R&I – TxPAT *****
New regulations for police in Illinois combined with negative public sentiments have departments across the state facing recruitment shortfalls and some don’t think more money will help.
President Joe Biden wants local governments to use federal tax dollars from COVID-19 relief to hire more police.
In part, Biden’s plan encourages local governments to use the $350 billion allotted in the COVID-19 relief bill passed earlier this year to invest in law enforcement, including hiring more officers.
“This strategy will use the Rescue Plan’s historic funding levels and clear guidance to help state, local, territorial, and tribal governments get the money they need to put more police officers on the beat – with the resources, training, and accountability they need to engage in effective community policing – in addition to supporting proven Community Violence Intervention programs, summer employment opportunities, and other investments that we know will reduce crime and make our neighborhoods safer,” the White House said.
In Illinois, money doesn’t seem to be the issue of attracting new officers.
Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police Executive Director Ed Wojcicki said there are factors working against recruiting.
“For the most part, it’s not about the money,” Wojcicki said. “It’s about the climate that is out there in which the police feel unappreciated and they feel like they’re under attack for very inappropriate reasons.”
Anecdotal evidence from his members across the state indicates they’re struggling to retain officers.
“Some, because people can retire, but other times it is younger ones who just say ‘I don’t want to subject my family to unreasonable lawsuits,’” Wojcicki said. “There is so much unreasonable scrutiny on them, and I would say ignorant scrutiny, that people are saying ‘why would I subject myself to that.’”
RandyMarsh