NYPD has smallest police force since 1990

The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has lost nearly 200 officers a month this past year and has reached its lowest number of officers since 1990.  

According to data obtained by the New York Post, there are currently 33,695 officers on the force, and it is getting worse as the agency has seen an eleven percent increase in retirements. 

The data shows that 566 officers retired in the first four months of this year compared to 508 over the same period last year. On top of that, 257 cops quit the force before reaching the usual 20 years before retirement since the beginning of the year.  

NYPD Union president Patrick Hendry with the Police Benevolent Association told the outlet, "New York City police officers’ workload has exploded over the past several months, and the staffing is still nowhere close to keeping up." He added, "From the daily protest details to additional patrols in the subway, our members are beyond exhausted already, and summertime crime spikes are just around the corner."  

"Squeezing cops for even more overtime hours is not a solution," Hendry said. "It will just send even more of them running for the exits.” 

One retiree, John, blamed the lack of respect for officers and weak crime laws as reasons why the force is shrinking. "In regards to no bail, these guys know they can punch a cop and be let out the next day. There’s no consequences," he said.  

"So, a lot of cops are like, ‘What the hell are we doing?'” John noted. “If you go to any of the outer counties, particularly in Westchester or Long Island, those guys are making a tremendous amount of money for maybe half the work that our guys do.” 

In an effort to deal with the losses, New York City Mayor Eric Adams put two of the five canceled NYPD academy classes back on after he previously canceled them due to budget cuts to pay for the city's illegal immigrant crisis. He claimed that would add 1,200 more officers, but Hendry claimed it would "barely keep the headcount flat."