The resiliency of U.S. critical infrastructure has led to a culture where citizens take for granted the complex systems that make their daily lives run smoothly and safely. When someone turns on a lamp, they don’t think of the power plant generating electricity. When someone turns on the kitchen faucet, they don’t think of the water treatment plants and miles of buried water pipe. When someone dials 911 to report an emergency, they expect help to be minutes away and don’t think of a delayed police response. They don’t realize that their plea for help is dictated by the volume of other ongoing police emergencies, the number of police officers needed to respond, the number of police officers on duty available to respond, and most importantly, the number of police officers on the force which is driven by recruitment and training.
We rely on police response so much that we have installed panic buttons in banks to expedite help, we teach our young children how to call 911, and we pull our cars to the side so responding police with flashing lights and sirens can pass safely. Seldom do we stop and think about the consequence of the police not timely responding and the greater societal impacts if that was more commonplace. But the U.S. is reaching a crisis due to the shortage of police officers, which is impacting cities and communities across the U.S. Police officer shortages are occurring due to low numbers of applicants from recruitment efforts, growing retention issues, earlier than planned retirements, and a growing lack of support by citizenry, prosecutors, and legislatures. These shortages are often forcing on-duty police officers to be overworked and stretched thin, resulting in longer response times, cognitive impairment upon arrival, less proactive policing, and cutting of routine community services and engagement, just to name a few impacts. The end result is that more crime is going undetected, and more criminals are getting away with their crimes, which simply emboldens them further. This doesn’t even address the impacts it has on police officer lives leading to failing relationships, depression, burnout from inhumane forced overtime and double shifts for days or weeks on end and, tragically, suicide. It is important to note that police officers have the highest rate of suicide of any profession.[i] Sadly, police officer shortages and the effects are occurring in the most vulnerable communities that need police officers the most: New Orleans, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City.[ii]
When someone thinks of critical infrastructure, the law enforcement discipline within the Emergency Services sector is not one of the first things that comes to mind; however, it is just as critical as many of the other sectors. The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency defines the Emergency Services sector as “a community of millions of highly skilled, trained personnel, along with the physical and cyber resources, that provide a wide range of prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery services during both day-to-day operations and incident response.”[iii] There are five defined disciplines that make up the Emergency Services sector that include Law Enforcement, Fire and Rescue, Emergency Medical, Emergency Management, and Public Works.[iv] While all of these disciplines face unique challenges, the law enforcement discipline has been faced with rising challenges of hiring and retaining good, qualified police officers. The police officer profession once saw bountiful recruitment classes of young men and women wishing to make a difference in cities and communities. Sadly, many cities and communities are facing recruitment challenges that have driven a lowering of recruitment standards to sustain the number of police officers needed. It’s important to understand how we got here. Over the last 10 years the U.S. has had several controversial police-related uses of force or in-custody deaths. For example, Freddie Gray died days after an injury attributed to a post-arrest police transport in Baltimore, Maryland, in 2015.[v] Another in-custody death that garnered national attention was when George Floyd tragically died after being held down with a knee to his neck by a Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officer in 2020.[vi] And the latest high profile in-custody death that occurred was when Tyre Nichols horribly died days after resisting arrest, being chased, and then beaten by six police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, in January 2023.[vii] All three arrests were captured on police officer body camera video, and to the shock of the nation George Floyd’s death was filmed by a bystander –video that resulted in unrest across the U.S.
