After the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in 2020, law enforcement agencies began struggling to find staff. That trend now seems to be turning around as police salaries increase.
For example, two major U.S. cities have discussed increasing law enforcement salaries just this month. One of those cities is Minneapolis, where Derek Chauvin kneeled on Floyd’s neck for minutes until he died.
“The Minneapolis City Council voted 8-4 on Thursday to approve the latest Minneapolis Police union contract, as tension looms over how to fund it,” MinnPost reported July 19. Included in the contract was a historic 21.7% salary increase over three years for officers. With it, Minneapolis police would be among the highest paid in the state.
Those who support the increase argue that it would help the department deal with low staffing numbers (hundreds below its previous strength, per MinnPost).
In California, the San Francisco Chronicle reported last week that officers in the city are already among the municipality’s highest paid employees. It said that a proposal expected to appear on November ballots could increase compensation for officers who would qualify for a new retention program to more than $400,000 a year.
“A proposed charter amendment that would allow some officers to defer their retirement for five years in exchange for a compensation bump is the latest effort to slow down officer retirements as the city continues to face what police advocates say is a dire staffing crisis,” said the report. “The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 8-3 to place the measure on the November ballot, with Supervisors Dean Preston, Hillary Ronen and Shamann Walton voting against.”
Critics argue that the measure is too costly. Ronen tried to block the DROP proposal from going to the full Board of Supervisors earlier this month. She was stopped by board President Aaron Peskin, which then prompted her to resign as chair of a key City Hall committee.
“[Officers] came back to our department from other departments due in part to the raises,” said Detroit Police Chief James D. White in an interview with WWJ released this January regarding salary increases as a way to hire and keep officers. “I mean, we know at the end of the day, the officers love being here. They love the opportunities and they love the community. But the economics is why we lost some of our officers. We’re very happy to have them back.”
Last April, the Police Executive Research Forum issued a report that indicated law enforcement agencies where losing officers faster than they could hire them. Along with that trend, total sworn staffing continued to decline.
“Resignations are still increasing; responding agencies reported nearly 50% more resignations in 2022 than in 2019,” said PERF. “While retirements came down a bit in 2022, agencies still reported nearly 20% more in 2022 than in 2019. As a result, total sworn staffing has dropped nearly 5% over the past three years.”
This April, the Associated Press said that police departments across the U.S. reported an increase in their ranks for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. It cited a survey that found a “historic exodus” of officers followed Chauvin’s murder of Floyd.
“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., per the AP. “And our survey shows we’re finally starting to turn a corner.”
Wexler said some departments are still struggling to keep staffing levels up. He believes that keeping officers is about morale in addition to compensation. Changes like allowing visible tattoos can help with that, Wexler said.
“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.”
Paying more, however, seems to be working pretty well in the Motor City.
“Our attrition rate is really slowing significantly because of the raises, which is great, which is what we want,” said Chief White. “We want veteran officers.”