Stop Defunding Police Officers. By Craig W. Floyd
McLean, VA (November 27, 2023) – Sadly, there were highly alarming reports out of New York City and Minneapolis recently providing strong evidence that the “defund and defame the police” movement continues to wreak havoc on the streets of America. Stop Defunding Police Officers.
In New York on November 16, Mayor Eric Adams proposed a police hiring freeze and a $132 million police budget cut to help make up for the billions of dollars the city is spending on the influx of migrants from the southern border. The plan includes a hiring freeze that will reduce the number of New York City police officers to 29,000 by 2025—the lowest level since the mid-1990s. Stop Defunding Police Officers.
Parents are up in arms about another very troubling aspect of his plan. When announcing his proposal to terminate a school safety agent class of 250 recruits, Mayor Adams said parents might now have to step up and volunteer to help keep the city’s schools safe. Really? Stop Defunding Police Officers.
All of this spells big trouble for a city already facing a public safety and police shortage crisis. Crime in New York has skyrocketed after reaching record-low levels in 2019 and the NYPD saw 3,701 officers retire or resign in 2022, the most since 2002, after the 9/11 attacks. This mass exodus of officers has continued this year, and roughly 4,500 officers are expected to leave the department within the next 18 months. The number of uniformed officers serving the city today—roughly 33,800—is about 2,500 lower than it was at the start of 2020.
Criticism of Mayor Adams’ police budget-cutting plan was justifiably swift and furious. “This is truly a disaster for every New Yorker who cares about safe streets,” declared Patrick Hendry, president of the largest police union in New York City. Joe Borelli, City Council Minority Leader, expressed the anger of many, declaring, “The defund the police crowd’s woke dream has come true.” Stop Defunding Police Officers.
A similar public outcry could be heard in Minneapolis on November 17 when the city council rejected a financial incentive package agreed to by the police union and the mayor that would have helped to retain and recruit police officers. Responding to the city’s police shortage crisis, the mayor reached an agreement with the police union to pay current officers $18,000 each over two and a half years to stay on the force. New hires would get $15,000 over three years. When put to the city council for final approval, though, they rejected it by an 8-5 vote.
Irresponsible, but not surprising. The Minneapolis City Council had reacted in similar anti-police fashion right after the death of George Floyd and cut their police budget by nearly $8 million. Ever since, police officers have left the department in droves and crime has soared. Homicides in Minneapolis are now 48% higher than in 2019, gunfire reports are up 54% and gunshot victims have risen 34%. The current number of sworn Minneapolis police officers has shrunk to 573—the lowest level in at least four decades. It’s gotten so bad that there are no officers to staff the front desks at some station houses. Citizens are often greeted by locked doors instead, with signs that tell people to call 9-1-1 if there is an emergency. Stop Defunding Police Officers.
New York City and Minneapolis are poster children for the troubling consequences created by the “defund and defame the police” movement. Law enforcement is a noble profession and the men and women who serve and sacrifice—sometimes with their lives—should receive the support and respect necessary and deserved to keep America safe. Instead, too many of those officers have been demonized and demoralized, sensing abandonment by their elected leaders. This lack of political support, along with the frustrations caused by a revolving-door criminal justice system, overly restrictive policies and an overwhelming workload, are forcing many seasoned, dedicated officers out of the profession. And few are now willing to follow in their footsteps. Stop Defunding Police Officers.
Unless we find a way to reverse this police shortage crisis that is spiraling out of control, the public safety concerns of today will pale compared to those of the future.
Craig W. Floyd is the Founding CEO of Citizens Behind the Badge and is the Founding CEO Emeritus of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, where he led the effort to build the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and the National Law Enforcement Museum.
