The link between police cadets' field training and attitudes toward police work in China: a longitudinal study

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the effect and duration of supervised field training on police cadets' worldview of police work in China.Design/methodology/approachThe four-wave longitudinal data were collected from graduate students who were pursuing their master's degree in a national Chinese police university from 2016 to 2018. Independent variables including demographic characteristics and knowledge along with experience gained from the internship were used to explain police cadets' attitudes toward police work. Ordinary least square (OLS) regression models were used in the current study.FindingsFindings derived from multiple regression analyses suggest that police cadets' attitudes toward police work are conducive to the “shock” of the real-world experience after three-month field training. However, the effect of the field training on police cadets' attitudes toward police work is temporary, not enduring.Research limitations/implicationsThe data for this study were collected from one national police university, and the findings reported here may not be generalized.Practical implicationsPolice field training is important for cadets to develop positive view of police work. It provides practical knowledge for police training and socializes cadets before entering into the law enforcement filed, avoiding the financial cost of resignation. However, the influence of field training is temporal. Hence, it is more appropriate for police administrators to arrange police cadets' field training close to their graduation date, the third year of their college education.Originality/valueThis study can be considered as an extension of relevant research on law-enforcement-related field training reported in the United States. However, it goes beyond the existing literature by using longitudinal data to answer a long-overdue question: Does supervised field training change the worldview of cadets concerning police work?