Many NYPD officers intend to leave force or policing soon, poll shows
Recruits become police officers at the New York City Police Department Academy Graduation Ceremony at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 31. Credit: Ed Quinn
Close to a quarter of NYPD officers recently polled in a study said they intended to leave the country's largest police department or the policing profession in the near future, mainly because of issues navigating work and personal life and a feeling of being overworked.
The poll, conducted by researchers affiliated with DeSales University in Pennsylvania and John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, collected responses from just over 1,800 NYPD officers out of nearly 26,000 who were asked to participate. Most of the respondents — about 82% — were male officers. About 71% of them said they had 11 or more years on the job.
According to survey results, almost 44% of police officers who professed an intention to leave policing indicated that problems related to balancing work and personal life were a key reason, while 45% said feeling overworked was also a major issue.
Other problems leading to job dissatisfaction, according to the survey, were inability to get time off, temporary assignments, treatment by senior leaders and the risk of getting in trouble over interactions with the public or violating department rules.
New York City Police Benevolent Association president Patrick Hendry said in a statement that the results of the study released late last week came as no surprise and indicated serious problems with his rank-and-file members.
"This study confirms once again that the NYPD’s staffing crisis has become a vicious cycle," said Hendry, whose union represents thousands of police officers. "Cops are frustrated, burned out and leaving in droves, which only makes the workload more unsustainable for cops who remain."
In a statement, the NYPD acknowledged that unexpected events have challenged its recruitment efforts.
"The NYPD regularly monitors attrition and plans according to address the loss of officers who retire or leave the department for a variety of reasons," said Tarik Sheppard, deputy commissioner for public information for the NYPD. "While recent events outside of the department continue to present challenges to recruitment efforts, we continue to focus on positive results when someone joins the organization."
Last year, the city and the PBA agreed on a new contract that essentially raised the base salary of new officers to $55,000 a year. NYPD officers on the job for five and a half years can expect a base salary of just over $109,300.
The current number of officers on the force is 34,167, which Hendry said is the lowest staffing level in 34 years. The department hit an all-time high level of 40,285 in 2000. After calls to defund the police in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis in 2020, several thousand officers left the department. Attrition also spiked in 2020, with 2,684 officers retiring and an additional 673 quitting before their normal retirement dates, according police pension fund figures.
Retired NYPD Det. Sgt. Joseph Giacalone, an adjunct professor at John Jay, said retention is a nationwide problem. “Soon it will reach a critical mass with the NYPD,” Giacalone said.
The joint academic study — which started in 2021 — aimed to determine what factors went into decisions by NYPD officers to consider leaving the department or policing entirely after George Floyd's killing.
According to study authors Kenneth M. Quick of DeSales University and Kevin T. Wolff of John Jay, responding officers were less likely to express dissatisfaction with compensation or retirement benefits as reasons for wanting to leave.
The report authors listed a few suggestions. They said the department could help foster work-life balance by "allowing officers to mutually exchange work shifts" to help other officers who needed time off.
The report also said parades and festivals may need to be reduced or canceled to reduce staffing pressures.
Mandatory overtime, which exploded with the Israel-Hamas war protests and subway initiatives, has increased job stress, according to policing experts.
"The amount of mandatory overtime that occurred in New York in the last year or so has to have a major impact on the force, and it you couple that with feeling unappreciated, you will wind up with a disgruntled workforce," said Richard Aborn, head of the New York City Citizens Crime Commission, a nonprofit group that monitors criminal justice issues.
"Police officers do an impossible job," continued Aborn. "While they do get in trouble, we need to appreciate what they do."
Close to a quarter of NYPD officers recently polled in a study said they intended to leave the country's largest police department or the policing profession in the near future, mainly because of issues navigating work and personal life and a feeling of being overworked.
The poll, conducted by researchers affiliated with DeSales University in Pennsylvania and John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, collected responses from just over 1,800 NYPD officers out of nearly 26,000 who were asked to participate. Most of the respondents — about 82% — were male officers. About 71% of them said they had 11 or more years on the job.
According to survey results, almost 44% of police officers who professed an intention to leave policing indicated that problems related to balancing work and personal life were a key reason, while 45% said feeling overworked was also a major issue.
Other problems leading to job dissatisfaction, according to the survey, were inability to get time off, temporary assignments, treatment by senior leaders and the risk of getting in trouble over interactions with the public or violating department rules.
New York City Police Benevolent Association president Patrick Hendry said in a statement that the results of the study released late last week came as no surprise and indicated serious problems with his rank-and-file members.
"This study confirms once again that the NYPD’s staffing crisis has become a vicious cycle," said Hendry, whose union represents thousands of police officers. "Cops are frustrated, burned out and leaving in droves, which only makes the workload more unsustainable for cops who remain."
In a statement, the NYPD acknowledged that unexpected events have challenged its recruitment efforts.
"The NYPD regularly monitors attrition and plans according to address the loss of officers who retire or leave the department for a variety of reasons," said Tarik Sheppard, deputy commissioner for public information for the NYPD. "While recent events outside of the department continue to present challenges to recruitment efforts, we continue to focus on positive results when someone joins the organization."
Last year, the city and the PBA agreed on a new contract that essentially raised the base salary of new officers to $55,000 a year. NYPD officers on the job for five and a half years can expect a base salary of just over $109,300.
The current number of officers on the force is 34,167, which Hendry said is the lowest staffing level in 34 years. The department hit an all-time high level of 40,285 in 2000. After calls to defund the police in the aftermath of George Floyd's murder at the hands of police officers in Minneapolis in 2020, several thousand officers left the department. Attrition also spiked in 2020, with 2,684 officers retiring and an additional 673 quitting before their normal retirement dates, according police pension fund figures.
Retired NYPD Det. Sgt. Joseph Giacalone, an adjunct professor at John Jay, said retention is a nationwide problem. “Soon it will reach a critical mass with the NYPD,” Giacalone said.
The joint academic study — which started in 2021 — aimed to determine what factors went into decisions by NYPD officers to consider leaving the department or policing entirely after George Floyd's killing.
According to study authors Kenneth M. Quick of DeSales University and Kevin T. Wolff of John Jay, responding officers were less likely to express dissatisfaction with compensation or retirement benefits as reasons for wanting to leave.
The report authors listed a few suggestions. They said the department could help foster work-life balance by "allowing officers to mutually exchange work shifts" to help other officers who needed time off.
The report also said parades and festivals may need to be reduced or canceled to reduce staffing pressures.
Mandatory overtime, which exploded with the Israel-Hamas war protests and subway initiatives, has increased job stress, according to policing experts.
"The amount of mandatory overtime that occurred in New York in the last year or so has to have a major impact on the force, and it you couple that with feeling unappreciated, you will wind up with a disgruntled workforce," said Richard Aborn, head of the New York City Citizens Crime Commission, a nonprofit group that monitors criminal justice issues.
"Police officers do an impossible job," continued Aborn. "While they do get in trouble, we need to appreciate what they do."
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.
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