Correlation does not mean causation. I don't think policies from the left are the biggest factor in increased crime and low police morale. Low morale was a big issue in 2018.
These survey results of police from 2018, 2019, 2020, & 2021 show a consistent pattern that respondents feel they aren't paid enough for their work, considering the stress. That's probably the biggest factor in morale. Pay in many police departments is low, but not in most big cities, such as NYC and even mid-sized well funded cities like Miami and Miami Beach where many retire in their 40s or 50s with nice pensions. In 2020, dealing with COVID had a negative impact on their morale. Finally, in 2021, respondents said treatment by the government & public negatively affected their morale. The police academy at our local community college is not suffering from low enrollment.
The survey from 2018:
"A staggering 44.8% said they worried about the state of their personal finances either every day or almost every day. And more than one in nine (11.8%) said they never or almost never had enough money to cover all of their essentials. This was up from 11% on the year before. The vast majority of respondents, 87.9%, did not feel fairly paid considering the stresses and strains of their job."
From 2020:
The 2020 survey revealed that, 86% of respondents said they did not feel fairly paid in relation to the stresses and strains of the job, 65% of respondents reported the COVID-19 crisis has had a negative impact on their morale and 76% felt unfairly paid for the risks & responsibilities of their job during the pandemic.
From 2021:
Of 29,587 officers who responded, 95% said their treatment by the Government had a negative impact on their morale.
I am not sure what that proves. The media has been kicking police in the balls since at least 2012 when the Michael Brown and Trevon Martin stuff started the BLM movement. There are lots of reasons why police morale is in the toilet, but to suggest media trashing them is not one of them is ridiculous. The more recent efforts to decriminalize small crimes and bail reform certainly have more than just a correlation relationship to crime. There are numerous cases of people being arrested dozens of times and being released, then to commit some more heinous crime. The most severe was the guy who ran over 70 people at the Christmas parade. Certainly things can be correlated but not be a cause is quite possible. But when you are discussing things like bail reform and decriminalization impact to crime rates, it is nonsense to dismiss the relationship as some simple correlation.
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