Criminal justice student researches police retention

At 18 years old, Matthew Gary considered diving straight into a career as a law enforcement officer.

But then, during his senior year of high school, he received an offer he couldn't refuse: an invitation to join a diverse group of intellectually curious students in Radford University's prestigious Honors College.

"It gave me room for flexibility to study and really go in depth into what I want to learn," said the now senior criminal justice major from Chesapeake, Virginia. "It has provided me with that little extra bit of academic rigor that I was looking for while learning about criminal justice and law enforcement."

Gary has been heavily involved in research at Radford. Lately, his work includes his Honors College senior capstone project, which delves into the methods and strategies law enforcement agencies employ to retain police officers and how those methods can be improved.

In the past five to 15 years - "it depends on who you ask," Gary explained - there has been a "marked decrease in the number of officers who are staying with their agencies long term."

Gary's research goal is to learn the reasons behind those departures and to explore the specific strategies law enforcement agencies are using to retain officers.

He began working on the project in the summer of 2025. The process began with narrowing the focus of his topic and transitioned into a meticulous literature review.

In the beginning, Gary was looking into community policing or recruiting. In reviewing publications from 2019 to 2023, he found around 700 articles on the former and about 300 on the latter. However, he discovered only 70 articles on retention.

"Given that gap," said Gary, who still aspires to a career in law enforcement, "I wanted to look more into retention to help fill that research void."

Much of the previous research examined police retention through the lens of lower- and mid-level law enforcement leaders. "It's great to have that perspective," Gary said. He, however, is focusing on higher-level officers, such as sergeants, lieutenants and captains. "I want to know what they think about the retention issue," he said, "because they can have a very different perspective."

Early in the spring 2026 semester, Gary is taking a few road trips to find those answers, traveling to meet and ask questions of a select number of mid-level officers throughout Southwest Virginia.

Assisting Gary with his research is Radford Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice Stacey Clifton, whose expertise includes police culture and socialization and the well-being of law enforcement officers. The student-faculty research duo began working together in the summer of 2025 before meeting regularly at the beginning of the fall semester.

"Dr. Clifton has been awesome," Gary said. "She helped me narrow my research focus. She helped refine my literature review and pointed me to specific ideas and directions. I even referenced some of her research in my work. Her knowledge and expertise have been really helpful, and she has been absolutely wonderful through the whole process."

Once the research is completed, Gary will seek to publish his work in an academic journal. He credits the university's Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarship (OURS) staff and Honors College faculty for encouraging and supporting him through the process.

"They have all been terrific," Gary said. "They have been getting me connected with so many people, on and off campus. If I were at a different institution, I don't think I would have the opportunity to do the research and all of the other things I've done.

"Radford is a fantastic school to do research," said Gary, who plans to continue his education at Radford with a Master of Science degree in criminal justice. "There are so many opportunities here, and you feel very, very, very supported."

Gary has found his place at Radford, he said, through the numerous opportunities the university offers. "I have found my people through Honors College, and I've found my academics and research interests through the College of Humanities and Behavioral Sciences. I have found service opportunities through events like Radford Gives Back, MLK Day of Service and other volunteer activities.

"I would not want to be anywhere else," Gary continued. "If I had to go back in time and do this all over again, I would pick Radford University 100 times out of 100."