A lower number of police recruits has led to increased crime rates in Michigan and across the U.S. | LOGAN WEAVER/Unsplash
A lower number of police recruits has led to increased crime rates in Michigan and across the U.S. | LOGAN WEAVER/Unsplash
Law enforcement staff shortages continue to be a source of concern in every state in the U.S., while crime rates rise as a result.
Eastern and western Michigan communities are among an increasing number of areas that currently struggle to maintain an adequate level of police officers.
Several sheriffs told WOOD-TV that one of the main reasons for the ongoing deputy shortage in West Michigan was the decreased number of recruits.
"We don't have enough people enrolling in police academies," Robert Miller, director of public safety education at Kellogg Community College (KCC), said to WOOD-TV. "And because of the demand, departments are seeking out applicants and paying them to go to a regional academy."
The police academy at KCC in Battle Creek had a reported 21 cadets in 2021; this year, that number was 11.
Morale is low as well in several law enforcement agencies, and large cities throughout the nation are struggling to retain their police officers.
In order to address this problem, the Detroit City Council unanimously authorized $2,000 incentive payments for each officer in early March, in an effort to attract additional cops to the position.
Chief James White of the Detroit Police Department hopes the monetary incentive will help limit the increasing rate of officer departures, according to a report from The Detroit News.
"We've been doing a good job with recruiting, but retention is what we want to emphasize," White said.
Last year, 103 Detroit cops transferred to other departments and 19 have already transferred this year, The Detroit News said.
Between 2019 and 2020, violent crime in Michigan grew by 9%, resulting in a homicide rate of 478 per 100,000 people, which is much higher than the national average, according to data from the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer.
This increase in the homicide rate mirrors the nationwide trend, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the homicide rate in the U.S. increased by 30% between 2019 and 2020, the highest annual increase since 1905.
Additionally, violent crimes in the U.S. increased by 4.6% from 2019 to 2020, reaching a rate of 398.5 crimes per 100,000 people in 2020, the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer reported. Violent crimes include murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault.
"Police departments across the country are fighting to contain this increase in violent crime but they are understaffed, under-resourced, and struggling to hire and retain good, qualified officers," Andy Edmiston, director of government affairs for the National Association of Police Organizations, said, according to AZ Big Media.
Several departments blame their staffing issues on the shift in public opinion toward law enforcement, as a result of the recent discussions regarding police reform and lethal use of force, according to Fox News.
Joe Marones, a 22-year-old recruit who is months away from graduating from the Eastern Missouri Police Academy in Lake St. Louis, Mo., expressed his concerns regarding the current shortage.
"Knowing that you might not have a partner to respond fast because of the low number of officers right now at departments is one of my fears," he said.
The VICTIM Act (the Violent Incident Clearance and Technological Investigative Methods Act of 2021), which was submitted to Congress in October 2021, aims to help address this issue by allocating funds to local police departments, according to AZ Big Media.
These additional funds would enable departments to hire and retain police officers as well as provide essential training and equipment.
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