(NewsNation) — Police are resigning or retiring in high numbers, which has been a challenge for the profession, a former police chief and current sheriff’s lieutenant said on “Morning in America.”

A 2021 survey from the Police Executive Research Forum showed a 45% increase in retirements, and nearly 20% spike in resignations, over the previous year.

“I think there’s actually a plethora of reasons that officers are retiring at a higher rate,” former Aurora, Illinois Police Chief Kristen Ziman said. “We look at violent crime. But let’s turn to accountability. We talk a lot about accountability for police officers who tarnish the badge, and by all means, that should be consistent and unyielding. But we also need to talk about accountability for those who break the law. That should be consistent and unyielding as well.”

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Eric Strong said seeing the number of people leaving law enforcement has been difficult.

“This is supposed to be a profession where we support and do things that are right. I think right now it’s just a challenge to get that public trust and public communication back as well,” he said.

Although overall crime is down, Strong said, violent crime rates are up.

“What we’re talking about right now in law enforcement in L.A. is, ‘How do we work to decrease these numbers?'” Strong said. “It really is going to come from working and engaging with our communities. I don’t think there’s a magic policing technique out there that’s going to solve this. It’s going come from mental health, social services and things like that.”