The police department is experiencing a national labour shortage as police officers’ applicants dwindle in the wake of the 2020 George Floyd incident.
In particular, the negative gaze toward the police was pointed out as the biggest cause of reluctance to support police officers. Riverside Police Chief said at the time of the George Floyd case in 2020, it was difficult to say that a career as a police officer was a good job as negative feelings toward law enforcement agencies were rising nationwide.
As the hateful view of the police increased, it became difficult for existing officers to work, and it was a great difficulty in selecting new officers. The fact that the young generation’s image of the police is completely different from that of their parents’ generation due to the police overreaction incidents that are reported daily through the media is also a factor in reducing support for police officers.
Former Redlands Police Chief Jim Berman said young people who wanted to apply for police officers interpreted the negative image of police on social media as a negative image of the police force, making them reluctant to apply. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said there were 20,857 applicants for officers in 2019, down to 181 in 2020 and 9,270 last year.
These days, young people value work-life balance and are reluctant to work nights and holidays at work, so the popularity of police officers whose working hours are not fixed is getting lower.