Police See Major Drop-off in Numbers

Latest Polls (view all)

In the shadow of the political assassination of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning USA, a stain now exists upon our nation's collective conscious, a condition that must be excised, or our nation will not function properly as one of a self-governed people. Understanding these long standing truths: What would you suggest as a quick, and, or proper corrective measure?

20% Destroy the Fascist Donald Trump and all of MAGA, because America must never be Great Again.

80% Our self-governed people, and their properly restored institutions, under President Trump, must discover the root causes to properly correct, and save our Constitutional Republic.

0% I thought we had to shut down Free Speech we don't like to save our "democracy," so I am totally confused now.

Click Here to Vote
10 Vote(s)

View all Polls

Published: Saturday, October 24th, 2020 @ 2:20 pm
By: John Locke Foundation ( More Entries )

Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the John Locke Foundation. The author of this post is Mitch Kokai.

Charles Fain Lehman of the Washington Free Beacon reports a dramatic drop in the number of American police officers.

There are now fewer police officers per person in the United States than at any point in the last 25 years, recently released federal data show, after over a decade of decline.

There were roughly 214 police officers per 100,000 Americans in 2019, according to the latest figures from the Census Bureau's Annual Survey of Public Employment and Payroll, which tracks employment across state and local governments. That represents a 1.5 percent decline from 2018 and a 9 percent drop from 2007, when police numbers last peaked.

Since that year, the number of sworn officers has declined precipitously, thanks in part to the Great Recession's effects on police budgets and in part to growing hostility to law enforcement in the years since mass protests in Ferguson, Mo. Recent events, including a wave of retirements and the cancellations of recruitment classes amid public outcry and COVID-driven budget crunches, suggest that the trend will persist through 2020.

That trend bodes ill for violent crime in America — which has plateaued in recent years — given the large body of evidence finding that cops have a substantial impact on crime rates. The continued erosion of America's police force, in other words, could mean a resurgence of the high crime rates that plagued the country throughout the 1980s and '90s — a deadly consequence of this creeping trend.

The number of sworn police officers rose steadily throughout the 1990s, in part due to expanded federal funding under the 1994 crime bill. That increase has been associated with significant reductions in crime and is considered to be a major driver of the "great crime decline" of the late '90s and early 2000s.

But, after remaining elevated throughout the middle of that decade, police employment rates began to crater amid the Great Recession, as state and local austerity kicked in.

Go Back

Login to Leave a Comment

DHHS's Own Data Don’t Support Its Mask Mandate

John Locke Foundation Guest Editorial, Editorials, Op-Ed & Politics

The BlackLivesMattering of Higher Ed: Some Notes From the Field

Latest Op-Ed & Politics

Mentally Ill, Repeat-Criminal Kills Young Ukrainian Female Refugee. Media Silent. Guess Why.

If a white person commits a crime against a black person, it is a national news story.

Published: Monday, September 15th, 2025 @ 5:21 pm By: Daily Wire

Bill to punish lenient judges introduced in Congress to stop criminal release

would allow civil lawsuit against judge if released criminal causes harm

Published: Monday, September 15th, 2025 @ 8:32 am By: John Steed

poll: 3 most popular politicians in France are all from anti-immigration right

good sign for next French election

Published: Sunday, September 14th, 2025 @ 9:17 pm By: John Steed

Charlie Kirk: A martyr for faith and freedom

By Rev. Mark Creech

Published: Sunday, September 14th, 2025 @ 5:43 pm By: Countrygirl1411

Venezuela Taunts U.S. Navy, Pentagon Fires Back

"This highly provocative move was designed to interfere with our counter narco-terror operations."

Published: Sunday, September 14th, 2025 @ 5:43 pm By: Daily Wire

Charlie Kirk, While Speaking to College Students on Campus, Was Shot Dead by an Assassin in Utah

Charlie Kirk, 31 years of age, who was renowned as one of the most important and influential college speakers /Leaders in many decades; founder of Turning Point USA, has been shot dead at Utah Valley University.

Published: Sunday, September 14th, 2025 @ 5:42 pm By: Stan Deatherage

Obama-Appointed Judge Blocks Trump’s Freeze On Harvard’s Federal Funding

The Trump administration took actions against Harvard related to the anti-Israel protests that roiled its campus.

Published: Sunday, September 14th, 2025 @ 5:33 pm By: Daily Wire

In Remembrance of 9/11

In remembrance of the day that will forever seer the concept of 'evil' in our minds, let's look back at that fateful morning, exactly 11 years ago today to that series of horrific events which unfolded before our unbelieving eyes......

Published: Sunday, September 14th, 2025 @ 5:32 pm By: Diane Rufino

Nigel Farage Spars With Dems As He Warns About ‘Authoritarian’ Crackdown On Free Speech

“This could happen to any American man or woman [who] goes to Heathrow."

Published: Sunday, September 14th, 2025 @ 5:31 pm By: Daily Wire

Charlie Kirk assassin lived with "transgender" partner who he asked for help UPDATED

transgender etchings on bullets now have basis shown

Published: Saturday, September 13th, 2025 @ 1:57 pm By: John Steed

Bleeding under the blade of lawlessness

By Rev. Mark Creech

Published: Saturday, September 13th, 2025 @ 12:22 pm By: Countrygirl1411

Judicial coup fail - Appeals Court nixs Dist Ct order on Planned Parenthood funds

crooked Biden judge had put herself above both president AND congress

Published: Friday, September 12th, 2025 @ 8:09 pm By: John Steed

Kamala Harris book backfires as Biden aides expose her glaring failures

Another failure for Harris

Published: Friday, September 12th, 2025 @ 4:04 pm By: Countrygirl1411

Charlie Kirk assassin tied to ANTIFA, used same message board as Butler shooter

Time to investigate Discord and its users

Published: Friday, September 12th, 2025 @ 3:54 pm By: John Steed

Young Brazilian woman is first refugee from "transgender" tyranny

faced 25 years in prison for "misgendering" a leftie tranny politician

Published: Friday, September 12th, 2025 @ 1:58 pm By: John Steed

RINO Tillis pooh-poohs conservative concerns about Charlie Kirk assassination

tone deaf to the end

Published: Friday, September 12th, 2025 @ 9:18 am By: John Steed

Illegal alien migrants behaving badly - migrants and crime NEWLY UPDATED

illegal alien "asylum seeker" migrants are a crime wave on both sides of the Atlantic

Published: Friday, September 12th, 2025 @ 7:34 am By: John Steed

Fentanyl Crisis Escalates In U.S. Workplaces As China Fuels Supply Chain

"Up from 0.91% in 2023 and double the rate in 2020"

Published: Thursday, September 11th, 2025 @ 9:59 pm By: Daily Wire

Bullets of Charlie Kirk assassin had transgender and ANTIFA words on them

Is this the latest act of "transgender" violence?

Published: Thursday, September 11th, 2025 @ 11:30 am By: John Steed

Ten Years (now 24 years later) After 9/11: a Recollection, a Time to Remember

It was a clear beautiful, royal blue sky day on Wall Street. The S & P futures were up markedly, awaiting a positive open, as I turn to get my first cup of coffee. I return to CNBC to get the morning business news, when I notice that the S & P futures are falling, and they're falling fast.