Independent Budget Office data reveals NYPD is down 1,200 members from 2022, and 2,900 from 2019
NEW YORK -- New data obtained by CBS2 shows the number of officers on the NYPD payroll is still steadily declining, despite the department's efforts to recruit more.
Investigative reporter Tim McNicholas obtained the numbers and breaks it all down.
Right now, there are about 1,200 fewer active NYPD members on the payroll than there were this time last year, and there are about 2,900 fewer than in June of 2019, according to the city's Independent Budget Office.
Major felonies, on the other hand, are up compared to 2019.
READ MORE: NYPD transitioning to younger detectives due to retirement of 500 veterans in the last year
Andre Thomas can never dance or laugh with Jayden Goodridge again. Thomas is a basketball coach and Goodridge was one of his former players.
"Aw man, he was a great kid, always smiling," Thomas said.
Detectives suspect this shooter mistook the 21-year-old Goodridge and his friends for rival gang members back in November. Thomas said he has one idea for what might help solve the murder.
"If there were more detectives out there, because more people wanna get involved and try and see what's really going on, and try and solve cases, like this, not just with Jayden, but other kids as well and other situation that's going on out there," Thomas said.
One reason the numbers have dropped is because in 2020, the council voted to cancel about some planned hirings. But 33,400 is about 1600 below the current budgeted amount of 35,000 members.
The NYPD's official headcount, which includes active officers on unpaid leave, is about 33,900, which is still about 1100 below the current budgeted number of 35,000 members.
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One reason that headcount has dropped over the last few years is because in 2020, the City Council voted to cancel some planned hirings.
However, the current NYPD headcount is about 1,100 below the current budgeted amount of 35,000 members.
Paul DiGiacomo is president of the detectives union he has never seen detectives leaving at the rate they are now. He's urging the NYPD to promote more detectives to higher-ranking detective positions to encourage them to stay.
"The anti-police sentiment out there caused a lot of experienced detectives, they retired and left and moved on to different professions," DiGiacomo said.
Now, retirement walkouts are becoming even more bittersweet for the NYPD, as more members left last year than any year since 2002, according to data from the Police Pension Fund obtained by CBS2.
When it comes to recruitment efforts, the department sent CBS2 an email acknowledging, "...recent events outside of the department continue to present challenges."
The NYPD said its new tentative labor contract with the Police Benevolent Association will help with recruitment, and "a recent Academy class of over 400 recently started their training."
Over the past few months, the NYPD has said major felonies are down compared to the high numbers of last year and clearance rates for murders have improved over the last few years.
"NYPD regularly monitors attrition and plans accordingly to address the loss of officers who retire or leave the Department for a variety of reasons. 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," a department spokesperson said in a statement. "Year to date 2023 we have hired more than 900 individuals in addition to the approximately 2000 individuals we hired in 2022. A recent Academy class of over 400 recently started their training in April of 2023."
The PBA is calling this a staffing crisis and says the NYPD must do more to fix it.
"If the NYPD wants to fix its staffing crisis, it needs to address all of the factors that are driving recruits and talented cops away. We are continuing to lose too many members to other policing jobs where they face less grueling working conditions, less second-guessing and have significantly better pay and benefits," PBA President Pat Lynch said in a statement.
