Purpose – Building on Lambert’s (2001) work on turnover intent in law enforcement, this study examines how organizational characteristics and job attitudes along with job satisfaction, and organizational commitment affect turnover intent among Taiwanese police officers. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from the New Taipei City Police Department (NTCPD) in the summer of 2012 via stratified random sampling (N 5 1,035). Structural equation modeling was employed to examine factors affecting turnover intent. Findings – Job satisfaction and organizational commitment reduced the risk of turnover, while job stressors and training effectiveness directly increased the risk. Worthy of note, officers with a Central Police University degree and who were married had a lower risk of turnover. Originality/value – This study applies Lambert’s (2001) turnover intent model in law enforcement agencies developed in the West to a non-western policing setting. The use of SEM assures the robustness of the findings. Some noteworthy contrasts in findings from Western and non-Western settings are presented.