Shortage of detectives further threatens rampant crime fighting for “impunity” in New York

Photo: Andrés Correa Guatarasma / Courtesy

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More than 100 NYPD detectives retired in June and another 75 plan to file this month as many become frustrated for “revolving door” justice and rules that make their work difficult and instead promote impunity.

“That’s going to have a big impact on crime investigation… It’s going to have an impact on public safety,” predicted the New York Post the president of the NYPD Detectives’ Endowment Association (DEA), Paul DiGiacomo. According to him, police officers in general feel demoralized by the lack of support from local politicians.

While the pandemic, the anti-police climate and penal reform have been identified as factors that have triggered crime in NYC, at the end of 2021 the city already had 10% fewer detectives than it did three years ago.

At the same time the rate of cases of Homicides that are considered “solved” fell from around 74% in 2018 to only 56% in 2021 until November, according to Colby Hamilton, a spokesman for the New York Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ).

Since the middle of 2020 there have been mass resignations in the NYPD and the trend has not slowed down. As of the close of 2020, more than 5,300 uniformed officers had resigned, withdrawn, or turned in their papers to leave, an increase of 75% over the previous year, according to department data. Many were detectives.

Even in December 2021 the two main heads of the NYPD asked for his retirement, on the eve of the arrival of the new mayor, Eric Adams: NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea and his deputy Benjamin Tucker. So far this year, 250 detectives have retired, leaving the total number at about 5,600, which is nearly 2,000 fewer than two decades ago.

“Detectives are retiring in historic numbers because they don’t have the support of politicians, who care more about criminals than they do about the cops and New Yorkers they protect.”

Paul DiGiacomo, presidente de “Detectives’ Endowment Association” (DEA) de NYPD

“It’s simple,” DiGiacomo said. “Detectives are retiring in historic numbers because they are not supported by politicians, who care more about criminals than they do about the cops and New Yorkers they protect.”

There were 794 detective retirements during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and 395 in 2021. The Post also reported in mid-June that cops in general were leaving the NYPD in record numbers.

“Knowing me is knowing that I love the job inside and out, but It’s not the same job I joined.” Jason Caputo, 51, a detective from Queens, who is leaving after 18 years on the NYPD, said Tuesday. He added that he had “had enough”.

“The no bail law was a big thing for me,” he said. “It’s not even really about fighting crime anymore. You arrest someone for assault with a weapon and then the person returns to the police station to retrieve their property the next day. They’re not locking anyone up, not even those with records.”

An unidentified 44-year-old detective who has been with the NYPD since 2005 said she would like to present her retirement papers. “If she could, she absolutely would,” she said. “I was born and raised in the Bronx and it has gotten so bad, so ugly. I take time away from my family to work on these cases and they don’t go anywhere.” He explained that he works with minors and that it is particularly frustrating when judges let criminals out.

In the recent past, several factors that analysts, union leaders, politicians and citizens themselves have linked to the rise in violence Are the controversial bail reforms in NY state in force since January 2020 with the support of then Governor Andrew Cuomo; the massive release of prisoners to avoid contagion by the coronavirus; the mental health crisis with more homelessness in the streets and the Metro; and the reduction of funds to the police promoted by the City Council and then Mayor Bill De Blasio.

Parallel to the anti-police climate and the withdrawal of funds, the mandatory anti-COVID vaccination mandate imposed by the local government in the fall of 2021 led others to resign, including passing to other police forces in the country.

An alarming report from the New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) warned that in 2020 NYC district attorneys refused to prosecute detainees at nearly double the rate of 2019, leaving 6,522 suspects out of judgement. In total, public prosecutors dropped all charges in 16.9% of the 38,635 felony cases closed in New York City during 2020.

Impunity encompasses serious crimes and others considered “minor”. state laws made shoplifting a promising option for some criminals such as the young Isaac Rodríguez, 22 years old and a resident of Queens, arrested 46 times for shoplifting in 2021.

In this framework, a vicious circle has been created: many argue that the violence on the street and the subway has alienated them from New York, and with it, more abandonment and unemployment are generated due to less commercial activity in mostly corporate areas, such as Midtown and the Financial District, where today there are dozens of vacant stores.