Police departments across US report more retirements, less hirings, following Floyd death, pandemic

Police department across the U.S. are reporting sharp declines in the number of officers in their force, with early retirements and challenges in hiring replacements being cites as major reasons – amid the COVID-19 pandemic and recent calls for police reforms and "defunding" departments.

The findings are in a report by the Police Executive Research Forum and given to the Associated Press, which published the data Friday.

The report, which looks at 200 of the roughly 18,000 police agencies nationwide, found hirings have gone down by 5%. At the same time, retirement has gone up by as much as 45%. 

The report compares numbers from roughly April  2019 through March 2020 to April 2020 through March 2021. 

Among the more specific challenges cited in the report regarding the retention and hiring of officers were local lawmakers  pledges to enact such reforms as ending the policies that give officers immunity for their actions while on-duty, the Washington, D.C.-based forum and wire service report.

Such proposed changes come amid a series of high-profile incidents in which black Americans died while in contact with police, including George Floyd's death in May 2020.