NYPD brain drain: NYC detectives retiring in droves sparks fears of ‘chaotic' crime crisis
There are 4,948 detectives in the NYPD today compared to 7,000 at the staffing peak following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
Another 1,676 investigators with at least 19 years or more on the job will be eligible to retire in 2025, union officials said.
The Detectives' Endowment Association said 359 gumshoes have already put in for retirement in the first two months of this year — compared to 453 in all of 2024.
'Fewer detectives means fewer terrorism experts, fewer homicide investigators and more fugitives on the street,' Detectives' Endowment Association President Scott Munro said. 'More unsolved crimes. More chaos. Period.'
As a result of the dwindling numbers, detectives have seen caseloads swell from an average of 250 per year in 2000 to 500-600 cases or more, the union said.
Case clearance rates have remained at about 32% at the end of 2024, the most recent NYPD data available show.
But detectives' jobs have gotten more time consuming, as they perform extensive video canvasses, search social media and the Internet, and review more forensic evidence, officials noted.
'They're doing more work with fewer detectives,' said Munro, who took over the union last year.
The average detective makes a base pay of about $130,000 per year.
Reasons for the decline range from difficulties recruiting new cops to rules that make it beneficial for officers to leave when their overtime is booming, as happened in January when Mayor Adams ordered more officers into the subway to stop surging crime.
Munro also attributed the attrition to anti-cop legislation pushed by left-leaning city and state pols that has made the job even more challenging, including the diaphragm law that prohibits cops from putting pressure on a suspects chest and back during an arrest, and criminal justice reforms that have created a revolving door for criminals.
As a result of the declines, some units are 'severely understaffed,' including counterterrorism, narcotics, auto crime, individual precinct detective squads, the bomb squad and the arson and explosion squad, Munro said.
'When 911 happened, they filled counterterrorism with like 200 — now they're down to 12,' he said.
And the detectives are not alone.
The DEA, Sergeants Benevolent Association and Lieutenants Benevolent Association released a joint announcement Thursday that said 1,103 officers from the three unions had retired or resigned in the last three months.
'The NYPD is suffering from a severe retention issue,' LBA President Lou Turco said. 'They simply cannot keep up with the unprecedented exodus of members. We need to retain experienced detectives, sergeants and lieutenants.'
A class of 1,045 recruits was hired in January in addition to 653 recruits hired in October and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch has been focused on recruitment issues, a police spokeswoman pointed out.
Major crime is down 15% citywide — but the dearth of officers could push up Gotham's crime level, said Joseph Giacalone, retired NYPD sergeant and adjunct professor at Penn State University-Lehigh Valley.
'Less experienced detectives are going to play a major role in the next few years,' Giacalone said. 'What a lot of people don't understand is that in the detective bureau experience really matters. If you can't arrest these people and get them off the streets, it's going to lead to further victimization.'
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