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Call to National Guard and federal law enforcement is not a solution, but a signal that the system has cracked. Chicago is learning the hard way what happens when outdated police hiring practices collide with political cutbacks. Since 2019, more than 2,100 police positions have been eliminated and the city has added new layers of bureaucracy. The Chicago Police Department (CPD) still has 795 unfilled positions, including cuts to 833 positions under Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and 614 positions under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The result: President Donald Trump is now sending in the National Guard to fill gaps left by years of slow recruiting, endless vacancies and deliberate cuts.
Memphis tells the same story. City police is at its lowest level in two decades, resulting in fewer patrols, slower response times and drowning detectives under an overwhelming workload. Temporary federal increases may help in the moment, but they do not rebuild police forces or restore long-term safety. National Guard troops are not trained to investigate homicides, de-escalate volatile domestic calls or build trust with residents. Their presence is evidence of failure, not a strategy for success.
The problem goes deeper than just headcount. The police hiring process itself is outdated. A nationwide study found that the number one reason candidates leave is not pay, but bureaucracy. Paper applications, months of background checks and silence from recruiters leave motivated candidates in limbo. By the time the departments finally responded, those recruits had already taken jobs elsewhere. The broken process selects willing officers.
CHICAGO COPS ARE ELECTED ON THE STREETS FOR COOPERATES AS TRUMP PRESSURES ON CRIME
Too many agencies responded lowering standards. Illinois, Kentucky, New York and Texas are experimenting with eliminating requirements in a desperate attempt to fill cars. This is a terrible game. Downskilling undermines professionalism and public trust. A badge is not just another job – it is a profession that requires skill, discipline and public trust. Americans don't want to have a lower bar; they need qualified, trained and dedicated officers.
There is a better answer. Private sector fixed this problem many years ago. Applicant tracking systems now manage hiring flows across all industries by streamlining paperwork, keeping candidates informed, and quickly moving qualified candidates forward. If retailers can process thousands of job applications in weeks, there's no reason why a police department takes months to hire a new recruit. Agencies using these tools can increase their candidate pool, resulting in fewer attrition rates, improved communication, and more filled academy slots. Those who don't will get stuck in a cycle of attrition.
Tennessee shows what it looks like when leaders take hiring seriously. Republican Rep. John Gillespie's HB 1445 invests directly in hiring, and Gov. Bill Lee has committed $175 million to strengthen public safety across the state. The money won't just go toward a short-term increase in troop numbers—it's aimed at modernizing how police departments recruit and retain people. Tennessee shows that the future of public safety depends on building stronger pipelines, not on soldiers filling in the gaps.
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Meanwhile, communities pay off when cities refuse to adapt. Longer wait times for emergency services mean crimes being committed go undetected. Overworked detectives miss leads, delaying justice for victims. Stretched patrol shifts leave neighborhoods vulnerable. This isn't an abstraction—it's an everyday reality in cities like Chicago and Memphis, where understaffed and exhausted officers can't keep up. Residents feel the difference every time they dial 911 and wait.
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Here's the bottom line: Troops on the streets are a last resort for a reason. Chicago is proving what happens when hiring lags and politics seeps deeper into the ranks. After all, soldiers replace police officers. The fix isn't more deployments; these are smarter, faster recruiting channels that restore departments with the officers the community deserves. Until cities modernize their hiring, they will repeat Chicago's mistake: losing cops to bureaucratic red tape and replacing them with soldiers.
