Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more difficult after the trials and tribulations of 2020, enter 2021!
The COVID-19 pandemic still created challenges for public safety leadership; however, this year featured some added twists that taxed public servants across the country.
One major challenge relates to employee morale.
Contemporary research confirms higher than average levels of anxiety, skepticism, lacking confidence and overall dissatisfaction among many of today’s employees. Combined, these components have led employees to leave their jobs in record numbers.
Dubbed “the Great Resignation” by some industry analysts, 4.3 million employees left their jobs during the month of October alone. [1] That number has remained consistent for several months and represents roughly 3% of the U.S. workforce. The government sector followed this trend with 220,000 resignations during the same period (representing 1% of the total workforce). [1]
It’s no mystery that law enforcement agencies struggle with recruiting and retention. In June 2021, the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), released its Survey on Police Workforce Trends, which noted a 45% increase in the retirement rate and an 18% increase in the rate of resignations among law enforcement agencies from last year. [2]
Some areas are worse than others. The Nevada State Police reported a 135% turnover rate during FY2020 and costs to “… recruit, evaluate, and onboard a police officer [in that state] is approximately...
The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday announced charges against 15 people, including six medical professionals, for allegedly participating in schemes that collectively submitted $2 billion i...