Survey: Police Forces Face Hiring and Retention Crisis

"Police agencies across America are having difficulty keeping and hiring police officers,  according to a new survey produced by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF).

'The policing profession is facing a workforce crisis,' according to the survey, titled The Workforce Crisis, and What Police Agencies Are Doing About It.  Fewer people are applying to become police officers, and more people are leaving the profession, often after only a few years on the job. These trends are occurring even as many police and sheriffs’ offices are already short-staffed and facing
ABC News reported, 'The surveys shows a ‘triple threat’ for police departments: there is a decrease in applications, early exits and higher rates of retirement.'

Agencies participating in the survey reported that there has been a 63 percent decrease in applying to become a police officer. Departments are also having trouble hiring non-white/minority applicants the most, followed by female officers, according to the survey."

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