The "defund the police" rhetoric has real-life results. Since 2008, the Phoenix Police Department has had tremendous losses in manpower, compared to the growth in population. At the same time, violent crime has increased, homicides are up, and soon, specialty units that help keep the community safe and engage in proactive policing will be cut.
These issues aren't limited to Phoenix. Police Departments around the United States are suffering from major recruiting and retention issues. Anti-police sentiments from groups like ACAB and Black Lives Matter - as well as politicians that attack or do not Back the Blue make it more difficult than ever to be a police officer.
Here are real numbers for the Phoenix Police Department:
In 2008 Phoenix had 3,388 sworn officers actually working.
From 2010 to 2020, 1,808 officers separated from the Department.
Currently, Phoenix has 455 active participants in the deferred retirement program (DROP) - meaning they can retire at any point in time with a full pension. More than half of the members of PPSLA - the Department's sergeants and lieutenants - are eligible to retire. Overall, approximately 830 sworn employees of all ranks are retirement eligible. This represents approximately 30% of the filled count of Phoenix Police Officers.
In 2010, officers responded to 99,610 priority one (highest priority) emergency calls for service. By 2020, this increased nearly 24% - as officers responded to 123,184 emergency calls for service.
Reported bias crimes increased by nearly 900 incidents from 2016 to 2020.
