Alabama officials are calling for solutions to the law enforcement recruitment crisis as large cities across the state and country struggle to attract and retain officers.
During a visit to Mobile to commemorate a fallen officer at the Alabama State Port Authority, Attorney General Steve Marshall cited the difficulties faced by many cities, notably Jefferson County, which is down 450 officers from five years ago.
According to Marshall, one of the main causes behind the crisis has been an anti-police narrative promoted by the media.
“When we see a national narrative that is adverse to law enforcement, it minimizes the profession of what law enforcement does, and we create a disincentive of individuals who want to engage in this profession,” Marshall said. “It’s a unique group of people willing to risk their lives to keep people safe. We have to find ways to be able to incentivize it.”
State Representative Allen Treadaway, a former assistant police chief, called for greater incentive packages to help agencies recruit officers.
He pointed to Florida’s successful Law Enforcement Recruitment Bonus Program, which awarded $5,000 bonuses to over 1,750 newly employed law enforcement recruits, including 530 from out-of-state.
Treadaway urged Alabama lawmakers to consider similar measures.
“The state needs to do something (similar) also,” Treadway said. “Why the red flag is not thrown up and elected officials are meeting to do something is somewhat shocking to me. This trend is of fewer and fewer officers each day. This is an absolute crisis.”
National statistics support the severity of the issue, with a report from the Police Executive Research Forum showing a 47 percent increase in police officer resignations in 2022 compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
In addition, the International Association of Chiefs of Police reported that over three-quarters of police agencies in the U.S. are struggling to recruit qualified candidates, leading to service reductions in a quarter of surveyed agencies.
Mobile Police Chief Paul Prine said his department was short around 60 officers from its budgeted strength but noted recent improvements, with the shortage reduced to around 39 to 40 officers.
Prine credited multiple raises, additional benefits and a full-time recruiter for the positive trend.
“It might not sound like huge gains, but it really is,” Prine said. “We’ll never be at net zero regarding attrition, but if we stay on this trend, my hope is by the end of the year, we’ll be very close to our budgeted strength.”
Attorney General Marshall also pointed to recent efforts by Jacksonville State University, which opened their Southeastern Command College, to promote law enforcement careers among the youth.
The program focuses on police management, leadership studies and conflict resolution courses.
“The biggest thing we can do as a community is show its support for and advocate on behalf of law enforcement officers and also stand strong with them when they are doing obviously difficult jobs,” added Marshall.
The fallen officer event in Mobile commemorated Kimberly Sickafoose, a six-year police officer with the Port Authority, who tragically died on duty when her police cruiser plunged into the Mobile River.
Sickafoose was the first woman to serve as a police chief in Baldwin County, according to Chief Mark Janowski.
