PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police departments across the United States are reporting an increase in their ranks for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 killing of George Floyd, which led to a historic exodus of officers, a survey shows.
More sworn officers were hired in 2023 than in any one of the previous four years, and fewer officers overall resigned or retired, according to the 214 law enforcement agencies that responded to a survey by the Police Executive Research Forum, or PERF.
Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers spurred nationwide protests against police brutality and heightened scrutiny of law enforcement.
As more and more officers left, many of the departments had to redeploy stretched resources by shifting officers away from investigative work or quality of life issues such as abandoned vehicles or noise violations to handle increases in crime and, in some cases, the shortages meant slower response times or limiting responses to emergencies only, police officials say.
“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, D.C. "And our survey shows we’re finally starting to turn a corner.”
Individual departments are turning that corner at different rates, however, according to Wexler, who noted many are still struggling to attract and keep officers.
As a whole, the profession “isn't out of the woods yet,” he said.
The Associated Press left phone and email messages with several unions and police departments to ask about increased hiring.
The survey shows that while small and medium departments had more sworn officers than they did in January 2020, large departments are still more than 5% below their staffing levels from that time, even with a year-over-year increase from 2022 to 2023.
The survey also showed smaller departments with fewer than 50 officers are still struggling with a higher rate of resignations and retirements.
The survey asked only for numbers, Wexler said, so it's hard to say whether those officers are leaving for larger departments or leaving the profession altogether. He also said smaller departments, which account for 80% of agencies nationwide, were underrepresented in the responses PERF received.
Many larger departments have increased officer pay or started offering incentives such as signing bonuses for experienced officers who are willing to transfer, something smaller departments can't really compete with. At least a dozen smaller departments have disbanded, leaving the municipalities they once served to rely on state or county help for policing.
But even some of the highest-paying large departments are still struggling to get new hires in the door.
“I don’t think it’s all about money. I think it’s about the way people perceive their job and feel they are going to be supported,” Wexler said. “You have West Coast departments that are paying six figures, but still seeing major challenges in hiring.”
In addition to pay and bonuses, many agencies are reexamining their application requirements and hiring processes.
Wexler believes some of those changes make sense, including allowing visible tattoos, reweighing the importance of past financial issues and processing applicants' background checks faster. But he cautioned that PERF does not support lowering standards for training or for applicants.
Maria “Maki” Haberfeld, chair of the Department of Law, Police Science and Criminal Justice Administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, says departments have been too focused on officer numbers. She worries some are lowering education requirements and other standards to bolster numbers instead of trying to find the best people to police their communities.
“Policing is a real profession that requires more skills and more education than people can understand," she said. "It’s not about tattoos or running a mile in 15 minutes. It’s really more about emotional intelligence, maturity and making those split-second decisions that don’t use deadly force.”
Haberfeld also cautioned that any staffing gains made through incentives could easily be erased, especially as officers, including some in riot gear, have been seen breaking up protests against the Israel-Hamas war at universities across the country.
“In policing, it takes decades to move forward and a split second for the public attitude to deteriorate,” she said.
PERF's survey showed a more than a 20% drop in resignations overall, from a high of almost 6,500 in 2022 to fewer than 5,100 in 2023. They are still up over early pandemic levels in 2020, however, when a few more than 4,000 officers resigned across all responding departments.
As with the hiring increases, the rate of decrease in retirements tended to depend on the size of the departments. There were fewer retirements in 2023 than in 2019 at large departments, slightly more retirements at medium departments and elevated retirements at small departments. The survey found a steep drop in resignations at large agencies with 250 or more officers and medium-size agencies with between 50 and 249 officers.
In addition to pay and benefit increases, the improved retention can be partly attributed to a shift in how some public officials view their public safety departments, Wexler says.
“We went from having public discourse about defunding the police just a few years ago to public officials waking up to the fact their workforce is leaving,” he said. “I don't think there’s any question that there has been a sea change among political leaders.”
