{"id":1619157,"date":"2022-08-22T15:32:06","date_gmt":"2022-08-22T19:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1619157"},"modified":"2022-08-22T15:32:15","modified_gmt":"2022-08-22T19:32:15","slug":"catastrophic-drop-in-morale-how-progressives-created-an-unprecedented-police-exodus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/catastrophic-drop-in-morale-how-progressives-created-an-unprecedented-police-exodus\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Catastrophic Drop In Morale\u2019: How Progressives Created An Unprecedented Police Exodus"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcatastrophic-drop-in-morale-how-progressives-created-an-unprecedented-police-exodus%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1619157&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>With <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/portland-police-officers-fleeing-in-unprecedented-numbers-a-win-for-defund-the-police-movement\">departures<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/06\/11\/us\/police-retirements-resignations-recruits.html\">happening<\/a> against the backdrop of rising crime rates in major American cities and activists calling for defunding the police, departments across the country are now experiencing staff shortages. Now, as officers continue retiring en masse, police departments are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/chicago-suffering-officer-shortage-cant-find-recruits-people-dont-want-to-be-the-police\">struggling<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/philadelphia-sees-looming-police-shortage-as-officers-file-for-retirement-and-young-people-arent-signing-up\">attract<\/a> enough new recruits, and some are even being <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nola.com\/news\/crime_police\/article_d7a5d976-0ddb-11ed-8000-4b7a72191d9c.html\">forced<\/a> to restructure in order to respond to 911 calls.<\/p>\n<p>While <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/politics\/philadelphia\/philadelphia-police-shortage-worsening-hundreds-retiring-20220819.html\">Philadelphia<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/more-than-200-seattle-police-officers-quit-citing-anti-police-climate\">Seattle<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/lapd-detective-compares-city-to-the-purge-we-dont-think-we-can-keep-you-safe\">Los Angeles<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/chicago-police-crime-statistics-staffing-resignation-retirements\">Chicago<\/a> stand out as cities hit the hardest by this mass exodus, nearly every major American city has experienced similar shortages. If you threw a dart at a map of the United States, you\u2019d likely land close to a city dealing with short-staffed police departments and rising crime rates.<\/p>\n<p>In response, police departments across the country are paying out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/fund-the-police-portland-unrest-leads-to-record-overtime-for-more-than-a-dozen-cops\">more overtime<\/a> to make up for staffing shortages and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/news\/philadelphia-police-911-calls-response-time-20220215.html\">restructuring<\/a> to keep response times up while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/chicago-police-no-longer-allowed-to-chase-criminals-over-minor-offenses\">prioritizing<\/a> violent crime over other offenses such as drugs or theft. Cold case investigators and officers who typically work in outreach and community programs are being <a href=\"https:\/\/www.localsyr.com\/news\/local-news\/syracuse-police-temporarily-reassign-officers-to-patrol-division-due-to-historically-low-staffing-numbers\/\">reassigned<\/a> and placed back on the streets.<\/p>\n<p>High trafficked and high crime areas are, of course, prioritized, and officers are kept in those areas; however, criminals are still taking advantage of law enforcement being stretched thin. Despite their best efforts, crime is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/six-cities-pace-pass-violent-crime-2022\">continuing to rise<\/a> in major cities across the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>A catastrophic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2021\/06\/24\/1009578809\/cops-say-low-morale-and-department-scrutiny-are-driving-them-away-from-the-job\">drop in morale<\/a> seems to be the biggest driver of the police exodus. After the COVID pandemic began in March 2020, many state and local governments adopted policies that put criminals back on the street within days of being arrested in order for jails to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.science.org\/content\/article\/pandemic-inspires-new-push-shrink-jails-and-prisons\">remain less crowded<\/a>. Police in New York City were <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/08\/04\/meet-the-shoplifter-with-101-arrests-and-let-go-almost-every-time\/\">arresting<\/a> the <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/08\/03\/career-criminals-rack-up-nearly-500-arrests-since-ny-bail-reform-began\/\">same criminals<\/a> for different crimes within weeks \u2013 or sometimes even days \u2013 of each other in extremely frustrating cycles.<\/p>\n<p>Then, in May of that year, almost every single major city in America was rocked by protests and riots over the death of George Floyd. Black Lives Matter activists led massive demonstrations that sparked hundreds of violent riots and gave momentum to a movement for defunding the police.