- Joined
- Oct 27, 2005
- Messages
- 28,931
- Reaction score
- 15,589
The problem:
Police departments across the country are facing such serious shortages that 911 call response times are becoming longer and longer and departments are desperate to fill empty positions. For example, Dallas pd is down almost 600 officers. Chicago went from having 22k people/year going through the process of becoming a police officer in 2018 to less than 4K taking the exam in 2021. Retirements of police officers are up as are resignations.
There were 42.7% more resignations in 2021 than in 2019.
• Agencies of all sizes reported substantial increases in resignations from 2019 to 2021.
• There were 23.6% more retirements in 2021 than in 2019.
• Agencies of all sizes reported an increase in retirements from 2019 to 2020, and large agencies saw the largest increase.
Reasons given have been mostly related to the “racial reckoning” of 20 and officers across the country getting really shit on about the death of floyd and the defund the police movement.
It’s also critical to address this issue while we are facing a rising crime epidemic across the country. Violent crimes such as shootings and murders are up in many cities, some with over 100% increase. It takes at least 8 months for an officer to be able to hit the road by themselves. Usually 4-6 months in the academy and 4-6 months of fto training.
What police departments are doing about it:
Chicago has relaxed the education requirement of 60 college credits if the applicant has prior police experience or related fields. Police departments are eliminating special anti-crime units or gun units, departments are shifting resources to patrol to try and cover vacant positions, and departments are adding incentives to attract applicants or to entice officers not to retire.
My take:
I think lowering standards is a terrible idea, but if they are going to do that, it should be in a smart manner.
My opinion on the matter is that incentives should be offered for college degrees or police experience and it should be an incremental rate depending on the amount of education or experience the applicant has. I didn’t have to have a degree to become a police officer, but I had one from Washington and Jefferson college outside of Pittsburg, which is an elite school. What did it get me? Nothing. Now I have a masters and if I was able to become a police officer again(I can’t because of the metal hardware on my spine), I would expect to be compensated for having an advanced degree. While I have worked with great officers with no college experience, I feel the best I worked with had degrees, but where is the incentive to have a degree if it is not needed? A college education should also be offered for those that don’t have it and want it. I am sure many colleges would be willing to offer decent discounts or free tuition for police officers as it benefits the entire community.
The second thing I would do is to offer years of experience based incremental raises at set levels. So much at three years, so much at 5, 10, 15, etc.
the third thing is that the salary has to be increased and competitive with other professions. Police officers in some cities or counties can make a lot with lots of ot, but in other areas, the pay is laughable. I was a lieutenant and I made a tad over 50k before taxes.
And finally, we have to do something to retain officers. I think that pay is a serious motivator for that.
Offer a bonus every five or ten years to give officers that reason to stay.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/w...e-with-critical-staffing-shortages/ar-AAZLdh3
https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/18/us/chicago-police-recruiting-standards/index.html
Police departments across the country are facing such serious shortages that 911 call response times are becoming longer and longer and departments are desperate to fill empty positions. For example, Dallas pd is down almost 600 officers. Chicago went from having 22k people/year going through the process of becoming a police officer in 2018 to less than 4K taking the exam in 2021. Retirements of police officers are up as are resignations.
There were 42.7% more resignations in 2021 than in 2019.
• Agencies of all sizes reported substantial increases in resignations from 2019 to 2021.
• There were 23.6% more retirements in 2021 than in 2019.
• Agencies of all sizes reported an increase in retirements from 2019 to 2020, and large agencies saw the largest increase.
Reasons given have been mostly related to the “racial reckoning” of 20 and officers across the country getting really shit on about the death of floyd and the defund the police movement.
It’s also critical to address this issue while we are facing a rising crime epidemic across the country. Violent crimes such as shootings and murders are up in many cities, some with over 100% increase. It takes at least 8 months for an officer to be able to hit the road by themselves. Usually 4-6 months in the academy and 4-6 months of fto training.
What police departments are doing about it:
Chicago has relaxed the education requirement of 60 college credits if the applicant has prior police experience or related fields. Police departments are eliminating special anti-crime units or gun units, departments are shifting resources to patrol to try and cover vacant positions, and departments are adding incentives to attract applicants or to entice officers not to retire.
My take:
I think lowering standards is a terrible idea, but if they are going to do that, it should be in a smart manner.
My opinion on the matter is that incentives should be offered for college degrees or police experience and it should be an incremental rate depending on the amount of education or experience the applicant has. I didn’t have to have a degree to become a police officer, but I had one from Washington and Jefferson college outside of Pittsburg, which is an elite school. What did it get me? Nothing. Now I have a masters and if I was able to become a police officer again(I can’t because of the metal hardware on my spine), I would expect to be compensated for having an advanced degree. While I have worked with great officers with no college experience, I feel the best I worked with had degrees, but where is the incentive to have a degree if it is not needed? A college education should also be offered for those that don’t have it and want it. I am sure many colleges would be willing to offer decent discounts or free tuition for police officers as it benefits the entire community.
The second thing I would do is to offer years of experience based incremental raises at set levels. So much at three years, so much at 5, 10, 15, etc.
the third thing is that the salary has to be increased and competitive with other professions. Police officers in some cities or counties can make a lot with lots of ot, but in other areas, the pay is laughable. I was a lieutenant and I made a tad over 50k before taxes.
And finally, we have to do something to retain officers. I think that pay is a serious motivator for that.
Offer a bonus every five or ten years to give officers that reason to stay.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/w...e-with-critical-staffing-shortages/ar-AAZLdh3
https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/18/us/chicago-police-recruiting-standards/index.html
