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The economic downturn of the past several years has devastated local economies and their local law enforcement agencies. Sworn to protect and serve the public, law enforcement faces a bleak outlook. The nation’s law enforcement agencies are confronting severe budget cuts and unmanageable layoffs, and they are fundamentally changing how they keep the public safe. COPS compiled data from a number of current surveys and data sets, which show the impact that the current economic climate has had on law enforcement agencies nationwide.**
Layoffs, furloughs, and unfilled jobs mean less public safety
- By the end of the year, it’s expected that nearly 12,000 police officers and sheriff’s deputies will have been laid off.
- An estimated 28,000 officers and deputies have faced week-long furloughs in 2010.
- An estimated 53 percent of counties are working with fewer staff today than just one
year ago. - 2011 could produce the first national decline in law enforcement officer positions in at least the last 25 years.
Budget cuts have a heavy impact
- Over one-third of the agencies that applied for 2011 COPS officer hiring funding reported an operating budget drop of greater than 5 percent between 2009 and 2011.
- Nearly a quarter of American cities surveyed have made cuts to public safety budgets.
The delivery of law enforcement services will fundamentally change as a result of today’s economic climate
- Some agencies have stopped responding to all motor vehicle thefts, burglar alarms, and non-injury motor vehicle accidents.
- Agencies have also reported decreases in investigations of property crimes, fugitive tracking, a variety of white collar crimes, and even low-level narcotics cases.
- Many agencies have greatly reduced training opportunities for their officers.
- Investments in technology and communications systems are being slashed in many agencies facing budget reductions.
** Data are based on information and survey results from: the National Association of Counties; International Association of Chiefs of Police; Major Cities Chiefs Association; Police Executive Research Forum; The National League of Cities; the Fraternal Order of Police; Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics and application data from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. For a copy of the full report entitled the Impact of the Economic Downturn on American Police Agencies, please call 800.421.6770, or visit the COPS Office website at www.cops.usdoj.gov.