Some levity would be good right around the time you send your troops off into the wilderness to fight crime, write reports, and say inappropriate things over an open microphone.
The approximately 50 now-former NYPD officers, many of whom had less than five years on the job, have jumped ship since Friday even though it meant taking a pay cut in the short term, law enforcement sources said.
“More people responded to this survey than any survey we’ve done in the last nine years that I’ve been here,” said Craig Lally, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League. I’ve never seen morale this low, and I’m going on 40 years in the department.”
In one exit interview, an officer wrote, in part, “The City Council has made it apparent that maintaining adequate staffing to keep the city or the officers [safe] that work there is not a priority for them.”
The Seattle Police Department has reportedly lost more than 100 officers in recent weeks, the agency has recently confirmed.
The Colwyn (PA) Police Department has had significant attrition due to early retirements of officers, placing the agency in a spot where they may only have one officer on duty per shift in a community of 2,600 residents.
The Atlanta Police Department is reportedly suffering what it calls a "critical shortage" of patrol officers as retirements and departures have left the agency woefully understaffed.
“It’s going to be really difficult to even get police officers to come here in the future because public safety is at risk,” Union head Mike Solan said.
What we discovered from the responses is that administrators, commanders, and supervisors are desperately trying to keep their troops safe and their agencies operational during the crisis. They are also looking forward to the end of the crisis, but are concerned about their agencies moving forward.
Officers with the Lafayette (IN) Police Department will now be able to grow facial hair and reveal tattoos while on duty following a change in the agency's policy on appearance.