How 8-, 10- and 12-hour police shifts really affect staffing and wellness

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By Ethan M. Humphrey, M.S., and Narelle Hickmon, M.S.

Police staffing has proven to be an immense challenge for departments across the nation. A recent PERF survey found that overall staffing levels were almost 5% lower in 2023 than in 2020 [1]. As agencies work to maintain coverage with limited personnel, one critical — and often underestimated — factor influencing staffing success is the structure of the work schedule.

Scheduling directly affects officer fatigue, morale, burnout, and job satisfaction. The length and design of shifts influence not only how many officers an agency needs but also how effectively those officers can perform. For that reason, scheduling must be viewed as part of the broader staffing system [2], interconnected with allocation and deployment decisions that shape operational readiness.

This article compares three of the most common work-hour models in policing — the 8-hour, 10-hour, and 12-hour schedules — outlining the key advantages and drawbacks of each. It examines how each schedule relates to staffing shortages, burnout, mental fatigue, job satisfaction, and efficiency, and incorporates both research findings and practitioner insights. With this information, departments can make evidence-based decisions that balance officer well-being, operational demands and agency goals.

8-hour police shifts: Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

The benefits of implementing the 8-hour work schedule are centered around improved officer alertness and communication. [3,4] This scheduling approach also allows officers set off-days, potentially allowing for a more consistent schedule. [5]

• Better communication and fewer lapses in contact between officers and supervisors.
• More alertness compared to 12-hour shifts.
• Offers fixed days off.

Disadvantages

The shortcomings of 8-hour shifts emphasize the amount of commuting that is required for officers, [5] as well as the increase in overtime. [6]

• Increase in officer commuting – 8-hour schedule requires officers to work approximately 260 days compared to just above 200 shifts for 10-hour shifts and under 200 shifts for 12-hour shifts.
• Lack of opportunities for (some) officers to receive any weekends off.
• Increase in the amount of overtime.

Practitioner concerns

While we note the benefits and drawbacks of 8-hour shifts from a research perspective, it is also valuable to discuss the broader concerns the authors have encountered in their professional experience and informal police interactions.

One of the advantages of 8-hour shifts is the operational flexibility it affords. Specifically, 8-hour shifts make it substantially easier to split shifts if somebody calls in because officers are not being held over for 8, they are only being held over for 4. This then makes it a 12-hour day instead of a 16-hour day. For 10-hour shifts, in contrast, it may be a 15-hour day rather than 12 hours if officers are splitting with someone else. Furthermore, there appears to be a generational divide in preferences for shifts; while younger officers prefer longer shifts, the older officers do not.

The 8-hour shifts also allow for an optimal work-life balance, specifically on the days you work. You can easily get 8 hours of sleep, work 8 hours, and then the other 8 hours are mostly at the officer’s discretion. However, the drawback seems to be that some people want more than just the two or three days off per week that the 8-hour shifts afford them. The preference can vary from person to person, however.

10-hour police shifts: Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

The advantages of employing the 10-hour work schedule are largely centered around improving the quality of life and instilling the separation of work and personal life. [6]

• Those who worked 10-hour schedules worked fewer overtime hours than both 8- and 12-hour schedules.
• The officers working 10-hour shifts averaged more sleep.
• Those working within the 10-hour shifts reported a higher quality of work-life.
• Departments can benefit from increased coverage if the overlapping shifts strategically cover the peak call-for-service hours.

Disadvantages

The drawbacks of the 10-hour schedule are especially difficult for departments with already strained resources and budget. [5]

• The 10-hour schedule is overall not as well suited for resource efficiency because, unlike the 8- and 12-hour shifts, the 10-hour shift does not fit perfectly within 24 hours each day.
• 10-hour shifts require departments to staff for 30 hours (10 hours x 3 shifts) per day, rather than 24. Additionally, these extra hours over the span of a month accumulate to 180 hours or 7.5 days’ worth of excess staffing. Moreover, this calculation applies to the additional hours or days worked per officer. While some agencies adopt 10-hour shifts for operational reasons, these extra hours can place significant pressure on staffing levels and budgets, especially in larger departments.

