Quality over Quantity: Assessing the Impact of Frequent Public Interaction Compared to Problem-Solving Activities on Police Officer Job Satisfaction

Research outside the field of policing has shown that job satisfaction predicts job performance. While policing research has demonstrated performing community-oriented policing (COP) activities generally improves police officer job satisfaction, the mechanism through which it occurs remains unclear. This study contributes to the community-policing literature through a survey of 178 police officers at the Toronto Police Service. The survey instrument measures the mechanism through which job satisfaction is impacted. Results indicate that primary response officers are more likely to be somewhat or very unsatisfied with their current job assignment compared with officers with a COP assignment—confirming what previous research has found. Further, those who interact with the public primarily for the purpose of engaging in problem-solving are more likely to be very satisfied with their current job assignment compared with those who do so primarily for the purpose of responding to calls for service. Engaging in problem-solving increases the odds of being very satisfied in one’s job assignment, and the combination of frequent contacts with the public and problem-solving is less important than problem-solving alone. The implications of the study findings for COP strategies are discussed.