More police officer accountability can be attributed to police officer body cameras and the rise of smartphones being wielded by bystanders which captures camera, video, and audio of incidents. Much of this technology has been instrumental as evidence in investigations and criminal proceedings; however, it can be quickly disseminated through social media applications prior to complete investigations. Twenty years ago, many of these incidents may not have risen to any level of awareness except among those directly involved or immediate witnesses. In the case of George Floyd, a bystander’s phone video served as insurmountable evidence for a quick arrest and criminal charges of the offending officer who kneeled on George Floyd’s neck despite him already being in custody, lying face down, and handcuffed. Other incidents are not so clear. Freddie Gray in 2015 was taken into custody in Baltimore, Maryland, and transported in the back of a police van to jail. During the transport, the unbuckled Gray suffered a severe spinal cord injury and later died. Evidence presented in the case at trial showed that there were no nefarious actions taken by the van driver, and that common practice at that time was to not use seatbelts due to risks to the officer in the confined space.[viii] This case led to all six responding police officers quickly criminally charged and unrest in the streets of Baltimore. All officers would later be acquitted of charges or have them dropped by the same state’s attorney who filed them.[ix] This in-custody death, and that of George Floyd, has shaped policing policy across many jurisdictions for the better. However, not to diminish the loss of Freddie Gray’s life or that of George Floyd’s life and pain felt by their families and communities, nor to excuse the actions of police officers who have abused authority and use of force, these incidents and the negative narratives surrounding policing that emerged have illustrated to police officers across the U.S. how quickly their livelihood and freedoms could change based on real or perceived mistakes. As a result of this shifting mindset and negativity toward their profession, many police officers have opted for passive policing, resignation, or quicker retirement. Furthermore, many young men and women who were considering becoming a police officer to serve their cities and communities are now changing their minds, and are perusing other professions.
According to a law enforcement study, between the months of June 2020 and December 2022 a large police agency in the U.S. faced a 279 percent increase in resignations.[x] The study demonstrated the increase in resignations was linked to protests occurring in the city, a hostile sociopolitical environment, and a perceived lack of political support.[xi] A research study conducted looking at data between 2020 and 2021 pointed to an alarming trend of police officers leaving the profession nationwide.[xii] Police chiefs across the U.S. were surveyed and reported there was an 18 percent increase in resignations compared to the year before and a 45 percent increase in police officer retirements for those with enough years of service to retire.[xiii] To compound this staffing crisis, police chiefs reported a 5 percent overall decrease in hiring during the same period and one police chief was quoted as saying, “We have seen an approximate 40 percent reduction in applicant packets this last fiscal year. In addition, we are seeing fewer ‘above average’ candidates. The current rhetoric and negativity surrounding law enforcement is having a negative impact on the number and quality of applicants we recruit.”[xiv] Another police chief emphasized the hiring emergency by saying, “We’ve had a more than 50 percent reduction in the number of applicants for the recruit academy, from an average of 450 per year, to only 205 in 2020. And we’ve seen a 100 percent reduction in qualified lateral recruits,[1] with zero hired in 2020, compared to an average of 3 to 4 annually since 2008.”[xv]
The current atmosphere has discouraged qualified applicants from pursuing a police officer profession and encouraged those police officers on the force to leave or retire early, but it has also left those remaining on duty with a new mindset: be passive, just answer the call, and don’t be proactive. When not answering a call, most police departments allow police officers the freedom to proactively patrol high-crime areas, conduct traffic enforcement, or be visible in an area to deter crime or help citizenry. However, in a time of criticism and public distrust of police officers, data shows that police officers are being less proactive and choosing to simply wait until they are forced to deal with crime through their dispatcher, rather than proactively seeking it out.[xvi] Reuters research shows that after George Floyd’s death in 2020 a large number of police officers stopped being proactive.[xvii] In the year after Floyd’s death, 2.2 million police dispatches were researched, and the number of suspicious people approached on the street by Minneapolis police officers dropped by 76 percent and 85 percent fewer cars were stopped for traffic violations; as police officers stopped fewer people, they found and seized fewer illegal drugs and guns.[xviii] Not only are police officers engaging less with the citizenry, but across the U.S. fewer police officers are willing to stop, interview, and arrest offenders and there is even legislation that makes it illegal for them to do so. For example, as juvenile offenders accused of violent carjackings in Maryland skyrockets, a new law effective in 2022 now prohibits law enforcement officers from interviewing a juvenile offender without a parent or lawyer present – this means fewer confessions, less identification of others involved in the crime, fewer convictions, and fewer arrests.[xix] In Chicago, a new law now prohibits officers from even chasing a suspect on foot for unprovoked flight or for a minor offense.[xx] This results in fewer illegal gun recoveries, fewer illegal drug recoveries, and fewer arrests. Even more troubling, those with criminal warrants will flee to avoid having to show identification resulting in their criminal warrant becoming known, which could have resulted in an arrest.
