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u.s. news Dialuna 14 Juni 2021

Law enforcement struggles to recruit since killing of Floyd

(AP) - Law enforcement force now stands at about
agencies across the coun- 3,100 officers — down from
try experienced a wave of more than 3,300 in 2015 — a
retirements and depar- loss at a time when the city’s
tures and are struggling population has grown to more
to recruit the next gen- than 1.3 million. The force is
eration of police officers about 44% white, 26% Black
in the year since George and 26% Latino. This means
Floyd was killed by a cop. officers handle more calls
and detectives more cases, all
And amid the national reck- amid increased racial tension.
oning on policing, commu-
nities are questioning who In 2016, five officers were
should become a police of- killed in Dallas by a sniper
ficer today. who was seeking revenge for
police shootings elsewhere
Mass protests and calls for that killed or wounded Black
reforming or defunding the men. Two years later, an off-
police, as well as the coro- duty officer fatally shot her
navirus pandemic, took their neighbor in his home. She
toll on officer morale. The was fired and later was sen-
rate of retirements at some tenced to a decade in prison
departments rose 45% com- for murder.
pared with the previous year,
according to new research on Mike Mata, president of the
nearly 200 law enforcement Dallas Police Association,
agencies conducted by the said the national political cli-
Washington-based Police Ex- mate and local pay and pen-
ecutive Research Forum and horizon for police chiefs people who see police as an academy last August. Despite sion issues have been com-
provided to The Associated when they look at the re- opposition,” said Lynda R. the protests and attitudes to- pounding challenges to hir-
Press. At the same time, hir- sources they need, especially Williams, president of the ward law enforcement, she ing in Dallas.
ing slowed by 5%, the group during a period when we’re National Organization of stayed with her career choice
found. seeing an increase in murders Black Law Enforcement Ex- with a plan to interact with In 2019, however, a consult-
and shootings,” Wexler said. ecutives, who previously residents. ing firm Dallas hired to re-
The wave comes as local law- “It’s a wake-up call.” worked on recruitment ef- view its department found
makers have pledged to enact forts for the Secret Service. “Earning their trust” leads to that it needed not simply
reforms — such as ending The data from Wexler’s or- better policing, she said. Citi- more officers but also a “re-
the policies that give offi- ganization represents a frac- Bryant knows firsthand. In zens who trust officers will alignment of strategy, goals,
cers immunity for their ac- tion of the more than 18,000 the weeks after Floyd’s death, not be afraid to “call upon mission, and tactics.” That
tions while on-duty — and law enforcement agencies a white officer, Garrett Rolfe, you on their worst day” and finding rings true to Changa
say they’re committed to re- nationwide and is not repre- shot and killed Rayshard ask for help. Higgins, a longtime commu-
shaping policing in the 21st sentative of all departments. Brooks, a Black man, in the nity organizer.
century. And recruiters are But it’s one of the few ef- parking lot of a Wendy’s. Williams said she believes the
increasingly looking for a dif- forts to examine police hiring next generation of law en- “You don’t need to focus on
ferent kind of recruit to join and retention and compare it In quick succession, Rolfe forcement will bring a new hiring more officers,” Hig-
embattled departments. with the time before Floyd’s was fired, the chief resigned outlook and move the pro- gins said. “You need to focus
killing in Minneapolis on and the local district attorney fession forward by making on how you got these guys al-
Years ago, a candidate’s quali- May 25, 2020. Former officer announced charges, includ- departments more diverse located.”
fications might be centered Derek Chauvin, who pressed ing felony murder, against and inclusive.
around his — yes, his — his knee on Floyd’s neck Rolfe — a rare step in police In Los Angeles, the depart-
brawn. Now, police depart- while Floyd was handcuffed shootings. Some cops left the “They are the change that ment is fighting against a
ments say they are seeking behind his back, was convict- force, which currently has they want to see,” Williams decade-long image of scan-
recruits who can use their ed of murder and is awaiting about 1,560 officers — about said. dal and racial strife from the
brain. And they want those sentencing. 63% of the force is Black, Watts riots in 1965 to the
future officers to represent 29% white and 5% Latino. Recruitment is still a chal- bloodshed in 1992 after a
their communities. Researchers heard from lenge. In some cities like Simi Valley jury’s acquittal
194 police departments last Then came the “Blue Flu” Philadelphia, departments are of officers who brutally beat
“Days of old, you wanted month about their hires, res- — when a high number of spending more time scouring motorist Rodney King.
someone who actually had ignations and retirements police officers called out sick a candidate’s social media to
the strength to be more phys- between April 1, 2020, and in protest. Bryant, then the hunt for possible biases. In Capt. Aaron McCraney,
ical,” Atlanta Police Chief March 31, 2021, and the department’s interim chief, others, pay disparities — a head of the Recruitment and
Rodney Bryant said. “To- same categories from April 1, acknowledged that it had oc- longtime problem — still ex- Employment Division, and
day’s police officers, that’s 2019, to March 31, 2020. curred in Atlanta after Rolfe ist, making it difficult to at- Chief Michel Moore ticked
not what we’re looking for. was charged. tract would-be officers and off the issues facing the 48
We’re looking for someone By comparison, the changing keep newly trained recruits new recruits — more than
who can actually relate to the public attitude on policing “Some are angry. Some are when a neighboring jurisdic- half of whom were women
community but also think is well documented. In the fearful. Some are confused tion offers more money and — last year, noting that the
like the community thinks.” past year, as many as half of on what we do in this space. benefits. pandemic, civil unrest and
American adults believed po- Some may feel a bit aban- economic uncertainty were
But the climate today, cou- lice violence against the pub- doned,” Bryant said last sum- In Dallas, city leaders spent just some of the challenges
pled with increases in crime lic is a “very” or “extremely” mer in an interview at the much of the last decade the new officers would face.
in some cities, is creating serious problem, according height of the crisis. struggling to draw candidates
what Chuck Wexler, the head to one poll conducted by The and stem the outflow of of- “Even though these are
of the Police Executive Re- Associated Press-NORC But it hasn’t shaken the re- ficers frustrated by low pay tough times, these are diffi-
search Forum, called a “com- Center for Public Affairs Re- solve of some, like Kaley and the near collapse of their cult times, these are interest-
bustible mixture.” search. Garced, a hairdresser-turned- pension fund. ing times,” McCraney said,
police officer in Baltimore “these times will pass, and
It’s creating “a crisis on the “It’s hard to recruit the very who graduated from the Despite those efforts, the we’ll get on to things better.”