Organizational commitment and perceived organizational support in the NSW police

Purpose An embryonic empirical literature on Australian policing has established that commitment levels of police officers are comparatively low. This paper seeks to add to this literature. Design/methodology/approach The paper applies Allen and Meyer's three‐component model of organizational commitment, in conjunction with the Eisenberger et al. 's model of perceived organizational support, to a sample of 351 sworn police officers and student officers. Findings The results seem to confirm earlier Australian findings since organizational commitment among the sample of respondents was also found to be low. It is suggested that additional skills training and tuition subsidies for officers could enhance organizational commitment. Originality/value The paper provides useful information on levels of commitment among Australian police officers and suggestions on how organizational commitment can be enhanced.