National law enforcement agencies are worried about the effects of staff shortages

Norman, Oklahoma — Stunning bodycam video captured the moment officers with the New York City Police Department on Thursday helped rescue a man who had fallen onto the subway tracks.

The officers — who were on the opposite platform — had to race across a busy city street to reach the man. The Good Samaritan had already tried to help and they were able to lift him out of danger just seconds before a train arrived at the station.

Police officers are required to do this every day, and it is one of many dangerous tasks they have to complete. But, there are law enforcement agencies across the country. Faced with staff shortagesWith rising retirement rates and a shortage of new recruits, this is a good time to be a part of the workforce.

According to a survey by the Police Executive Research Forum, the number and quality of officer hires in 2021 was 3.9% less than in 2019.

According to the survey, there were 23.6% more law enforcement retirees in 2021 than there were in 2019. In 2021, there were 43.7% more law enforcement resignations than in 2019. Low pay was the main reason for the increase in resignations as well as retirements, according to the survey.

Cheyenne Walden is a new recruit to the Tulsa Police Department. She won’t be joining a graduating class.

Walden stated that it was something he’d always wanted to do. “So it is not a job. It’s more of an occupation.”

Wendell Franklin, Chief of Police in Tulsa, stated that he has difficulty filling around 150 positions.

Franklin stated, “There was, there was, a lot, of scrutiny placed upon the law enforcement.” “And I believe that that soured many interested people who wanted to get into the profession. They’ve taken a detour and have done something else.

Even smaller law enforcement agencies are raising the alarm. Sgt. Shane Roddy with the University of Oklahoma Police Department (OUPD) told CBS News there are roughly 20 uniformed officers on staff. He stated that he hasn’t been physically trained in active shooter drills in many years.

Roddy stated, “The University of Oklahoma just needs to start funding OUPD to build our staffing to the point where we can actually begin training again.”

CBS News received a statement from the university stating that it had recently increased salaries for its police department by “on average almost 8%.” The school did note, however, that the increase is due to open positions that have yet to be filled. However, the university also stated that it had hired three new officers and will continue to hire officers over the next few months.

Furthermore, Saturdays brings college football to Norman — and even with other departments helping with game day security — with more than 100,000 fans on the University of Oklahoma campus, officers worry about the nightmare scenario.

Roddy stated that there is always the possibility of an active shooter, or armed subject, entering campus and causing great bodily harm or death.

Roddy replied, “absolutely” to being asked if his staff was adequate.