It’s clear that fewer people are willing to pursue police officer professions, and many police officers on duty are less willing and often prohibited from policing proactively. This combination has led to a policing crisis that has caused many cities to have much higher violent crime (e.g., murder, rape, armed robberies, assault, etc.) and delayed police responses as seen in the past decades.[xxi] It is intuitive that when police officers respond quickly to a scene there is a far greater chance of arresting the criminal if a crime has occurred. A study conducted by the Department of Justice showed that if police officers respond in less than 5 minutes to a call involving crime, the probability of making an arrest is 60 percent, whereas when the response exceeds 5 minutes the arrest probability drops to approximately 20 percent.[xxii] The translation is simple: Fewer police officers on duty often leads to longer response times, which leads to more criminals getting away, resulting in criminals being emboldened to commit more crimes. In New Orleans, Louisiana, for example, the average police response time has tripled from 51 minutes in 2019 to 146 minutes in 2022. New Orleans reported in 2022 that they had lost over 300 police officers in a year, dwindling their police force to under 1,000 officers.[xxiii] The consequence to New Orleans’ residents was evident as seen in data between 2019 to 2022 when the city went from 119 to 280 homicides, shootings increased 88 percent, carjackings increased 156 percent, and armed robberies increased 20 percent.[xxiv][xxv]
The problem is not unique to New Orleans; violent crime has significantly increased across the U.S. The murder rate from 2019 to 2020 in the U.S jumped nearly 29 percent.[xxvi] In New York City, the lack of police officers has increased response time; for example, the critical response time rose between late December 2020 to February 2023 by over a minute, which is likely why “every crime category except for murders and shootings is up over the past two years.”[xxvii] Even higher rises in crime are expected as New York City is seeing unprecedented departures of police officers as reported by the New York Post in March 2023: “33,822 uniformed cops are already 1,208 below the budgeted headcount, documents show, and 2,467 cops short of the 36,289 roster at the start of 2020.”[xxviii] In Chicago, Illinois, during 2021, out of a total of 788,389 “high-priority” 911 calls, over half of the callers were forced to wait because there were no available police officers to respond; high-priority calls are defined as a call that has imminent threats to life or bodily injury.[xxix] As discussed before, this decrease in police response time has translated to more criminals getting away with crimes. During this same period in Chicago, assault apprehensions fell nearly 10 percent and motor vehicle theft apprehensions fell by 17 percent.[xxx] This increase in crime and response time draws a direct correlation with the resignation and retirement of police officers. Chicago saw a drop of police officers on duty from 13,486 sworn officers in 2019 to 11,669 in the spring of 2022.[xxxi] Baltimore, Maryland, is so short of police officers that civilians were hired at less pay to investigate crimes so that police officers can move on and be available for other calls.[xxxii] But this strategy may backfire and lead to less arrests or hamper investigations as many criminals are repeat offenders and are known to police officers. In 2022, the New York City Police Department lost 3,071 members, a number not seen in over 20 years, leaving violent crime and daylight robberies soaring as police officers were continuously dispatched from call-to-call their entire shift.[xxxiii] When looking across the U.S., there is an increase of hostility toward police officers, less proactive policing, and even less financial support for policing through “defunding police” social campaigns. All of this is simply emboldening criminals who know the probability of their arrest has greatly decreased, there is a greater likelihood of not being prosecuted if arrested, and there is a greater likelihood of sentencing leniency if convicted by soft-on-crime public prosecutors.
History has shown the positive impact that proactive policing can have on reducing violent crime. When police officers are proactively and positively engaging the citizenry, searching people and cars based on legal probable cause, and making arrests for illegal activity, then communities become safer places to live. New York City has been used as a model for proactive policing for several decades. In 1991, in response to a murder rate of 31.0 per 100,000 residents, New York City police adopted a model of community policing that involved walking a foot beat, frisking suspicious suspects based on probable cause, and addressing low-level criminal activity such as drug offenses, vandalism, and subway fare jumping, which are often harbingers of bigger issues.[xxxiv] By 2013, the murder rate in New York City had been reduced to 3.3 per 100,000 people.[xxxv] Police officers simply walking a foot beat and getting to know the citizenry at their level can drive a more positive relationship and cooperation.