Practitioner concerns

From an officer’s standpoint, this shift offers multiple benefits, as it can improve officer morale. In turn, this may reduce the misuse of sick time, and officers may be more productive on shift because they have three days off that they can look forward to.

Despite such advantages, a longer shift can present challenges, particularly in terms of complaints and investigations. Complicated investigations, especially if they occurred toward the end of a shift, can keep officers beyond their 10-hour shift schedule. This may entail officer shifts now being 12 or 13 hours, but it presents concerns as they have to return for their shift sooner the following day.

While 10-hour shifts appear to be favorable, smaller departments face difficulty in transitioning to 10-hour shifts due to limited manpower, suggesting that larger departments may be more flexible than smaller ones.

12-hour police shifts: Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages

The advantages of utilizing a 12-hour schedule are primarily geared towards decreasing commuting [7,8] and providing more consecutive days off. [9,10]

• The nature of 12-hour scheduling requires fewer workdays and, in turn, saves officers’ preparation time, commuting time, and commuting costs.
• Since officers complete their full-time work in a compressed work schedule, they have more days off to spend recreationally or with their families and commute less overall.

Disadvantages

The major drawbacks of employing a 12-hour shift largely focus on the safety of the officer and the public. [6] Additionally, working such lengthy shifts increases burnout, [11] makes working overtime more strenuous, limits the amount of time to sleep and eat, and impacts familial time. [10] Finally, as there can be three to four days between an officer being on duty, communication can be inconsistent. [9]

• Officers are less alert and more tired on 12-hour shifts.
• Working shifts longer than 11 hours was associated with increased burnout.
• When officers are absent from an agency for longer durations, they rarely see colleagues and supervisors. For example, researchers found that 64% of agencies reported a negative effect on communication with fellow officers and 55% experienced a negative impact on communication with officers and supervisors. [9]
• When an officer is held over the scheduled 12 hours, it can become very problematic due to fatigue and limiting the time in which they need to recover (i.e., time to sleep, eat, travel) for their next shift.

Practitioner concerns

The 12-hour shift has several drawbacks, based on our experience. Some are flaws that were undiscovered or unmentioned within the research.

There are significant concerns with 12-hour shifts, specifically regarding the toll that long hours can take. When working 12-hour shifts, the entire day becomes consumed by the shift itself and its accompanying anticipation and preparation. While 12-hour shifts may offer more days off, there are hidden costs to the officer when they are called in on their day off to cover call-outs from their colleagues. Disrupting the recovery days for these officers may result in serious consequences, including increased errors, reduced productivity, diminished engagement, and strained interactions with the public. Officers may also be held beyond their shift, waiting for their relief, which can become even more strenuous. These outcomes can be detrimental to officer well-being, community relations, and the overall department, as productivity tends to decline with longer work hours due to fatigue.

The impact of longer hours on officer wellness is a clear concern, as officers become more exhausted and their personal life may struggle from it. Officers face further issues in regard to sick time use on 12-hour shifts, as they will likely burn through sick time quicker than if they were on 8-hour shifts, for example. The benefits of 12-hour shifts primarily include additional days off for officers and the managerial benefit of reducing costs by avoiding overtime pay for training. However, such benefits are conditional on the assumption that all officers are present and there is no misuse of sick leave.

Conclusion

Work schedules will not, on their own, resolve all staffing challenges, but understanding their advantages and drawbacks is essential for each department’s unique context. The main purpose of this article was to examine how a department may accentuate its goals or prevent negative impacts on its employees through evidence-based scheduling choices.

Because officers are most affected by these decisions, it may also be beneficial to consult current staff about which scheduling features they value most. This process can serve two important functions: demonstrating that their input matters and strengthening retention through shared ownership of the outcome.

Above all, police executives must recognize that scheduling directly influences nearly every facet of operations — efficiency, retention, public safety and officer safety. These factors make the decision complex, but by grounding it in research and aligning it with the agency’s specific needs, leaders can design work-hour models that balance operational demands with officer well-being.

What shift schedule works best in your department — and why? Share below.

