The Police Shortage Crisis: Can AI Bridge The Blue Line?

When a 911 call comes in, police officers are usually the first on the scene. But the current reality of the police officer shortage makes it harder for them to get to everyone who needs their help.

Across the US, law enforcement agencies are grappling with a police shortage that affects everything from response times to case clearance rates. With officers leaving faster than agencies can hire replacements, departments are struggling to maintain even basic patrol functions, let alone the specialized units that tackle complex investigations. 

A recent survey conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum found that while police staffing slightly increased during 2024, it has declined by 5.5% since 2019. The modest uptick hasn’t been nearly enough to reverse years of attrition or meet growing demand. And while the shortage may take just as many years to reverse course, emerging AI tools can help investigators work more efficiently with the resources they have. 

Below, we’ll share what’s led to the police shortage over the years, how it’s impacting law enforcement teams and the communities they serve, and why AI may be the answer to agencies’ evidence and case management challenges. 

Why Is There a Police Shortage?

The US police shortage is a result of multiple compounding pressures—such as high stress, negative public perception, and high turnover—that have changed what it means to work in law enforcement, and how potential recruits may view the career overall. 

Jason P. Armstrong, a hall-of-fame retired police chief, suggests a couple of factors over the years that have led to the current nationwide shortage. 

“The civil unrest following George Floyd's murder and the ensuing ‘defund the police’ rhetoric was definitely a huge blow for a lot of agencies across the country,” he says. “That, coupled with the shift in remote work options related to the pandemic, saw a lot of people leaving for jobs that made family life easier for them.” 

Even when agencies successfully recruit new officers, the lack of training and growth opportunities makes it difficult to retain staff, suggests Russ Di Lauri, a police officer and owner of Modern Patrol Methods.

“In my opinion, being a police officer has become a less attractive career over the years,” he says. “This is a very hard career that provides little to no in-person training once you graduate from the police academy. Law enforcement training budgets can’t afford to spend thousands on each officer every year. It's up to the officer to want to better their own knowledge of the law in order to protect themselves from doing something to jeopardize their career.”

The data backs up these claims. Nationwide, departments are struggling to maintain minimum staffing levels for basic patrol operations. American Police Beat reported that major cities across the country are seeing officer shortages in the hundreds or thousands, with some cities even requesting state trooper assistance to fill the gap. 

According to the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) 2024 State of Recruitment and Retention Report, police staffing declined by 80% across police departments serving large cities from 2019 to 2023.

How a Shortage Became a Crisis

The shortage of police is more than just a staffing inconvenience. Fewer officers means department resources are stretched thin, creating real-world consequences that permeate communities nationwide. 

Across the US, crime clearance rates are at their lowest levels since 1993. FBI data shows that in 2022, law enforcement agencies cleared about 37% of violent crimes (compared to 48% in 2013) and only 12% of reported property crimes (down from almost 20% in 2013). 

With fewer officers on patrol and fewer detectives available to work cases, critical evidence sits unanalyzed, and victims wait longer for justice. The workload on remaining officers intensifies, creating burnout that potentially drives more departures.

If current trends persist, some experts predict departments could face staffing levels not seen since the 1990s. The LAPD, for instance, is projected to see its lowest staffing numbers in 30 years by mid-2026. Not to mention, there are far more complex public safety challenges to address today than there were in the '90s—from evolved crimes that involve cybersecurity and digital technology to increased social issues such as behavioral health crises.

The question isn’t whether the police shortage is a crisis, but how quickly agencies can adapt before the impacts become irreversible.

Top Issues Facing Law Enforcement Today

From difficulties with police recruitment to high turnover and increased public criticism, law enforcement agencies are dealing with intense issues that add strain to an already challenging career. 

These are some of the biggest challenges in law enforcement today: 

Officer Recruitment 

Attracting new officers is one of the biggest challenges for law enforcement agencies today. The combination of increased scrutiny, competitive salaries across different agencies, and changing public perception has created a recruitment crisis that has changed how agencies operate.

Police departments across the country have responded by expanding their applicant pools. Many agencies are lowering their education requirements for new recruits, Stateline reports. Survey data from PERF also found that some departments have raised starting salaries or offered signing bonuses, while others have streamlined hiring processes that previously took six months or longer.

Staff Retention 

Officer recruitment is only half the battle. Retention has become equally challenging, with many officers coming up on retirement and a large number of officers leaving mid-career. The IACP survey shared above revealed that officer resignation happens most frequently during the first five years of hiring. 

The primary reasons cited for leaving were better pay opportunities at another agency, overwhelming workloads, lack of opportunities, and dissatisfaction with the law enforcement career as a whole. 

Increased Workload + Backlog 

According to recent criminal justice statistics, 80% of large police departments now require officers to wear body cameras. 

This type of police tech, as well as devices like dash cams and surveillance footage, has created mountains of digital evidence that must be reviewed, tagged, and stored. Today’s officers are now tasked with managing this evidence overload, all while maintaining traditional patrol and investigative duties. 

