After various groups started pushing a heavy dose of anti-police rhetoric onto society a few years ago, police officers have been resigning in droves. Between 2020 and 2021, there was an 18% increase in resignations, 27% increase in retirements in large departments, 59% increase in retirements for mid-sized agencies, and 45% in small departments. The growth of these numbers has slowed down, but resignation and retirement rates are still pretty high. In fact, many police officers are retiring long before they reach retirement age.
It’s alarming that so many law enforcement officers are leaving the profession, but it makes sense when you look at the reasons. The public is already difficult enough to deal with, but police officers routinely encounter citizens who are looking for a fight. These people are combative from the start and police are tired of dealing with them.
No matter how hard non-profits like the National Police Association (NPA) work to reduce anti-police sentiment, there are many officers who don’t want to deal with the problem anymore. Many of them have had long careers in law enforcement and remember a time when people were more respectful. There has been a shift in the general mindset of society, and the negative impact on police is huge.
First Amendment “auditors” are a big problem
One of the most obnoxious anti-police trends that has become popular in the last ten years is people dubbing themselves “First Amendment Auditors” and filming themselves doing what amounts to baiting cops into making legal mistakes under the guise of “expressing their First Amendment rights.”
On the surface, it seems that people just want to make sure police know the law and will allow them to exercise their rights. However, when you watch most of these videos, it’s pretty clear the intention is to bait police into a situation where the citizen can make the cop wrong and publicly shame them. Oh, and then sue the department.
You’d think auditors would remain calm the whole time since they know the cop is going to be ignorant of the law, but they get confrontational fast. Often, they ask, “Am I being detained?” to try to get the cop to confirm an illegal detainment. Because of how combative these people are, many states have tried to pass laws prohibiting filming police from closer than 8 feet.
If “First Amendment Auditors” truly cared about educating the police regarding the laws, they would go about it in a much different way. They would be polite the entire time instead of getting triggered into arguments. They would also be proactive like real activist groups are when the goal is to educate by distributing pre-printed materials that outline the specific law they’re auditing and cite relevant cases in a friendly manner. Instead, they intentionally put themselves into a situation they know will escalate into a possible illegal detainment or arrest, and they’re looking forward to suing the police department afterward.
The public is more confrontational than ever before
Police officers never know what they’re going to encounter, and that used to apply mostly to dangerous situations where guns and other weapons are involved. Now, police have to deal with the psychological stress of citizens who are looking for a fight during routine traffic stops.
For instance, many people have made it a habit to not roll down their window and force cops to write down their insurance and identification information by hand in order to take it back to their vehicle to run. They claim it’s for their safety, but it’s pretty clear people who don’t feel unsafe do it just because they can.
While there are many instances where police officers do not know the law and end up violating a citizen’s rights, it’s still not acceptable for people to intentionally goad cops into the situation in the first place. Police officers should be held accountable for their actions, but the real issue seems to be that they need to have a better understanding of the law. Most of them are not intentionally trying to violate a person’s rights, and it’s no wonder police officers want to quit.
Is policing a dying profession?
Along with officers who are quitting and retiring, many departments are having a hard time hiring new recruits. To entice applicants, some have started offering new officers fancy SUVs to drive while veteran officers are still driving their old Crown Victorias. Still, there are many people who love working in law enforcement, and although some departments are short-staffed, there are still plenty of police officers serving their communities, at least for now.
