Finally, an answer

At last, some data.  Atlanta Police Department has long had a challenge of meeting its authorized force goals due to low pay, little consistent political support, mayoral and City Council opposition to police actions which deliver security at the expense of perceived social justice, etc.  We should have around 2,200 officers and are always well below that.

This year has been especially difficult.  Early in the Antifa/BLM protests, Mayor Kiesha Lance Bottoms threw some police officers under the bus after some over-forceful treatment of protesters during a BLM protest and then abandoned all support after a couple of police officers were attacked by a detained suspect who then attacked them and stole one of the officers' Tazer.  The suspect fled, firing the Tazer at the closest officer giving chase who then returned fire to fatal effect.

Bottoms fired him, the DA indicted him, all well before any investigation had occurred. 

The police chief threw herself on her sword. 

The streets were ceded to BLM.  A child was shot and killed by a BLM person manning a street control point when the child's mother tried to turnaround and avoid their illegal intentions.  

The City Council entertained a motion to defund the police which was defeated by a single vote margin.

Police officers, reading the tea leaves, began resigning, retiring, avoiding confrontations with violent citizens, etc.  

Over several months residents of the City watched all this.  Just how many police officers actually remained on the force?  The newspapers and TV news stations were not reporting on it.  City Council members pretended they did not know and would not answer.  

At last, we got an answer in early December.  From Atlanta Police down 220 officers since start of January, department says by Adrianne M Haney.  Its worse than the headline indicates.  The subhead is 

According to the department, it is about 400 short of its 'authorized strength' of 2,046 total officers.

So, in six months, we are now 25% below our staffing goal.  

The Atlanta Police Department says it is operating with fewer police officers now than it was at the start of the year.

According to the department, there are 1,603 officers currently on the force, about 400 short of its "authorized strength" of 2,046 total officers.

"We have been operating at less than full staffing for a while," according to Atlanta Police spokesman Steve Avery. "The numbers fluctuate as people come and go."

According to the department, the force had 1,666 sworn officers at the start of January 2019. That number increased significantly over a year, and by January 2020, the department said it was up to 1,822 officers. 

However, that number dropped to 1,733 in September 2020. By the end of 2020, Atlanta Police said that number had fallen to below 2019 levels to the current 1,603 officers. 

The implication is even worse than a surface examination indicates.  The news doesn't provide the data but the practical implication of such wildly fluctuating headcounts is that the average APD officer is now relatively new.  Assuming headcount losses are among the more experienced, not only are operating at 75% of targeted headcount but that remaining 75% are relatively junior and inexperienced.  

It would seem likely that some (63 + 156) 222 officers out of the current 1,603 were hired within the year.  So we are at ~75% of authorized headcount and ~15% of that 75% are inexperienced.   That it is not a safe situation.  

And it is entirely the product of budget and policy decisions on the part of the Mayor and City Council.

The spokesperson does what spokespeople do - lie for their their superiors.

While Atlanta Police couldn't point to one issue for the drop in the number of officers, Avery said the turnover is "not out of line with what we are seeing with numerous departments across the nation today, due to the current climate surrounding policing in United States." 

"The reasons for the attrition are varied, we have some officers opting for retirement, some deciding to pursue other careers outside of policing entirely, as well as officers taking advantage of opportunities with other departments outside of Atlanta," he added.

[snip]

 While Avery conceded that some lower-priority calls to police - like larcenies where the suspect has already left, private property accidents with no injuries, or minor damage to property - are "triaged," he said the department makes every effort to respond to all calls and believes it has enough resources to "effectively and efficiently protect and serve the City of Atlanta." 

Things aren't well in the City.  News reports today indicate that the murder rate is up 58% from a year ago with 155 murdered in 2020 YTD versus 95 in all of 2019.  60 lives lost owing to the ignorance and incompetence of the Mayor and City Council who are still shielded and protected from the press.