New York’s Police Force Experiences Worst Decline in America

New York reported the largest decline in its police force and you won't believe how much the numbers shrank.

The police shortage is impacting states nationwide, but some have it worse than others.

Problems with hiring and retaining new officers began to accelerate around the pandemic, especially in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd and .

The talks of qualified immunity and police brutality shifted the public's perception of law enforcement officers. The rampant scrutiny and calls to defund the police eroded morale to the point people were walking off the job.

Things grew worse when states began passing laws that many labeled "anti-police" and the Washington Post reports legislative action may have gone too far in some cases.

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Declining police numbers and police accountability laws are seemingly coinciding with an uptick in crime. The concern is these actions have embolden criminals and stifled authorities.

Now, a new report from High Rise Financial is looking into how many officers walked off their jobs last year and which states suffered the most losses.

New York was the state that hemorrhaged the most police officers and saw a net growth of -23.07% over the past year. The numbers seemingly reflect all state and local law enforcement officers.

The decline was more than double what the state that suffered the second highest losses.

Delaware said it saw its police force grew by -9.05% between 2022 and 2023. Idaho came in third with a -5.93% job growth.

Here are the top 10 states that saw the lowest growth.

1. New York: -23.07% 
2. Delaware: -9.05% 
3. Idaho: -5.93% 
4. Maine: -5.41% 
5. Louisiana: -5.22% 
6. Ohio: -5.09% 
7. New Hampshire: -4.01% 
8. Texas: -3.67% 
9. Wyoming: -3.39% 
10. Iowa: -3.03% 

On the other end of the spectrum was Nebraska, which grew its police force by a health 13.39% while West Virginia came in second with a growth rate of 10.99 percent.

The study was based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as well as state and federal employee data.

What do you anticipate will happen with declining police numbers in New York State? Share your predictions with us using the station app below.

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