FILE - Shown is a Philadelphia police car with flashing lights in Philadelphia, Monday, Jan. 17, 2022. Police departments reported a year-over-year increase in sworn officers in 2023 for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began and since the 2020 police killing of George Floyd spurred nationwide protests and increased scrutiny of police, according to a survey released by the Police Executive Research Forum. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
FILE - Police tape cordons off the scene of a crime in Levittown, Pa., Saturday, March 16, 2024. Police departments reported a year-over-year increase in sworn officers in 2023 for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began and since the 2020 police killing of George Floyd spurred nationwide protests and increased scrutiny of police, according to a survey released by the Police Executive Research Forum. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
A tiny contingent of Duke University graduates opposed pro-Israel comedian Jerry Seinfeld speaking at their commencement in North Carolina Sunday, with about 30 of the 7,000 students leaving their seats and chanting “free Palestine” amid a mix of boos and cheers.
Some waved the red, green, black and white Palestinian flag. Seinfeld, whose namesake sitcom was one of the most popular in U.S. television history, was there to receive an honorary doctorate from the university.
The stand-up turned actor, who stars in the new Netflix movie “Unfrosted,” has publicly supported Israel since it invaded Gaza to dismantle Hamas after the organization attacked the country and killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel on Oct. 7. The ensuing war has killed nearly 35,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Students at campuses across the U.S. responded this spring by setting up encampments and calling for their schools to cut ties with Israel and businesses that support it. Students and others on campuses whom law enforcement authorities have identified as outside agitators have taken part in the protests from Columbia University in New York City to UCLA.
Police escorted graduates' families past a few dozen pro-Palestinian protesters who tried to block access to Sunday evening's commencement for Southern California’s Pomona College. After demonstrators set up an encampment last week on the campus’ ceremony stage, the small liberal arts school moved the event 30 miles (48 km) from Claremont to the Shrine Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles. Tickets were required to attend the event, which the school said would include additional security measures.
In April, police wearing riot gear arrested 19 protesters who had occupied the president's office at the college with about 1,700 undergraduates.
Demonstrator Anwar Mohmed, a 21-year-old Pomona senior, said the school has repeatedly ignored calls to consider divesting its endowment funds from corporations tied to Israel in the war in Gaza.
“We’ve been time and time again ignored by the institution,” Mohmed said outside the Shrine on Sunday. “So today we have to say, it's not business as usual.”
At the University of California, Berkeley, on Saturday, a small group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators waved flags and chanted during commencement and were escorted to the back of the stadium, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. There were no major counterprotests, but some attendees voiced frustration.
“I feel like they’re ruining it for those of us who paid for tickets and came to show our pride for our graduates,” said Annie Ramos, whose daughter is a student. “There’s a time and a place, and this is not it.”
The small student protest Sunday at Duke's graduation in Durham, North Carolina, was emblematic of campus events across the U.S. Sunday after weeks of student protests resulted in nearly 2,900 arrests at 57 colleges and universities.
This weekend's commencement events remained largely peaceful.
At Emerson College in Boston, some students took off their graduation robes and left them on stage. Others emblazoned “free Palestine” on their mortar boards. One woman, staring at a camera broadcasting a livestream to the public, unzipped her robe to show a kaffiyeh, the black and white checkered scarf commonly worn by Palestinians, and flashed a watermelon painted on her hand. Both are symbols of solidarity with those living in the occupied territories.
Others displayed messages for a camera situated on stage, but the livestream quickly shifted to a different view, preventing them from being seen for long. Chants during some of the speeches were difficult to decipher.
Protests at Columbia University, where student uprisings inspired others at campuses across the country, led the school to cancel its main graduation ceremony in favor of smaller gatherings.
The University of Southern California told its valedictorian, who publicly backed Palestinians, that she could not deliver her keynote speech at its graduation ceremony because of security concerns. It later canceled its main graduation ceremony.
At DePaul University in Chicago, graduation is more than a month away. But as the academic year closes, school leaders said they had reached an “impasse” with the school's pro-Palestinian protesters, leaving the future of their encampment on the Chicago campus unclear.