<\/p>\n<p>Progressive leaders in cities such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/report-minneapolis-plan-to-defund-the-police-collapses-city-council-members-regret-making-pledge\">Minneapolis<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/nation\/portland-among-u-s-cities-adding-funds-to-police-departments\">Portland<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/0b1ade8e-18cd-43a1-967f-5328ba2053dc\">Los Angeles<\/a> initially embraced the reforms and cut police department funding. These funding cuts and the Defund the Police messaging signaled to many officers that their elected leaders no longer supported them.<\/p>\n<p>This loss of hope in elected officials has produced a startling shortage in police departments across America. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.policeforum.org\/workforcesurveyjune2021\">Police Executive Research Forum<\/a> conducted a study of nearly 200 police departments last year and measured the changes in hiring, resignations, and retirements. Researchers polled police departments on how those statistics changed in the year following the onset of the pandemic compared to the year before, and found that hiring across those police departments fell by a relatively modest 5%. Resignations, on the other hand, increased 18%. Retirements, though, were the biggest blow of all, jumping a staggering 45%. The study acknowledged that smaller departments may have skewed the previously noted statistic, but, even if all the departments with less than 500 officers were excluded, the retirement rate still jumped 27%.<\/p>\n<p>The police shortage, paired with a rise in crime, seems to be feeding a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Miv_ti5KR9U\">snowball effect<\/a>:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/philadelphia\/news\/put-the-guns-down-activists-call-for-peace-as-philadelphias-homicide-rate-continues-to-outpace-deadliest-year-on-record\/\">Philadelphia, Pennsylvania<\/a> hit a record number of homicides last year, and it\u2019s on pace to break that record again this year. Additionally, the city is <a href=\"https:\/\/metrophiladelphia.com\/cops-combat-violent-crime-as-ranks-dwindle\/\">down about<\/a> 550 officers under pre-pandemic levels, and over 800 more officers are on medical leave or restricted duty.<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-10908921\/NYPD-staffing-crisis-city-jeopardy-union-officials-say.html\">New York City<\/a>, the crime rate has jumped nearly 40% this year, and the city\u2019s police officers are leaving en masse. About 1,600 have left the force already this year, well over 400 more than the number that left the police department in all of last year.<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nola.com\/news\/article_5ffa853c-0a04-11ed-9285-6be02e4e976d.html\">New Orleans, Louisiana<\/a>, \u201cfewer than 1,000 officers remain after a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nola.com\/news\/crime_police\/article_0aca501e-8b98-11ec-93fe-c73c3ae4ff61.html\">net loss of one in six officers<\/a> since the start of last year. More than 90 have left the force this year as of early July, according to police officer groups. That\u2019s about the same number who resigned, retired or were fired in all of 2020.\u201d New Orleans police officials and Mayor LaToya Cantrell <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=z0kmZIG3fEg\">admonished the media<\/a> for making their police recruitment more difficult and stated that their priorities are \u201cretention, recruitment, resources.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lcsun-news.com\/story\/news\/local\/2022\/05\/05\/chief-responds-las-cruces-police-officers-association-releases-scathing-letter\/9661087002\/\">Las Cruces, New Mexico<\/a> was down to 77% of its max operating forces as of June 2021.<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oregonlive.com\/crime\/2022\/01\/push-to-hire-retired-portland-police-officers-falls-short-only-2-of-81-express-interest.html\">Portland, Oregon<\/a>, only two recently retired officers, among the 81 contacted by Police Chief Chuck Lovell, have expressed interest in helping fill vacancies for Portland police under the city-approved <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oregonlive.com\/crime\/2021\/09\/mayor-calls-for-more-money-this-fall-to-rehire-police-officers-expand-portland-street-response-prepare-for-body-cameras.html\">retire-rehire program<\/a>. Chief Lovell urged retired officers to consider returning in a letter, acknowledging that those who have retired since August 2020 left \u201cat a time of great despair for the Bureau and the City of Portland.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/wlos.com\/news\/local\/asheville-police-departments-staffing-deficit-has-cost-246m-overtime-pay-since-2020-taxpayers-chief-david-zack\">Asheville, North Carolina<\/a>, Police Chief David Zack stated, \u201cWe really saw this towards the middle and end of 2020 when we started<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With departures happening against the backdrop of rising crime rates in major American cities and activists calling for defunding the police, departments across the country are now experiencing staff shortages. Now, as officers continue retiring en masse, police departments are struggling to attract enough new recruits, and some are even being forced to restructure in &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1619159,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1619157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1619157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1619157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1619157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1619159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1619157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1619157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1619157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}