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Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for August 11, 2017
The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
August 11, 2017: A Washington Post study found that 37 large police departments around the nation have fired 1,881 officers since 2006. However, the departments were later forced to rehire 451 of them. In other words, roughly one out of four fired officers were later rehired (24%).[1]
The firings stemmed from behavior including “challenging a handcuffed man to fight … sexually abusing a young woman in his patrol car … and driving a suspected gunman from the scene of a nightclub killing.”[1]
An earlier Number of The Day showed that during a 15-month period, the IRS rehired 213 employees who had left due to misconduct. That happened because the IRS officials deciding whom to hire were not provided with past IRS employment history. The IRS said the cost involved in providing such information was “not likely [to] yield a reasonable return on investment.”
In contrast, the police officers were able to regain their positions due to union contract rules, with all 37 police departments having "a police union contract that guarantees an appeal of disciplinary measures."[1] The Post found that most of the 451 “regained their jobs when police chiefs were overruled by arbitrators, typically lawyers hired to review the process. In many cases, the underlying misconduct was undisputed, but arbitrators often concluded that the firings were unjustified because departments had been too harsh, missed deadlines, lacked sufficient evidence or failed to interview witnesses.”[1]
Charles H. Ramsey, a former Philadelphia police commissioner, told the Post, “It’s demoralizing to the rank and file who really don’t want to have those kinds of people in their ranks.”
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.
- August 10, 2017 – 50.6% of votes In Election 2016 were cast by millennials and Gen-Xers
- August 9, 2017 – 6.5 million Americans paid a fine rather than signing up for Obamacare coverage
- August 8, 2017 – 84 percent of voters believe being truly American means accepting people of diverse racial and religious backgrounds
- August 7, 2017 – 26 Republican trifectas: states with GOP governor and control of legislature
- August 4, 2017 – 213 IRS workers rehired after earlier termination or separation for misconduct
- To see other recent numbers, check out the archive.
Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day is published by Ballotpedia weekdays at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Click here to check out the latest update.
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Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
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