History has also shown the negative impact that proactive policing can have on police officers who, for whatever reason, demonstrate abuses of authority and excessive force. Police officers come upon chaotic scenes and must try to bring order to them through their actions, often without a clear understanding of who is who, and who is doing what to whom. A retired Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department police officer described it as “officers are placed in situations where there is no clear easy response but must take an action.”[xxxvi] Police officers are human and have, and will, continue to make mistakes in split-second decisions in what can be very stressful and extreme environments where human life is at stake, including their own. With that said, most all would agree that police officers should be thoroughly investigated when they use force and held accountable if they commit a crime.
The growing negative public perception of the law enforcement discipline, often driven by media that villainizes police officers, politicization of law enforcement by prosecutors trying to appease citizenry, and recent emboldening of criminals, has left the law enforcement discipline in crisis and its effects are being felt daily in cities and communities across the country and the police officer profession is noticeably fraying. One article summed up the New York City police crisis as, “New York City’s Finest are also bailing because of what they consider anti-cop politics, woke bail reform policies that make criminal justice a revolving door and low wages.”[xxxvii] This crisis will take time to fix. Through certain actions, a professional and accountable law enforcement community can coexist with the condemnation of crime and holding criminals accountable. There is no perfect solution to this crisis because the complexities of crime, human error, communities, split-second decisions, and evil acts will always lead to an imperfect system, but here are some points worth considering to move policing back in the right direction.
- First, transparency in policing is critical to gain public trust and highlight the dangers, extreme environments, and quick decisions that police officers must make in encounters that are often life threatening. Body cameras have been a great technological advancement that provides public transparency and ensures accountability of actions by all parties. However, body cameras show a small slice of time and often can distort context of what the police officer faced especially in the on-duty firing of their weapon. As such, body camera footage should be thoroughly reviewed before it’s publicly released to ensure the citizenry understands the full context, right or wrong, of all parties.
- Second, lowering of police officer recruitment standards may attract more applicants but that is moving in the opposite direction of a professional, educated police force and could lead to increases in abuses of authority and excessive force. Police pay will need to increase to attract higher-qualified applicants in the current atmosphere. Furthermore, police departments should increase police officer education and training requirements for applicants and offer opportunities for continuing education. However, it is imperative that it is quality and relevant training, and that their skills are maintained by refresher training.
- Third, arresting those that commit and are later convicted of violent crimes against other people, to include police officers, should result in significant imprisonment and not a revolving door where criminals end up back on the street. Furthermore, violent criminals cannot be emboldened by getting away with lenient sentences for their actions. Police officers must feel that putting their lives at risk apprehending violent criminals is not done in vain by soft-on-crime prosecutors who leverage lenient sentences at the expense of public safety.
- Fourth, police officers are human, and when they are involved in on-duty firing of their weapons it can be an emotional and stressful event, which is often compounded by their weapon being taken and placed into evidence as they are taken in for questioning by detectives and then placed on administrative leave during the investigation. The process in and of itself villainizes the police officer to a degree and can make the officer feel “guilty until proven innocent”[xxxviii] despite the outcome of the investigation. As such, departments need to ensure that police officers are supported and treated with respect during the investigation.
- Fifth, police officers need to know that prosecutors will ensure an adequate investigation and not rush into making accusations of wrongdoing and charging police officers due to external factors, like appeasing citizens’ outcry or social-media campaigns than can result in protests and even riots. This is not to dismiss the accountability of police officers who commit gross policy violations, abuse their authority, or use excessive force against citizenry; it’s simply a recognition that police officers are often placed in extreme environments that require and justify an adequate investigation. The Supreme Court ruling of Graham v. Connor is clear and is taught in every police academy across the country: excessive force accusations of police officers fall under the Fourth Amendment and the use of force exercised in a seizure should be seen as objectively reasonable through the perspective of another police officer faced with a similar situation – not the media, not the public, and not politicians.
- Sixth, the news media, social media, politicians, and citizenry should avoid sensationalizing police officer actions regarding abuses of authority, excessive force, and in-custody deaths until enough facts have been substantiated through an adequate investigation, which serves as grounds for appropriate follow-on actions.
