A new survey by the Police Executive Research Forum indicates that the number of sworn police officers among PERF members has increased for the first time since at least 2020.
The small increase comes after a large decline in the number of officers since the COVID-19 pandemic and George Floyd protests, which popularized the “Defund the Police” movement, with a peak of 6,492 officers resigning in 2022.
“I just think that the past four years have been particularly challenging for American policing,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of PERF, a nonprofit policing think tank based in Washington. “And our survey shows we’re finally starting to turn a corner.”
The survey noted that larger agencies are overrepresented in the survey, though those are also the ones facing the most significant hiring challenges.
Some departments, such as the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, offered increased bonuses in response to hiring challenges after a continual decline in officer hiring. It is unknown if that contributed to the added hiring, as MPD’s numbers have not shown any significant changes with the $25,000 hiring bonus.
But a police agency in Alameda, California, offered a $75,000 hiring bonus and its chief said it worked.
“Ever since we put this incentive in place, we have had hundreds of applications come in,” Alameda Police Chief Nishant Joshi said in September 2023.
But money may not be a solution for every department.
“I don’t think it’s all about money,” Wexler said. “I think it’s about the way people perceive their job and feel they are going to be supported. You have West Coast departments that are paying six figures but still seeing major challenges in hiring.”
Other smaller departments have disbanded entirely, shifting police duties to other agencies near their areas, or county sheriffs.
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The survey also featured retirements hitting their lowest number since 2019, but smaller agencies still face the highest percent change in retirements among medium- and large-sized agencies.
Despite optimism from Wexler on the survey, he says the profession is “not out of the woods yet.”