- Police departments are struggling with budget cuts over recruitment after the in-custody death of George Floyd sparked nationwide civil unrest and ignited a movement to defund the police.
- Some departments implemented hiring freezes because of budget cuts while local lawmakers completely overhauled other precincts’ budgets, making it impossible to hire new officers.
- “This current fiscal year saw a decrease in hiring for police officer candidates, however the decrease was due to budget reductions, not lack of candidate interest,” an LAPD spokesperson said.
Multiple police departments told the Daily Caller News Foundation that recruiting officers is not an issue, but budget constraints have limited their ability to increase manpower.
Almost a year after George Floyd died during an arrest where former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes resulting in nationwide civil unrest and the defund the police movement, most police departments say they still have a sufficient number of candidates but lack the funding to recruit them.
“The Minneapolis Police Department, like every department, has seen a drop in application numbers over the last several years,” Minneapolis Police Department Spokesperson John Elder told the DCNF. “Whereas we have seen a reduction in applications, we still have ample qualified candidates who wish to be Minneapolis Police Officers and Cadets [and the department’s] recruitment efforts are ongoing.”
The Minneapolis Police Academy managed to get every recruit to graduation despite civil unrest and demands to cut their department’s funding in June 2020, the DCNF reported. Elder told the DCNF at the time that there were fewer applications to become an officer, but those who were recruited all completed their training.
The San Francisco Police Department has seen a decrease in the number of applicants in the last five years, spokesperson Michael Andraychak told the DCNF. The department received around 4,800 applications from 2015 to 2016 and roughly 2,600 from 2019 to 2020, down approximately 375 from the previous year. “While we did see a slight increase in the number of applicants at the onset of the pandemic (we feel this was attributed to a drastic decline in job opportunities), the estimated number of total applicants has declined over the last few years,” Andraychak told the DCNF. “This could be due to a strong local economy (pre-Covid), shifting national perceptions of policing or other factors.”
Police departments in both Washington, D.C., and Austin, Texas, are on a hiring freeze because of budget limitations despite interest in the academies, various spokespeople told the DCNF. The Austin City Council cut the department’s budget by $150 million in August after officers were criticized for killing two unarmed men, using excessive force against protesters and for their investigation of a shooting where a citizen fatally shot a protester, The Texas Tribune reported.
Washington, D.C., officials cut $15 million from the Metropolitan Police Department’s budget in June by removing vacant positions and denying a cadet program expansion, The Washington Post reported. Defund-the-police activists said the cut wasn’t enough despite lawmakers reallocating the money towards alternative violence-reduction programs.
“This current fiscal year saw a decrease in hiring for police officer candidates, however the decrease was due to budget reductions, not lack of candidate interest,” Los Angeles Police Department Commanding Officer of Recruitment and Employment Division Captain Aaron McCraney told the DCNF. “The LAPD maintains a robust list of candidates that are processing for hire and will be selected upon restoration of funding.”
A jury found Chauvin guilty and he was convicted of both second and third-degree murder as well as manslaughter on April 20, the Daily Caller reported. His lawyer submitted an appeal after information was revealed about a juror participating in Black Lives Matter protests before the trial, the Associated Press reported.
On the same day the verdict of the Chauvin trial was announced, officers in Columbus, Ohio, fatally shot a 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant who was holding a knife, NBC News reported. Bryant’s death has led to widespread protests against police violence in Columbus, recreating the intense atmosphere between law enforcement and activists that was prevalent last summer.
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While the article does present useful information, it also has facts that are grossly wrong. Like the whole “had his knee on the neck” which did not happen.
Really, instead of just reposting stuff, I wish that TCD would have a section after the article saying “these are the facts they got horribly WRONG”. Because if someone doesn’t know what the site is about (I know, name should say it all), they’ll just think its another news source.
As to defunding impacting police recruitment, color me shocked, I mean, who would have thunk it? That less money means fewer cops! Duh! And of course fewer cops means higher crimes. The LEFT of course can’t seem to comprehend that part of course.
They comprehend. YOU need to comprehend, this is the plan.
St Fentanyl died of a drug overdose.