- Seventh, police departments need catchy recruitment advertisements targeted at potential recruits where they spend their time – TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat – rather than opting for newspapers, local news, or websites stenciled on police cars.[xxxix]
We must make policing a sought-after profession again, where men and women feel that their community service is appreciated and respected and that they can confront criminals who wish to do them or the public harm. This type of policing requires police officers to be highly trained regarding the authorities they have and do not have, their department policy, and the rules regarding the reasonable use and application of force. This type of policing requires police officers to be treated fairly when mistakes are made, and their actions be adequately investigated before career ending accusations and charges are rushed due to external factors.
While the erosion of the law enforcement discipline does not have the traditional markings of American critical infrastructure — like a nuclear plant, airport, or dam — neglecting it has severe consequences for our most vulnerable cities, communities, and overall public safety. The police officer staffing crisis must become a higher priority because the allure of this profession is tarnishing and becoming less and less attractive.
The authors are responsible for the content of this article. The views expressed do not reflect the official policy or position of the National Intelligence University, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Intelligence Community, or the U.S. Government.
The views expressed here are the writer’s and are not necessarily endorsed by Homeland Security Today, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints in support of securing our homeland. To submit a piece for consideration, email [email protected].
[1] A lateral recruit is a police officer who applies for employment with a new agency; they are often preferred over new recruits because they save the new agency money since there is no need for a police academy.
[i] Hilliard, J “New Study Shows Police At Highest Risk For Suicide of Any Profession” AddictionCenter, September 14, 2019. Accessed March 12, 2023. New Study Shows Police at Highest Risk for Suicide Than Any Profession – Addiction Center
[ii] Colton, Emma. “NYPD Sees Largest Staff Exodus in Decades with Leaders ‘Refusing to Acknowledge’ Mounting Crisis: Union Boss.” Fox News. FOX News Network, 2023. Last modified 2023. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.foxnews.com/us/nypd-sees-largest-staff-exodus-decades-as-leaders-refusing-acknowledge-mounting-crisis-union-boss.
[iii] “Emergency Services Sector.” Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA. Last modified 2023. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.cisa.gov/emergency-services-sector.
[iv] “Emergency Services Sector.” Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA. Last modified 2023. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.cisa.gov/emergency-services-sector.
[v] Stolberg, Sheryl Gay, and Jess Bidgood. “All Charges Dropped against Baltimore Officers in Freddie Gray Case.” The New York Times. The New York Times, July 27, 2016. Last modified July 27, 2016. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/28/us/charges-dropped-against-3-remaining-officers-in-freddie-gray-case.html.
[vi] Hill, Evan, Ainara Tiefenthäler, Christiaan Triebert, Drew Jordan, Haley Willis, and Robin Stein. “How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody.” The New York Times. The New York Times, June 1, 2020. Last modified June 1, 2020. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html.
[vii] Stein, Robin, Alexander Cardia, and Natalie Reneau. 2023. “71 Commands in 13 Minutes: Officers Gave Tyre Nichols Impossible Orders.” The New York Times, January 29, 2023, sec. U.S. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/29/us/tyre-nichols-video-assault-cops.html.
[viii] “Records Show City Police Had Long Urged Seat Belt Use in Vans.” n.d. Baltimore Sun. Accessed February 21, 2023. https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/investigations/bs-md-police-seatbelt-audits-20151017-story.html.
[ix] Stolberg, Sheryl Gay, and Jess Bidgood. “All Charges Dropped against Baltimore Officers in Freddie Gray Case.” The New York Times. The New York Times, July 27, 2016. Last modified July 27, 2016. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/28/us/charges-dropped-against-3-remaining-officers-in-freddie-gray-case.html.
