OutKick Crime Files: NYPD Had Its Highest Number Of Officers Leave The Service Since 9-11

More New York City police officers either resigned or retired last year at levels that haven't been since since 9-11.

The NYPD had 3,701 cops leave the service this past year. Those numbers are the most since 2002 - when 3,846 cops left after the September 11th terror attacks, according to the New York Post.

This comes as crime continues to be a major issue within what was once helmed as, "The greatest city in the world." Frank Sinatra would not be proud of what NYC looks like these days.

A variety of reasons led to the mass exodus from the NYPD's finest. Mainly, however, it was self-imposed due to what the city's politicians and Mayor Adams have done.

Bail reform - that was initially enacted under previous Mayor Bill de Blasio has transformed the city into a cesspool of lawlessness at times. Anyone that lives in the city will talk about the level of unease that they feel in recent months. Everyone's looking over their shoulders, wondering if some lunatic is going to shove them onto a subway train track, or randomly punch them.

The NYPD saw a mass exodus of police officers in 2022. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/The New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

PEOPLE ARE WORRIED ABOUT RISING CRIME

We regularly report here on OutKick Crime Files about the increase in crime, the brazen attacks happening in broad daylight, as well as perpetrators being arrested tens of times, only to then be let back out on the street. In many instances, they aren't even paying bail or bond. They are literally just let go.

A few months back, a random person took a metal baseball bat and cracked a bystander in the middle of the day for no apparent reason at all. The genius NYC prosecutors let him out within 24 hours. Because you know, you can definitely reason with a psychopath running the streets with a baseball bat. Great job everyone!

In addition to cops citing bail reform and a change in the city's criminal justice system as their main source of leaving, there were other reasons as well.

Others left due to the city's vaccination mandates. New York state as a whole saw approximately 34,000 healthcare workers fired or placed on leave due to this mandate as well. Higher paying jobs in other sectors also led to some officers leaving.

New York City Mayor Adams has faced criticism over bail reform. (Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)

THERE HAS BEEN A SURGE OF MTA SUBWAY ATTACKS

PBA President Steve Lynch spoke with the Post about how the city may soon be in dire times. “The mass exodus is already significantly impacting NYPD operations. If it continues any longer, it will totally erase the public safety gains we’ve made over the past year," said Lynch.

Honestly, as someone who has lived in New York City for years I don't blame some of these cops for leaving. It's almost as they are in a lose-lose situation. Many times the average arrest they are doing is all for nothing; the person is going to usually be let out immediately.

It's a bad sign when cops spend more time doing paper work than the actual suspect doing hard time.

Many NYPD officers are retiring or resigning due to the city's changing landscape. (Photo by Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

You add that there's now a stigma attached to policing across the country and many don't think it's worth it anymore. Some are saying that they've dedicated their lives of service to try and make the city safer but feel that times are changed. There is now a microscope on anything and everything police-related. Some of it is warranted - the rise of body cameras has been a positive change in the policing procedures.

But with the negative sentiment and lack of appreciation that's now become the standard for a city like New York, you can understand why some are saying "The heck with this," and don't want to risk their lives for it anymore.