Police retirements have doubled in the United States within the past year after the death of George Floyd which resulted in worldwide protests against police brutality and defunding the police.
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The data was first revealed by the Police Executive Research Forum who said police retirements have increased within the past year and police departments are having issues recruiting new officers. According to the Daily Mail, 2,600 NYPD police officers resigned in 2020 after Mayor Bill de Blasio after cutting away $1 billion from their operations budget. In Portland, Oregon, 69 officers resigned and 75 officers retired and 123 officers retired in Seattle, Washington.
Several officials said the negative portrayal of police officers in the United States since the BLM protests and anti-police brutality demonstrations have been a huge contributing factor in increases in retirements and resignations within their departments.
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Atlanta, Georgia is reportedly facing a crisis since their police department is struggling to hire new recruits as the number of shootings within the city continues to increase. The outlet noted that Atlanta Police Department plans to hire 250 new recruits in the fiscal year.