A leading official with the Pennsylvania State Police is characterizing the growing shortage of law enforcement personnel as a catastrophe.
As Gary Sinderson reports he says that means all of us are facing a growing risk of being a crime victim .
Last year, 1000 people applied to join the Pennsylvania State Police. Sounds like a lot? Its not. In 1995, there were 10,000 applicants. With more municipalities cutting back on their police services,
The state police now patrols 85 percent of Pennsylvania and they’re doing it with fewer personnel
“This isn’t a crisis. this is a full scale catastrophe. we simply don’t have enough officers to protect the citizens of this commonwealth, thats the truth.”
David Kennedy is the President of the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association, he testified this week at a State House Policy Committee hearing.
He says the pandemic led to a wave of police officer resignations, and retirements, added to those police personnel who died from Covid. Plus there’s other factors hurting recruitment including the added public scrutiny on
law enforcement he predicts we’ll see the impact in the crime rate
“If its one thing a criminal knows, its numbers advantage, they know our officers are spread far too thin, the result is increased crime and violence all across Pennsylvania”
Kennedy is among those calling on the state legislature to create a separate, dedicated funding source for state police,
