A research on the values of Turkish gendarmerie as general law enforcement agency: Example of Aydin Provincial Gendarmerie Command

This descriptive research was conducted to determine values and affecting factors of the Turkish gendarmerie personnel with a survey investigating to understand the conceptual dimension of value and professional values, to reveal the similarities between Turkish Gendarmerie work values and personal values between November 2019 and February 2020. The survey questions were replied by the gendarmeries working in the Aydın Provincial Gendarmerie Command. The data were collected by using the "Personnel Information Form" and "Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ)" with the online survey method. 58.4% of the representatives are between 19-29 years old, 61.2% are married, 57.4% have normal body mass index, 32.4% high school or elementary school graduate, 56.3% have been working in the profession for 0-60 months and furthermore 35.7% of the participant chose a profession in the army for the patriotic feeling they have to their motherland, 24.6% of the participant chose this profession since it was their carrier goals and 22.0% of the participant chose being gendarmerie as a profession since it is seen as a respected profession in the society. The security (5.44±0.48), universalism (5.43±0.51) and conformity (5.41±0.60) are seen as the most important factors, Among gendarmeries participating PVQ survey have tendency towards kindness (5.06±0.66), self- direction (5.26±0.46) , self-transcendence and conversation (4.66±0.97) , accomplishment (4.36±1.08), hedonism (4.40±0.98), stimulation (4.30±0.80), self-enhancement (4.73±0.72) , openness to change (4,94±0,68) , conservatism (4,94±0,68) and power (3,87±0,90) According to PVQ results, there is no statistically significant relation between gender and working condition (p>0,05) but age, VKİ, education degree, status, work experience, readily work the reasons in choosing this profession having injuries during the working hours, administrational conditions and judicial penalties , the number of the appreciation letters and awards have also statistical significance role in changing values (p<0,05). As a result; It is seen that values are important concepts , they are considered important in the gendarmerie organization, the values of the gendarmeries are close to the qualities they should have, they show a social similarity even if individual differences are observed and some factors may affect their value orientation. Considering the values of the gendarmeries and evaluating their suitability to the profession during the recruitment process can be beneficial for the functioning and service quality of the Gendarmerie Organization.