Cops quitting NYPD spurs effort aimed at getting them to stay

Thousands of NYPD cops retired or quit last year, although at a lower rate than 2022, according to statistics reviewed by Newsday. But the continued exodus of officers since 2020, when accusations of police abuse led to widespread citywide protests, has spurred a push by some union officials for new legislation in Albany aimed at keeping younger cops on the job.

Statistics compiled by the NYPD and the Police Benevolent Association — the latter of which used figures compiled from the police pension fund — showed combined totals for retirements and resignations in 2023 of between 2,516 to 2,931 officers. In 2022, the NYPD reported a total of 3,496 while the PBA showed 3,701.

The disparate numbers result from different methodologies used to consider when an officer is “retired.” The PBA counts a cop as retired when papers are filed and the officer is no longer reporting for duty. The NYPD considers an officer retired after they use up their accumulated time off, the spokesman said. Officers who quit before their 20 years can still collect a pension if they hit the five-year vesting mark.

The continued drain on NYPD staff levels has been exacerbated by the demonstrations over police abuse and laws restricting cops following the May 2020 killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis officers, said Chris Herrmann, an associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

“All of these cops are at the tail end of their career and went through the pandemic and protest and are fed up with the job,” Herrmann said.

Anecdotal evidence has shown that NYPD cops who resign have been hired as police on Long Island, with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as well as in Florida.

“While recent events outside of the department continue to present challenges to recruitment efforts, we continue to focus on the positive results that happen when someone joins this organization,” an NYPD spokesman said in an email, adding that the department "hired over 2,300 recruits in 2023.”

But even with new hires, the NYPD is at its lowest level for sworn officers since former Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration, with 33,541 cops on the job as of Oct. 20, 2023. The NYPD hit a high of 41,000 in September 2001. Union officials fear that Mayor Eric Adams’s announced budget cuts could lead to a police headcount under 30,000.

Paul DiGiacomo, head of the Detectives Endowment Association, said that older detectives are fed up with large works loads and lasting anti-police sentiment on the streets.

“I am losing members every day,” DiGiacomo said.

Such a drain on officers would cause an untenable situation for cops, said Patrick Hendry, president of the PBA, told Newsday.

“Our city is facing many challenges, but understaffing and overworking our police officers will make all of them worse,” Hendry said. “The public safety progress we have made over the past year is the result of police officers working inhumane numbers of hours — we cannot sustain that. Our leaders need to focus on keeping the dedicated, talented cops we already have to prevent both the NYPD’s headcount and the safety of our neighborhoods from slipping any further.”

To keep younger cops on the job longer, Hendry has proposed legislation in Albany that would sweeten their pension benefits. In one proposal, cops hired since 2009  — the so-called Tier 3 — would be able to retire at 20 years instead of the current 22 years. Another proposal would give cops who stay 25 years a higher, third-grade detective's pension, and if they stay 30 years, a sergeant’s pension.

“A lot of students saw all the headaches cops went through with COVID and protests,” said Herrmann and are shying away from police work. “It is still a good job. You can’t get around that.”

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.