A recent report by Axon found that officers only spend 36% of their time on community policing, with over half of respondents spending a majority of their time on administrative work. The increase in desk work can leave many officers feeling disconnected from the community-focused work that initially drew them to the profession.

Not to mention the potential burnout that can result from increased workloads. A 2021 report by the National Fraternal Order of Police found that over 50% of active officers reported experiencing high levels of burnout. That same report revealed that one of the top stressors for police officers is staffing shortages.  

Lack of Public Trust 

Police agencies have been under increased scrutiny over the last five years. High-profile incidents have sparked national conversations about policing practices and accountability, significantly changing the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve. 

Rebuilding trust requires transparency and meaningful reform, but it also requires resources that understaffed departments simply don’t have. Community policing programs, mental health crisis intervention teams, and bias training all require officers to implement them. When departments barely have enough staff for basic patrol functions, these trust-building initiatives often fall by the wayside.

The Impact of Fewer Officers

The staffing crisis has negative impacts in both the short and long term. The shortage of officers affects daily operations and community safety outcomes, as well as timely investigations. Here are a few of the biggest impacts communities can expect to see when they have fewer officers on patrol: 

• Reduced services: According to the IACP survey, 65% of agencies reported reducing services or specialized units because of staffing challenges, prioritizing essential patrol functions over specialized assignments. 
• Slower investigations: With detectives handling double or triple their normal caseloads, investigations that once took weeks can now stretch into months. 
• Overlooked evidence: Critical evidence may sit unreviewed in evidence rooms, surveillance footage goes unwatched, and witness memories fade while cases wait for an available investigator.
• Longer response times: When patrol shifts are understaffed, even routine calls take longer to address. In Austin, for example, response times for non-emergency calls have doubled, leaving residents feeling abandoned and vulnerable.

To address these issues, agencies are relying more heavily on existing resources such as technology. Andrew Garcia, Detective and Technology Advisor at Syndicus USA, suggests that tech that reduces officers’ workload can be especially useful for helping understaffed agencies complete administrative work.

“The most impactful technologies are those that remove friction rather than create it,” says Garcia. “AI-assisted transcription, automated evidence handling, UAS deployment, and predictive staffing analytics all reduce workload while improving decision-making. These tools allow officers to spend more time in the community and less time behind a desk.”

How Tech Helps Officers Do More With Less

While law enforcement technology can’t replace officers in the community, it can improve how departments use the resources they have. Everything from body cameras to biometric scanners to AI tools can help law enforcement agencies work more efficiently and at scale. 

AI-powered tools, in particular, are transforming digital evidence management and case analysis, giving investigators hours back in their day. Officers who once spent hours manually logging evidence or writing reports can now focus on investigative work and community engagement.

Modern AI transcription platforms can process hours of body camera footage, interview recordings, and dispatch audio in minutes. These tools also help improve case analysis by creating searchable transcripts that allow investigators to find key moments instantly, whether they’re looking for a specific phrase, location mention, or timeline detail. 

When it comes to security and transparency, today’s law enforcement AI platforms are built with chain of custody in mind. These tools maintain audit trails and ensure evidence integrity so it meets the admissibility standards required for courtroom use.

How Agencies Can Adopt AI The Right Way

AI adoption requires proper planning. The most successful implementations start small, prioritize data security, and involve the officers every step of the way. Here’s how agencies can adopt AI effectively:

• Prioritize data security and compliance: Consider solutions that offer encryption and audit trails to maintain a chain of custody. The platform should meet criminal justice information standards and be transparent about how data is stored, processed, and protected. Without this criteria, agencies risk evidence mismanagement or inadmissible data. 
• Verify courtroom admissibility: Not all AI tools meet the evidentiary standards required for trial. Choose platforms that provide clear documentation of their processes, maintain original evidence integrity, and have a track record of admissibility in court.
• Train officers thoroughly: Provide hands-on training that shows officers how AI tools solve their pain points, whether that’s faster evidence review, law enforcement transcription, or better case organization.
• Establish AI policies: Create guidelines for when and how AI tools should be used, who has access to what data, and how AI-generated insights should be verified before inclusion in reports or testimony. 
• Choose vendors who understand law enforcement: Generic AI tools often miss the mark on what police departments actually need. Work with vendors who have experience in law enforcement and legal, understand evidence requirements, and can provide ongoing support as your needs evolve.

Rev: The AI-Powered Tool for Law Enforcement

The future of policing doesn’t have to choose between human officers and technology. Addressing the shortage is about giving those officers the tools they need to work smarter, solve cases faster, and serve their communities better.

Rev helps short-staffed law enforcement agencies manage digital evidence backlog and build stronger cases. Our platform offers industry-leading transcription, digital evidence management, and multi-file case analysis so officers can spend less time on desk work and more of their time on police work.