Anti-law enforcement policies pushed by Democratic officials after the death of George Floyd in 2020 have led to a decline in the number of active law enforcement officers. Through a wave of retirements, resignations and recruiting difficulties, officers "believe they are being set up to fail," the Daily Wire notes.
In Durham, N.C., Interim Mayor Jillian Johnson said in 2020 that "police were established as a white supremacist institution, that they were created to police black people and protect white property." The city later instituted measures that reduced its number of officers by 13%.
Reduction of police forces
The New York Police Department has more than 35,000 uniformed personnel, making it the largest police force of any city in the country. The NYPD lost nearly 1,100 officers in 2021 due to resignations or retirements, the highest figure in the nation per available official data. The city cut its police budget for that year by $1 billion as part of a move to defund the police.
The New York Post independently reported that 2,465 NYPD officers have filed papers to leave the agency so far in 2022. This includes 1,098 who did so before they were entitled to their full pensions.
The Big Apple is followed by places like Minneapolis, with a 24% reduction in its police force; Louisville, Ky. (17%); Portland, Ore. (15%); and Seattle (20%).
Law enforcement "demonized"
The president of the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), Patrick Yoes, warned a few months ago of the existence of a "crisis” in the police structure. He claims that officers are leaving their jobs at a rate never seen before. In addition, he noted that the police have been demonized, which "has eroded eroded the very trust of the institution."
We see law enforcement officers leave our profession at a rate we've never seen before ... And because of the actions, and because of the turmoil that has happened in the last two years, we have a crisis right now in manpower ... America's law enforcement has been demonized by many. It has created a rift within this country and eroded the very trust of the institution and the profession of law enforcement. And we're paying for it. We're paying for it in our communities with higher crime. And we're also paying for it in law enforcement officers.
Nationally, cities with more than 500,000 residents had an average of 2.54 police officers per 1,000 people last year, down from 2.75 in 2018, according to FBI data. In the year 2000, the rate was 3.31.
Ian Prior, a former Justice Department official in the Trump Administration, told The Daily Wire that the anti-police moves have affected staffing numbers as much as actual budget cuts:
The fact that we are seeing police officers quitting is a direct consequence of the far left’s woke agenda to not only cut resources, but smear and demean law enforcement and make those jobs more difficult and dangerous as a result.
Prior stated that progressive prosecutors who are soft on crime make the police feel that their work is being done in vain, which heavily influences their performance and enthusiasm.