References

1. Police Executive Research Forum. New PERF survey shows police agencies are losing officers faster than they can hire new ones. Published 2023.
2. Wilson JM, Grammich CA. Reframing the police staffing challenge: A systems approach to workforce planning and managing workload demand. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice. 2024;18. doi:10.1093/police/paae005
3. Amendola KL, Weisburd D, Hamilton EE, Jones G, Slipka M, Heitmann MA, Shane J, Ortiz C, Tarkghen E, Jones MG, Slipka MM, Heitmann A, Jay J. The impact of shift length in policing on performance, health, quality of life, sleep, fatigue, and extra-duty employment. U.S. Department of Justice; 2011.
4. Amendola KL, Weisburd D, Hamilton EE, Jones G, Slipka M. The shift length experiment: What we know about 8-, 10-, and 12-hour shifts in policing. Police Foundation; 2011.
5. Wilson JM, Weiss A. A performance-based approach to police staffing and allocation. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services; 2014.
6. Amendola KL, Weisburd D, Hamilton EE, Jones G, Slipka M. An experimental study of compressed work schedules in policing: Advantages and disadvantages of various shift lengths. Journal of Experimental Criminology. 2011;7(4):407–442. doi:10.1007/s11292-011-9135-7
7. Breaugh JA. The 12-hour work day: Differing employee reactions. Personnel Psychology. 1983;36(2):277–288.
8. Weiss A. Albuquerque Police Department comprehensive staffing assessment and resource study. City of Albuquerque; 2015.
9. DiMambro A. Patrol shift schedules. TELEMASP Bulletin. 2008;15(2):1–8.
10. Vila B, Morrison GB, Kenney DJ. Improving shift schedule and work-hour policies and practices to increase police officer performance, health, and safety. Police Quarterly. 2002;5(1):4–24. doi:10.1177/109861102129197995
11. Peterson SA, Wolkow AP, Lockley SW, O’Brien CS, Qadri S, Sullivan JP, Czeisler CA, Rajaratnam SMW, Barger LK. Associations between shift work characteristics, shift work schedules, sleep and burnout in North American police officers: A cross-sectional study. BMJ Open. 2019;9(11):e030302. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-030302
12. Demerouti E, Geurts SAE, Bakker AB, Euwema M. The impact of shiftwork on work-home conflict, job attitudes and health. Ergonomics. 2004;47(9):987–1002.

From idea to action references

Baltimore
WMAR 2 News. (February 1, 2019.) Baltimore Police to switch to new patrol schedule.
Babb J. (December 26, 2024.) Amid major staffing shortage, Baltimore Police create new patrol shift. Fox News.

Nashville
Alund NA. (February 25, 2022.) Increasing officer availability: Nashville police transition to 10.5-hour work shifts. The Tennessean.

Troy
Borek J. (December 31, 2024.) Troy Police Department to start 12-hour shifts in 2025. Dayton 24/7 Now.

About the authors

Ethan M. Humphrey, M.S., is a Michigan State University doctoral student in criminal justice, where he also serves as a Research Assistant II and partner of the Police Staffing Observatory (PSO). Since joining Michigan State University, Ethan has developed multiple PSO Perspective research briefs and Office of Community Oriented Policing reports. His research interests include police staffing, community policing, crime reduction, and crime analysis. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice from Radford University. During Ethan’s tenure at Radford University, he served as a graduate research fellow in the Center for Police Practice, Policy and Research (CP3R) where he assisted with funded projects relating to community policing and evidence-based responses to shooting incidents.

Narelle Hickmon, M.S., is a doctoral student in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University, also serving as a Research Assistant II and partner of the Police Staffing Observatory. Prior to attending MSU, Narelle received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Aquinas College and her Master of Science in Criminal Justice from Grand Valley State University (GVSU). While attending GVSU, Narelle served as a graduate assistant, working alongside faculty and Michigan State Police in cold case investigation. Narelle’s research focuses on police allocation, investigations, workload management, and women in policing. In addition, she examines law enforcement’s responses to sexual violence/offending and human trafficking.

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