LOS ANGELES — Police staffing across California is at the lowest point in decades, with rural communities struggling the most in efforts to recruit officers, according to a new report from the state's largest law enforcement organization. The PORAC report took data from an online portal published by the California Department of Justice and looked solely at sworn officers, including city police, sheriff's departments, California Highway Patrol and other law enforcement agencies. The report pointed to the fact that police staffing in the state is at a 30-year low, particularly in rural counties, and compared the number of officers per square mile in rural and urban departments. "Obviously rural counties will have fewer officers because they're less densely populated, but I don't think that tells the whole story," Bryan told The Times. And while vacancies are felt across agencies, spending year after year has incrementally increased in city police departments, according to expenditure data from the California state controller's office.

Source: Los Angeles Times August 01, 2024 05:28 UTC