The number of candidates testing to become New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers has reportedly dwindled in recent years, leaving the Democrat-run city scrambling to fill those positions.
The number of candidates has shrunk over the past eight years, the New York Post reported on Saturday. In 2017, the number of prospective officers was 18,000 but has decreased to 8,000.
That is a 55 percent drop, according to data from the union known as the Police Benevolent Association.
A seasoned Brooklyn officer told the outlet that officers are telling people not to take the job because “You’ll be worked to the bone, attacked by perps and politicians and hammered with nonsense complaints and ticky-tack discipline.”
According to the NYPD’s website, the hiring process requires candidates to take a written entrance exam, undergo a medical exam, take written and oral psychological exams, undergo a background character investigation, and also take a physical test to prove they are fit enough to perform their duties.
In 2023, a report said more of the city’s officers were continuing to leave the force in droves as crime plagued their communities.
The recent Post article continued:
Mayor Adams pledged in November to bring on 1,600 new cops in 2025 — but the city has been having trouble finding viable candidates, a union spokesman said.
Even if the city gets to 800 Academy cadets — candidates who pass the test and meet all the other mental and physical benchmarks — by its Jan. 29 target, the candidate pool will be shallow as it comes time to hire the second class of 800 in April, the union said.
The outlet also noted that New York’s bail reform has caused them to look at other careers because officers often encounter the same suspects committing crimes, who end up being quickly released. Many of those individuals are apparently migrants who have flooded the city.
As crime bears down on residents, “Applications for permits to carry guns have spiked in both New York City and New Jersey since the U.S. Supreme Court ordered New York and other states with strict regulations to make it easier for people to arm themselves in the summer of 2022,” the Gothamist reported in August.
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