Indianapolis – June 21, 2024. Police agencies across the U.S. are losing officers faster than they can be replaced. It’s a leading factor that is contributing to our public safety crisis and threatening our American way of life. Fewer police officers are available to efficiently respond to calls for service, including those posing a potential threat to life. Police agencies have been placed in the position of assigning detectives to patrol services to compensate for officer shortages, which has caused a backflow of criminal investigations, including for heinous sexual assaults. And special police units that serve our most vulnerable citizens are either being disbanded or reduced.
Last month Reps. Salud Carbajal (CA-24) and Don Bacon (NE-02) introduced the Filling Public Safety Vacancies Act (H.R. 8420) to address these shortages. The bill currently has three co-sponsors and has been referred to the House Appropriations Committee and the House Budget Committee. The bill’s text can be found here.
The bill commits an additional $162 million dollars to the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Program, which law enforcement agencies can use for their recruitment needs. It also mandates background checks and mental health evaluations for recruits hired through the COPS Hiring Program.
This would help fund law enforcement agencies that are in a dire financial situation, in part from having to pay overtime due to staffing issues and excessive bonuses to attract recruits. The background check rule is critical, especially given that police departments have had to reduce hiring standards to attract more applicants.
While H.R. 8420 is a necessary bill, “The issues causing current police staffing shortages transcend finances,” said Paula Fitzsimmons, Legislative Director, the National Police Association. “We urge elected officials to study the factors that are contributing to a major recruitment emergency and damaging officer morale,” Fitzsimmons added.
For example,
- Officers must now navigate an overtly hostile environment that’s been fostered, in part, by the media, elected officials, and monied interests.
- Municipal governments create civilian police boards run by participants with an anti-police bias; or they propose misguided policies, like banning tear gas as a tool for crowd control.
- The federal government issues Consent Decrees, which often work to restrict officer behavior and ultimately result in higher crime.
- Government units, including the federal government, and state governments (including Colorado and New Mexico) have made attempts -and in some cases have been successful- in limiting or eradicating qualified immunity protections for police officers.
- At a time when politicized district attorneys are failing to prosecute violent perpetrators, they are increasingly indicting police officers who use justifiable force.
We applaud Reps. Carbajal and Bacon for introducing this important bill and ask Congress to pass it. We also urge elected officials to understand why police staffing has become a prevalent issue, then take steps to mitigate the damage. At the federal level, this includes working for the passage of bills like the Local Law Enforcement Protection Act, which would help protect qualified immunity protections. They should also speak out more resoundingly in support of officers of the law; including when they are wrongfully indicted by politicized district attorneys, are being killed and attacked in greater numbers, and are carelessly attacked by the media.
The U.S. is in the grips of an unsustainable police staffing epidemic that is damaging public safety and reducing the quality of life for millions of Americans. Although the trajectory can be redirected, the onus rests with Congress and other elected officials to lead the change.
About The National Police Association: The National Police Association is a 501(c)3 non-profit Educational/Advocacy organization. For additional information visit NationalPolice.org
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