The vast majority of NYPD officers who answered a new survey hate their jobs and believe they were a lot safer before Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton took office, according to a new survey by the city’s police union.
The polling of more than 6,000 of the NYPD’s roughly 24,000 rank-and-file revealed a resounding lack of passion for the job, with cops on average rating morale at just 2.49 on a scale of 1 to 10.
“The results of this survey prove what we’ve been hearing time and time again from members over the past two years — the job is more difficult than ever, the dangers are greater, and morale is extremely low,” said Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association.
Roughly 87 percent of cops said the Big Apple has become “less safe” since the new administration took over at the beginning of 2014, with 55 percent of those respondents describing New York City as “a lot less safe.”
Ninety-six percent of cops also said that relations between cops and the communities they patrol have gotten worse during the same period — even as Bratton has made repairing those relationships a cornerstone of his policing strategy.
Meanwhile, 89 percent of cops polled said they would quit the NYPD if they were offered a higher-paying job in law enforcement, while 86 percent said they would not recommend the job to family members.
Police officers who work the beat said cops are so dispirited because they don’t feel like they have the support of the communities where they work — or of the NYPD brass, for that matter.
“Morale is terrible. It’s always been bad, but this is the worst [it has been],” said a cop who works in Manhattan. “Even though Bratton stands up there and tells you, ‘We’re not about numbers, we’re not about summonses,’ that’s a lot of BS.”
But a high-ranking NYPD official said that while the survey highlights areas that need improvement, it is far from scientific and was likely answered by “people on the extremes.”
“The department has not received the survey,” said NYPD spokesman Peter Donald. “When and if we receive it, we will review it.”
City Hall spokeswoman Monica Klein dismissed the survey, calling its findings “highly suspect.”
“We are experiencing historic lows in criminal activity. Murders and shootings are at their lowest in modern history,” Klein said.
“[The] NYPD is the most effective police force in the country thanks to our officers’ dedication and commitment to their job.”
Additional reporting by Shawn Cohen and Michael Gartland