The NYPD is losing its most seasoned crime fighters at very high numbers and there’s little the department can do to retain them.
More than 100 NYPD detectives have retired in June — and another 75 plan to put their papers in next month, as revolving door justice and rules frustrate them.
“It’s simple,” Detectives Endowment Association President Paul DiGiacomo said. “Detectives are retiring in historic numbers because they have no support from politicians who care more about criminals than cops and the New Yorkers they protect.”
So far this year 250 detectives have retired, leaving the total number at about 5,600, which is nearly 2000 less than two decades ago.
There were 794 detective retirements during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 — and that number dropped down to 395 in 2021. Sources said that 100 retirements in just one month is a large number for the NYPD.
You hear the same comments at each walkout ceremony, where the detective leaves the precinct station house for the last time in full uniform.
“I can’t take it anymore,” Queens Detective Jason Caputo, 51, said as he departed.
“To know me is to know I love the job in and out but it’s not the same job I joined,” said Caputo, who is leaving after 18 years in the NYPD, and thus not getting his maximum pension, which kicks in after 20.
“The no bail law was a big thing with me,” he said. “It’s not even really crime fighting anymore. You arrest somebody for assault 2 with a weapon and then the person is back at the precinct getting his property the next day. They’re not locking anyone up, even those with records. Pay your debt to society. You broke the law.”
“That’s going to have a major impact on investigating crimes,” DiGiacomo said. “The detective squads are down now as we speak and are investigating more cases. It’s going to have an impact on public safety.”