[x] Mortgos , Scott. “Linking the Workforce Crisis, Crime, and Response Time.” Policechiefmagazine.org. Last modified August 24, 2022. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/linking-the-workforce-crisis-crime-and-response-time/. PERF “Workforcesurveyjune2021.” Police Executive Research Forum. Last modified June 11, 2021. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.policeforum.org/workforcesurveyjune2021
[xi] Mortgos , Scott. “Linking the Workforce Crisis, Crime, and Response Time.” Policechiefmagazine.org. Last modified August 24, 2022. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/linking-the-workforce-crisis-crime-and-response-time/. PERF “Workforcesurveyjune2021.” Police Executive Research Forum. Last modified June 11, 2021. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.policeforum.org/workforcesurveyjune2021
[xii] Mortgos , Scott. “Linking the Workforce Crisis, Crime, and Response Time.” Policechiefmagazine.org. Last modified August 24, 2022. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/linking-the-workforce-crisis-crime-and-response-time/. PERF “Workforcesurveyjune2021.” Police Executive Research Forum. Last modified June 11, 2021. Accessed February 15, 2023.
[xiii] Mortgos , Scott. “Linking the Workforce Crisis, Crime, and Response Time.” Policechiefmagazine.org. Last modified August 24, 2022. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/linking-the-workforce-crisis-crime-and-response-time/. PERF “Workforcesurveyjune2021.” Police Executive Research Forum. Last modified June 11, 2021. Accessed February 15, 2023.
[xiv] Mortgos , Scott. “Linking the Workforce Crisis, Crime, and Response Time.” Policechiefmagazine.org. Last modified August 24, 2022. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/linking-the-workforce-crisis-crime-and-response-time/. PERF “Workforcesurveyjune2021.” Police Executive Research Forum. Last modified June 11, 2021. Accessed February 15, 2023.
[xv] Mortgos , Scott. “Linking the Workforce Crisis, Crime, and Response Time.” Policechiefmagazine.org. Last modified August 24, 2022. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/linking-the-workforce-crisis-crime-and-response-time/. PERF “Workforcesurveyjune2021.” Police Executive Research Forum. Last modified June 11, 2021. Accessed February 15, 2023.
[xvi] Heath, Brad. After Floyd’s Killing, Minneapolis Police Retreated, Data Shows. Reuters, September 13, 2021. Last modified September 13, 2021. Accessed February 13, 2023. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/after-floyds-killing-minneapolis-police-retreated-data-shows-2021-09-13/
[xvii] Heath, Brad. After Floyd’s Killing, Minneapolis Police Retreated, Data Shows. Reuters, September 13, 2021. Last modified September 13, 2021. Accessed February 13, 2023. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/after-floyds-killing-minneapolis-police-retreated-data-shows-2021-09-13/
[xviii] Heath, Brad. After Floyd’s Killing, Minneapolis Police Retreated, Data Shows. Reuters, September 13, 2021. Last modified September 13, 2021. Accessed February 13, 2023. https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/after-floyds-killing-minneapolis-police-retreated-data-shows-2021-09-13/
[xix] Scott, Emily. “MD Bill Would Limit Police Interrogation of Youths without Adult Present.” Public News Service. Last modified March 11, 2022. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.publicnewsservice.org/2022-03-11/juvenile-justice/md-bill-would-limit-police-interrogation-of-youths-without-adult-present/a78249-1.
[xx] Press, The Associated. “Chicago Police Will No Longer Be Allowed to Chase People on Foot.” NPR. NPR, June 22, 2022. Last modified June 22, 2022. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2022/06/22/1106654201/chicago-police-will-no-longer-be-allowed-to-chase-people-on-foot.
[xxi] Macrotrends, LLC. “U.S. Murder/Homicide Rate 1990-2023.” MacroTrends. Last modified 2023. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/murder-homicide-rate.
[xxii] Authen, J H. “Response Time – What’s the Rush?” Office of Justice Programs . U.S. Department of Justice , November 11, 1981. Last modified November 11, 1981. Accessed February 13, 2023. https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/response-time-whats-rush.
[xxiii] Smith, Nick, and Nexstar Media Wire. “New Orleans Police Hire Civilians to Combat Officer Shortage.” The Hill. The Hill, September 26, 2022. Last modified September 26, 2022. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3661803-new-orleans-police-hire-civilians-to-combat-officer-shortage/#:~:text=The%20number%20of%20New%20Orleans,department%20can%20reduce%20that%20time.