You are correct ME. To bad the police made a few mistakes over the past few years. One of the biggest was to remove ” To Protect and to Serve” from the sides of their cars. Then Dr Floyd appeared. A proven felon and drug head. Which was followed by Terrorist groups BLM and Antifa who went after the police and America. So the police buckled and stopped using their flag, which was to show support, because they lost their spines. It is time to use everything they have to support the rule of law and the constitution and remove all of the ones against those things, including those in politics. Also any governor, mayor, actor, reporter and those in politics who go against them and America. Time to put a stop to this and shoot to kill. They do that to the police Also do not respond to any of them who call 911. They will get what they want. Time to post the flag again.
One can only hope the politicians defunding the police become victims of crimes! Who wants to bet they ALL call 911?!
The politicians don’t have to worry! They’ve got their own protection. And we pay for it through our taxes.
What finally shed the light for me on why the neo-Marxists want to defund the police was learning that it is part of the national socialists’ agenda for a re-make of our society and our Constitution. If you look at most of the Communist and other Progressive countries, they have national police that trump state- and local-level police. Even Obama said publicly that he would like to have such a force at his disposal. Think of how things would change when it comes to enforcing mandated gun control, vaccine passports, teaching Critical Race Theory and other divisive doctrine, enforcing codes for high-density, low-cost housing in the middle of high-income housing neighborhoods, enforcing free speech restrictions on Republicans, confiscation of wealth, and so on. Sound radical? Just read the Communist Manifesto and Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals, and listen to the radical left element of the Democrat Party.
Oh, if you think having a national police force (like the Federales in Mexico) couldn’t happen here, look at how easily our DOJ, FBI, IRS, and even the CDC have been politically weaponized. The Democrat Party now in control could set something up through FEMA, Homeland Security, or even DoD. Just because it is unconstitutional doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen.
The last thing this country needs is more murdering scum cops. The only good cop is a dead cop.
@ Andy You poor misguided fool It not bad cops that are to blame it’s the VILE LIEberal Demoshits who support the CRIMINAL ELEMENT over the LAW Abiding Citizens. Criminals are given a pass. RACE BAITERS have managed to DEMONIZE all that is good with our system!!
Morals are set by popular opinion and one’s feelings Therefore SOCIETY has no morals therefore society is in fact AMORAL!!
So let me get this straight: we are a nation that accepts pornography but hates abuse. A nation that doesn’t believe in gender but fights for women’s rights. We are a nation that believes no child should be left behind but we have aborted over 80 million babies. We are a nation where heroes have died so our flag could fly over a free nation, but then we give the title “heroes” to wealthy athletes who kneel in disrespect. We are a nation where political parties ignore the corruption of their own party while condemning the corruption of the other. We are a nation of laws, yet we are a nation where that only applies if you’re not politically powerful. We are a nation that has in God we trust printed on our money but we’re a nation where the ACLU sues anyone who make His name known in public. We are the “greatest” nation on the earth yet we consume more antidepressants than any other nation in the world. We are a nation that pledges we are “one” yet we’re a nation of aggressive division. I wonder why so many people are confused. Could it be Apathy, lack of personal responsibility, and pride, or is it so many people are just plain STUPID??
Andy Buckmichael . Your a total piece of Shit. I hope you die a violent death at the hands of some scum criminal that you apparently love. I hope you suffer while your dying. Or perhaps you can put a gun in Your mouth and do us all a favor and Kill yourself . Your wasting oxygen the rest of us need ! I wish this site would block your lame ass.
As long as we Have Dipshit LIEberal Demoshits in charge America will continue to DETERIORATE. The Corruption, Hatred, Depravity, Treachery, Underhandedness and now Violence in Politics is not what scares me. What really alarms me is how many people,(especially those on the left) are comfortable with it and look the other way while Americans who supposedly love this country are DOING NOTHING ABOUT IT!!!!
The establishment and their PR Firm, The Propaganda Arm of the Deep State (PADS) aka FAKE NEWS have been trying to destroy OUR president since before he announced running for president. Their WORST fears have now materialized! Donald Trump is exposing how politicians have been laundering our taxpayer dollars called “Foreign and Military Aid” Back to themselves through Family and Friends as well as “corporate”, and private donations. Ukraine is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg!