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September 12, 2003
Cop Unions: NYPD Has Staffing Crisis
Urge Immediate Hirings
By Reuven Blau
The Police Department’s headcount will continue to shrink and crime will
rise if the department doesn’t hire more officers this year, police union
officials asserted last week.
The department’s uniformed headcount as of Aug. 31 was 36,967, which
includes the 1,485 recruits in the Police Academy. That class, however, is not
scheduled to graduate until late December. The NYPD does not plan to add another
class – of roughly 1,500 offices – until next summer.
Not Keeping Pace
Union officials insist, however, that the department must act sooner to offset
the record number of cops projected to retire and the growing tally of those resigning
each year without qualifying for a pension. Just 14 months ago, headcount was
38,427, which was 2,300 less than at the NYPD’s peak strength late in the
Giuliani administration.
Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly claimed late last month that the new recruits
would enable the department to keep its current headcount. The NYPD declined to
comment last week on the unions’ claims.
According to department statistics, the NYPD has lost more than 7,600 officers
over the past two years. Roughly 55 percent of them retired, 27 percent resigned,
and the rest left because of accidental and job-based disabilities.
“There is an inordinate amount of Police Officers retiring after 20 years,”
said Michael D. Welsome, the Executive Director of the Police Pension Fund. He
noted that classes from July 1983 and January 1984 each had roughly 1,500 to 2,000
cadets, many of whom the department must now replace.
“We are beyond a crisis situation,” said Patrolmen’s Benevolent
Association President Patrick J. Lynch. “When you look at the number of
officers and factor in the anti-terrorism work, there are simply not enough cops.
You will in time see all crime go up.”
Captains’ Endowment Association President John F. Driscoll said that
by the end of the year the department headcount will be roughly 35,000. “They
are retiring quicker than they ever did before,” Mr. Driscoll said, referring
to the 465 Captains he represents.
20 Years and Out
Mr. Driscoll noted that in 1979, officers with over 20 years of service made
up 19 percent of the force. In 1989 that number was 14 percent, and by 1999 it
dropped to 4 percent. Less than one percent of the current force has over 20 years’
experience, according to NYPD statistics. “More and more people are just
putting out their resumes, and as soon as they get a job they leave,” Mr.
Driscoll said.
One of the reasons that officers don’t stay much longer than 20 years
is that they are afraid of losing their pension if they are fired, according to
Mr. Driscoll. “We call it pension roulette. A judge taking bribes still
gets his pension but an officer fired for administrative reasons loses his?”
he asked incredulously.
The NYPD has justified the declining headcount by noting that crime has continued
to drop despite a smaller force. PBA officials, however, contended that the department’s
statistics are being manipulated and that crime is beginning to creep upwards.
“Officers citywide are afraid to bring in felonies because they know
they are going to be knocked down to misdemeanors,” PBA spokesman Al O’Leary
charged, “If New York City doesn’t wake up to this, then our streets
are going to go back to what they looked like in the 1980’s.
Mr. Lynch argued that the department should spend less money on recruitment
campaigns and more on officer wages. “They cannot correct the problems until
they correct the salary inequity,” he said.
Extend Test Filing
The Department of City-wide Administrative Services recently extended filing
for the upcoming Police Officer exam until Nov. 14. The NYPD has decided to hold
two tests each year, canceling one scheduled exam.
Police officials acknowledged that filing periods in the summer were problematic.
“The fall is a better recruiting period for us because college students
are our primary targets,” said Deputy Inspector Martin Morales, the NYPD’s
commanding officer for recruitment.
In addition, DCAS is considering eliminating the $25 filing fee in an attempt
to garner more candidates. “However, DCAS is still analyzing and discussing
this issue, and a decision has not yet been reached,” said agency spokesman
Warner Johnston. The fee was recently reinstated after being removed in June 2001.
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