As crime rates climb across the nation, police departments in several major U.S. cities are facing a crisis, namely, the inability to recruit new police officers. As a result, staffing shortages have led to increased overtime, thinly spread patrols, and a rise in crime rates. 

Violent crimes remained higher during the first half of 2023 compared to the first half of 2019, according to the Council on Criminal Justice. The International Association of Chiefs of Police published a paper called "A Crisis for Law Enforcement" that shows 78% of law enforcement agencies have had "difficulty in recruiting qualified candidates" and that 65% reported having "too few candidates applying to be law enforcement officers."

Staffing issues have been reported over the last year in Minneapolis, San Francisco, and New York, among other cities. At the same time, many of these same cities – including their elected officials – embraced the "defund the police" movements across the country in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests and riots in the summer of 2020.

Police officials say this one-two punch of violent riots and demonization of law enforcement has created a national narrative that contribute to resignations and retirements. In many instances, these shortages arose after attempts—some successful—to reduce funding to or reorganize police departments. 

For example, the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) is currently experiencing its "most significant exodus" of officers in its history, according to The Star Tribune. Last month, the number of uniformed officers at the department reached its lowest level in four decades. According to a Star Tribune analysis, Minneapolis has the lowest ratio of police officers to population among the 22 American cities that it sampled with 1.4 officers per 1,000 residents, which is half the national average of 2.4.