For the first time since the aftermath of 9/11, New York City is set to lose more than 4,000 of its Finest by the end of this year, according to data obtained by the New York Post.
https://nypost.com/2022/10/22/nypd-on-pace-to-see-record-4k-cop-mass-exit-by-years-end-pension-fund-stats/
Between January 1 and September 30, 2021, there were 2,155 NYPD officers who had filed to leave the department.
Those figures jumped by 42 percent this year, with 3,054 officers having already filed their papers as of September 30.
Extrapolating those figures to the end of this calendar year, the NYPD may lose up to 4,072 of its officers by December 31.
Just 600 new recruits were hired Wednesday by the NYPD to begin their training at the Police Academy. A total of 1,982 recruits were hired since January 1. That’s still less than half the number needed to replace those leaving.
With the current strength of the NYPD at 34,000 cops, some $600 million may be spent on overtime for uniformed officers in fiscal year 2023 (which began in July) — 61 percent more than the current budget for overtime ($372 million).
Surging crime, bail reform, anti-cop hostility, the “defund the police” movement and COVID-19 vaccine mandate battles were all cited as reasons for the Great Exodus, along with low pay for a hugely difficult and increasingly dangerous job.
The base starting salary for a rookie stands at around $42,000, with max pay after five and a half years on the job reaching $86,000.
If you’re a cop on Long Island, you’re good to go, with fewer risks and more pay: $155,600 after 11 and a half years on the job.
“We keep ringing the alarm bell louder and louder and every month the numbers get worse,” Police Benevolent Association (PBA) President Pat Lynch told the Post.
“We have gone from a staffing problem to a staffing crisis and now to a full-blown staffing emergency.”
The crisis is taking place as Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul joined Mayor Eric Adams in rolling out plans to authorize 1,200 additional overtime police shifts per day to combat rising crime in the city’s subways – a total of 10,000 overtime patrol hours daily.
The MTA also plans to deploy guards – unarmed – at designated subway stations to “increase security” and stop fare evasion, and to install more cameras in the subway cars.
Will there be enough cops to address the rising subway crime while still protecting the rest of the city? That remains to be seen.
Overtime hours alone can’t do it and the NYPD is bleeding, with fewer New Yorkers willing to take the skyrocketing risk for senior secretary-level pay.
“The city must immediately address the low pay and punishing work schedules that are driving cops out,” Lynch warned.
