(NewsNation) — Not even a six-figure salary is enough for some people to get into law enforcement, new reports found.
San Francisco has increased its salary for new police officers to $112,398, representing the highest pay for rookie cops in big U.S. cities, Fortune reports. But the Golden Gate City is still struggling to bring in fresh recruits.
According to Bloomberg, there are only 23 trainees enrolled at San Francisco’s police academy. Plus, the city’s number of officers has fallen at least 13% since 2020.
It’s a problem felt by many police departments across the country. According to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, 78% of agencies reported issues recruiting qualified candidates, and about 50% of agencies have changed their internal policies in order to gain additional qualified candidates.
Recruitment isn’t the only issue law enforcement agencies are facing. The Police Executive Research Forum said agencies are losing officers faster than they can hire new ones.
A survey by the organization of police chiefs, sheriffs and law enforcement executives said nearly half of responding agencies reported nearly 50% more resignations in 2022 than in 2019, with total sworn staffing dropping nearly 5% over the past three years.
