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Elevated Police Turnover Following the Summer of George Floyd Protests

January 2024 Applied police briefings :

Scott M. Mourtgos , Ian T. Adams , Justin Nix

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Abstract

Police resignations increased by 279% following the George Floyd protests, posing significant challenges for police staffing and operational capacity. Retirements and involuntary separations (e.g., terminations due to misconduct) did not show significant changes, but the elevated resignations are likely to continue. Effective strategies to improve organizational justice (i.e., perceptions of fair treatment of individuals within an organization) and support for officers are crucial to addressing the retention crisis. Follow-up studies support the idea of a policing workforce crisis and its negative effect on agencies’ abilities to serve communities.

Summary

Police resignations surged by 279% after the George Floyd protests in 2020, while retirements and firings remained steady, creating a staffing crisis that continues today. This massive wave of voluntary departures is undermining police departments’ ability to serve their communities effectively. The findings suggest that improving how officers are treated within their organizations and providing better support could help address this ongoing retention problem.

(AI-generated summary, v1, January 2026)

Citation Information

Citations: 1 (as of July 2026)

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APA

Scott M. Mourtgos, Ian T. Adams, Justin Nix (2024). Elevated Police Turnover Following the Summer of George Floyd Protests. Applied police briefings :. https://doi.org/10.22215/apb.v1i2.5007

BibTeX 
@article{mourtgos2024,
  title   = {Elevated Police Turnover Following the Summer of George Floyd Protests},
  author  = {Scott M. Mourtgos and Ian T. Adams and Justin Nix},
  journal = {Applied police briefings :},
  year    = {2024},
  doi     = {10.22215/apb.v1i2.5007},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.22215/apb.v1i2.5007}
}

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