An Analysis of the Incidence of Recruiter Irregularites

Beth J. Asch, Paul Heaton

ResearchPublished Nov 9, 2010

The authors examine the prevalence and consequences of irregularities by military recruiters. Recruiter irregularities are uncommon — using the services' data for tracking allegations between 2007–2009, the authors document about 1 allegation per 1,000 applicants. Between 1 to 3 percent of the recruiter workforce is involved in substantiated allegations in a given year, with concealment or falsification representing the most common form of irregularity. Exploring Army contract data, the authors compare the characteristics of those signing contracts at the end of the recruiting month — when recruiters are under the greatest pressure to meet their monthly recruiting quotas — with those signed earlier in the month. Recruiters appear less likely to carefully screen recruits and more likely to sign marginal applicants at the end of the contract month, leading to some negative outcomes among these enlistees. While undesirable behavior on the part of applicants and/or recruiters appears more prevalent at the end of the recruiting month, patterns in contracts across the course of the recruiting month also suggest the incidence of unreported irregularities is likely to be low.

Order a Print Copy

Format
Paperback
Page count
68 pages
List Price
$20.00
Buy link
Add to Cart

Topics

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 2010
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 68
  • Paperback Price: $20.00
  • Paperback ISBN/EAN: 978-0-8330-5020-5
  • Document Number: TR-827-OSD

Citation

RAND Style Manual
Asch, Beth J. and Paul Heaton, An Analysis of the Incidence of Recruiter Irregularites, RAND Corporation, TR-827-OSD, 2010. As of September 24, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR827.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Asch, Beth J. and Paul Heaton, An Analysis of the Incidence of Recruiter Irregularites. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2010. https://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR827.html. Also available in print form.
BibTeX RIS

Research conducted by

The research described in this report was prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). The research was conducted in the RAND National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the OSD, the Joint Staff, the Unified Combatant Commands, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the defense agencies, and the defense Intelligence Community.

This publication is part of the RAND technical report series. RAND technical reports, products of RAND from 2003 to 2011, presented research findings on a topic limited in scope or intended for a narrow audience; discussions of the methodology employed in research; literature reviews, survey instruments, modeling exercises, guidelines for practitioners and research professionals, and supporting documentation; and preliminary findings. All RAND technical reports were subject to rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.