[xxiv] Kaste, Martin. “Why Data from 15 Cities Shows Police Response Times Are Taking Longer.” NPR. NPR, January 17, 2023. Last modified January 17, 2023. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2023/01/17/1149455678/why-data-from-15-cities-show-police-response-times-are-taking-longer#:~:text=Transcript-,Police%20response%20times%20are%20taking%20longer%20in%20many%20cities%20and,who%20have%20quit%20or%20retired.
[xxv] Colton, Emma. “New Orleans Closes 2022 with Sky-High Homicide Rate Not Seen in Decades: ‘Horrific’.” Fox News. FOX News Network, January 9, 2023. Last modified January 9, 2023. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.foxnews.com/us/new-orleans-closes-2022-sky-high-homicide-rate-decades-horrific.
[xxvi] Macrotrends, LLC. “U.S. Murder/Homicide Rate 1990-2023.” MacroTrends. Last modified 2023. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/murder-homicide-rate.
[xxvii] Balsamini, Dean, Marino, Joe, McCarthy, Craig, Vagom Steven, “NYPD cops resigning in new year at record-breaking pace — with a 117% jump from 2021 numbers” The New York Post, March 10, 2023. Accessed March 13, 2023. NYPD cops resigning from force in 2023 at record pace (nypost.com)
[xxviii] Balsamini, Dean, Marino, Joe, McCarthy, Craig, Vagom Steven, “NYPD cops resigning in new year at record-breaking pace — with a 117% jump from 2021 numbers” The New York Post, March 10, 2023. Accessed March 13, 2023. NYPD cops resigning from force in 2023 at record pace (nypost.com)
[xxix] Rescu. “Response Times in Major Cities Skyrocket While Police Staffing Plummets.” Rescu Saves Lives. Last modified August 23, 2022. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.rescusaveslives.com/blog/response-times-in-major-cities-skyrocket-while-police-staffing-plummets/.
[xxx] Rescu. “Response Times in Major Cities Skyrocket While Police Staffing Plummets.” Rescu Saves Lives. Last modified August 23, 2022. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.rescusaveslives.com/blog/response-times-in-major-cities-skyrocket-while-police-staffing-plummets/.
[xxxi] Rescu. “Response Times in Major Cities Skyrocket While Police Staffing Plummets.” Rescu Saves Lives. Last modified August 23, 2022. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.rescusaveslives.com/blog/response-times-in-major-cities-skyrocket-while-police-staffing-plummets/.
[xxxii] Tucker, Emma. “Baltimore Aims to Be One of the First Cities to Address Police Staffing Shortages by Hiring Civilian Investigators.” CNN. Cable News Network, April 16, 2022. Last modified April 16, 2022. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/16/us/baltimore-police-shortage-citizen-investigators/index.html.
[xxxiii] Colton, Emma. “NYPD Sees Largest Staff Exodus in Decades with Leaders ‘Refusing to Acknowledge’ Mounting Crisis: Union Boss.” Fox News. FOX News Network, 2023. Last modified 2023. Accessed February 15, 2023. https://www.foxnews.com/us/nypd-sees-largest-staff-exodus-decades-as-leaders-refusing-acknowledge-mounting-crisis-union-boss.
[xxxiv] “Lawrence Rosenthal | It’s Easy to Criticize Stop-And-Frisk. It’s Harder to Wrestle with Its Real Legacy.” n.d. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/crime-dropped-under-stop-frisk-which-worth-remembering-rush-criticize-ncna1151121.
[xxxv] “Lawrence Rosenthal | It’s Easy to Criticize Stop-And-Frisk. It’s Harder to Wrestle with Its Real Legacy.” n.d. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/crime-dropped-under-stop-frisk-which-worth-remembering-rush-criticize-ncna1151121.
[xxxvi] Email, March 12, 2023, retired Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Police Officer, Michael Wear.
[xxxvii] Balsamini, Dean, Marino, Joe, McCarthy, Craig, Vagom Steven, “NYPD cops resigning in new year at record-breaking pace — with a 117% jump from 2021 numbers” The New York Post, March 10, 2023. Accessed March 13, 2023. NYPD cops resigning from force in 2023 at record pace (nypost.com)
[xxxviii] Email, March 12, 2023, retired Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Police Officer, Michael Wear.
[xxxix] Email, March 10, 2023, retired Vienna Virginia Police Department Police Officer, William “Bill” Murray.
