Arrested Growth as NY Police Officers Resign at Record Levels

by Mindy Cohn

At the present rate, New York City Police Department resignations over the year will top last year's record of 1,297 early departures.

Currently, 1,400 police officers who are not qualified for retirement are projected to resign this year.

The incentive of an impressive pension for retiring officers no longers seems to be attractive enough to retain officers. Two-hundred-thirty-nine police officers left in January and February, as reported by the New York Post, with a record two-day period from February 20 - 21, during which twenty-one police officers left their job to join the MTA. This year's mass exodus from the first two months of the year was 36% more than last year at the same time, while last year's departure spike was 117% higher than  2021 when only 110 officers left.

New York City's Finest are bailing for a wide variety of reasons. Still, the soaring numbers began immediately after the George Floyd protests. Other reasons include anti-police politics and woke bail reform policies creating a revolving door for criminals with little chance of seeing justice prevail. NYPD's low wages create conditions where officers can easily be enticed to look for jobs elsewhere, such as Florida, where nearly 1,400 new law enforcement officers joined the ranks since December, including more than 155 from New York who appreciate the lower stress, higher pay, and better support.

The NYPD's present 33,822 uniformed officers are 1,208 police officers below budget. There are 2,467 fewer officers than there were at the beginning of 2020, when there were 36,289 on the roster. This leaves nearly every NYC precinct understaffed, which is unfortunately reflected in increased response times and an increase in every crime category across the board over the past two years other than murder and shootings.