Hard Truth From Minnesota Sheriff: We Are "In A Crisis For Cops"

One Minnesota Sheriff is taking to social media to air his frustrations with a crisis that is currently ongoing here in Minnesota, and Minnesota isn't the only state dealing with this crisis. The crisis is over law enforcement, and how no one seems to want to be a police officer anymore. The post that the Chisago County Sheriff shared pulls back the curtains of the hiring process of law enforcement in Minnesota.

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Chisago County Sheriff Brandon Thyen took to social media yesterday to air his frustrations with trying to find and hire candidates who want to be in law enforcement.

“Since the beginning of 2023, there have been 18 police officers and 1 firefighter/ paramedic that have been shot in the state of Minnesota. Four of them lost their lives.”

-BCA Superintendent Drew Evans during a press conference last week.

Law enforcement is currently in a crisis for cops. There have been more cops shot in Minnesota since the beginning of 2023, than showed up for a testing process we hosted last year. Yes, you read that correctly. Stop scrolling for 18 seconds and consider the fact that 18 cops have been shot since the beginning of 2023. That number is greater than the applicants we received for a deputy position.

We have received 90 applications for a clerical opening, 49 applications for a dispatch opening and an abundance of applications for a corrections officer opening. Yet, for the position of deputy sheriff, the applications are in the single digits now.

Our agency is not alone in this, and some agencies are in a far worse position than we are. Finding quality people willing to do this job is becoming harder and harder. Our state is in a crisis for cops.

Who is willing to do this job? Who is willing to carry the weight of this badge? Who is willing to stand in the gap between order and chaos? That number is dwindling before our very eyes.

According to The Marshall Project:

An analysis of two years of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census Bureau data shows a steady decline in both law enforcement and local government jobs during the pandemic. From March 2020 to August 2022, the number of government workers dropped by 5%, while the number of local law enforcement employees decreased by 4%, the most recent data shows.

Without adequate law enforcement it will be interesting to see how many events change if they can't find an off-duty deputy to work security.

The world needs more people to make a difference in our communities and members of law enforcement domake so many positive changes in our cities and towns.

So who is willing to carry the weight of the badge?