The student-led DePaul Divestment Coalition, which is calling on the university to divest from economic interests tied to Israel, set up the encampment nearly two weeks ago. The group alleged university officials walked away from talks and tried to force students into signing an agreement, according to a student statement late Saturday.
Associated Press journalists Ryan Sun in Los Angeles, Sophia Tareen in Chicago and Kimberlee Kreusi in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.
The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally at the Shrine Auditorium where a commencement ceremony for graduates from Pomona College was being held Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators are seen at the Shrine Auditorium where a commencement ceremony for graduates from Pomona College was being held, Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
A Los Angeles Police Department officer attempts to make a hole where pro-Palestinian demonstrators were attempting to keep attendees from getting through at the Shrine Auditorium where a commencement ceremony for graduates from Pomona College was being held, Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Los Angeles Police Department officers push aside pro-Palestinian demonstrators so that attendees can get through at the Shrine Auditorium where a commencement ceremony for graduates from Pomona College was being held Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators, at right, attempt to keep attendees from getting through at the Shrine Auditorium where a commencement ceremony for graduates from Pomona College was being held, Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Attendees hold an Israeli flag as pro-Palestinian students protest during the UC Berkeley commencement ceremony in Berkeley, Calif., Saturday, May 11, 2024. (Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Pro-Palestinian students hold white t-shirts stating the message, "DIVEST," as they protest during the UC Berkeley graduation at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif., on Saturday, May 11, 2024. (Yalonda M. James/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Pro-Palestinian students protest during the UC Berkeley graduation at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif., on Saturday, May 11, 2024. (Yalonda M. James/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Palestinian flags are taken from protesters as they walk out of UNC Chapel Hill's commencement ceremonies at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C., Saturday, May 11, 2024. (Ethan Hyman/The News & Observer via AP)
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators are seen at the Shrine Auditorium where a commencement ceremony for graduates from Pomona College was being held, Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
A Los Angeles Police Department officer holds back pro-Palestinian demonstrators at the Shrine Auditorium where a commencement ceremony for graduates from Pomona College was being held Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators attempt to keep attendees from getting through at the Shrine Auditorium where a commencement ceremony for graduates from Pomona College was being held, Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
A graduate displays a message on his shirt, "No Grad in Gaza," during the Emerson College commencement ceremony at Boston University's Agganis Arena, Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Boston. Many students verbally protested throughout the ceremony. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP)
A graduate twirls with her Palestinian flag cape during the Emerson College commencement ceremony at Boston University's Agganis Arena, Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Boston. Many students verbally protested throughout the ceremony. (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via AP)
In this photo provided by Duke University, commencement speaker Jerry Seinfeld speaks during the school's graduation ceremony, Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Durham, N.C. A tiny contingent of graduates opposed the pro-Israel comedian speaking at their commencement Sunday, with about 30 of the 7,000 students leaving their seats and chanting “Free Palestine!” amid a mix of boos and cheers. (Bill Snead/Duke University via AP)
This photo provided by Duke University shows commencement speaker Jerry Seinfeld, front row second from left, on stage during the school's graduation ceremony, Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Durham, N.C. A tiny contingent of graduates opposed the pro-Israel comedian speaking at their commencement Sunday, with about 30 of the 7,000 students leaving their seats and chanting “Free Palestine!” amid a mix of boos and cheers. (Jared Lazarus/Duke University via AP)
In this photo provided by Duke University, commencement speaker Jerry Seinfeld laughs on stage during the school's graduation ceremony, Sunday, May 12, 2024, in Durham, N.C. A tiny contingent of Duke graduates opposed the pro-Israel comedian speaking at their commencement Sunday, with about 30 of the 7,000 students leaving their seats and chanting “Free Palestine!” amid a mix of boos and cheers. (Bill Snead/Duke University via AP)
West Virginia University Muslim Student Association President Omar Ibraheem leads a chant during a pro-Palestinian protest at Woodburn Hall in Morgantown, W.Va., Saturday, May 11, 2024. (William Wotring/The Dominion-Post via AP)
