Mamdani not concerned by police exodus, vows to fix it by replacing cops with social workers

Socialist mayor-elect of New York City Zohran Mamdani said Friday that he is not concerned about backlash from law enforcement following his election victory and reiterated his plan to have social workers carry out certain duties currently done by law enforcement.  

During a visit to Puerto Rico, Mamdani was asked if he was “worried” about backlash from the “law enforcement community.”

“I’m not worried about the backlash. What I’m worried about, frankly, is the continuation of a retention crisis that we’ve seen only deepen during the course of this campaign,” Mamdani said.

He argued that the ongoing decline in police staffing is not due to his policies or rhetoric but rather to the strain placed on officers. Mamdani reiterated his plan to remove certain responsibilities from police and transfer them to social workers through the creation of a new Department of Community Safety.

“When we began, there were about 200 officers leaving a month, and by the end of the campaign, it was about 350,” the mayor-elect said. “And a lot of that has to do with the fact that we’ve asked police officers for far too long to do much more than just police work. We’ve asked them to be responding to the mental health crisis and the homelessness crisis, and that’s why we’re going to create a Department of Community Safety that will be tasked with accomplishing those facts and allowing police officers to be police officers.”

Mamdani’s relationship with law enforcement has been contentious throughout his campaign. He has previously called for abolishing the police and continues to push for the elimination of cashless bail, sparking criticism from police unions and veteran officers.

In June, NYPD Detectives’ Endowment Association president Scott Munro warned that Mamdani’s election could lead to resignations among officers.

“If you put a guy like him in there, our people are going to get hurt, and nobody’s going to want the job. It’s going to put recruitment back five more steps,” Munro said in a statement to the New York Post.

“I’ve had guys call me and say ‘If he wins, I’m quitting,’” a police source also told the outlet “It’s just weird that New York City would vote for him. I know he’s not here for the police.”