

the policing profession. Within them, there is also only scarce discussion of the intricacies

of officer experience and how it relates to the development of confidence (Aremu, 2005;

Hsieh et al., 2012; Love & Singer, 1988; Singer & Love, 1987). Furthermore, there is yet

to be a self-efficacy study conducted with police officers from the United States, despite

being the focus of both classic (see Bayley & Bittner, 1984; Brown, 1988; Wilson, 1968)

and contemporary (see Willis & Mastrofski, 2014, 2017, 2018) examinations of officer

experience and craft.

The current study aims to assess the relationship between officers’ unique work experi-

ences and confidence in their abilities to resolve different law enforcement, order-mainte-

nance, and service-oriented tasks. We first examine the prior police experience literature

along with a discussion of how shifts, crime areas, duty assignments, and in-service train-

ings generate differential and repetitive types of interactions. From there, research sur-

rounding self-efficacy theory is introduced to demonstrate how these unique work

experiences have the potential to build officer confidence. Next, data from a large metro-

politan police department located in the United States are used to examine officer work

experiences and their self-efficacy beliefs. Finally, we close with discussing the ways in

which these findings can be implemented to improve police practice and advance policing

scholarship moving forward.

LITERATURE REVIEW

OFFICER EXPERIENCE AND CRAFT

For nearly six decades, researchers and practitioners have noted the importance of officer

experience in relation to nearly every aspect of police work. Early studies noted how experi-

ence was essential to learning how to become an effective police officer, likening this

apprenticeship process to the development of an officer’s “craft” (Bayley & Bittner, 1984;