Re-Fund The Police, Says Many New Yorkers

Recent poll data shows that a majority of New Yorkers want the NYPD’s budget to be expanded amidst the surge in violent crimes taking place across the city. A survey conducted by Spectrum News NY1 and Siena College shows that 52% of participants support the idea of increasing the police department’s budget. 27% of participants said the budget should stay the same, and 17% of people supported the idea of decreasing the budget more. 

The NYPD 2023 budget is $10.8 billion, which is almost $85 million less than the NYPD’s budget in 2022. The NYPD, which is the nation’s largest and oldest police force, has 55,000 people on the payroll, including officers and civilians. 

The NYPD’s budget was cut by nearly $420 million as a result of the “Defund the Police” movement that swept across the nation. Black Lives Matter protests erupted all over the nation following the death of George Floyd and other public instances of police brutality that occurred in 2020. As a result, many police departments saw budget cuts over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic, however, has led to a surge in crimes across the nation. New York has seen record-breaking rates of crimes occurring on the streets, in schools, in homes, and on public transportation including the MTA subway system. According to the NYPD’s crime statistics, crimes such as assault, robbery, subway attacks, and rape have gone up more than 53% compared to May 2021.

Mayor Eric Adams ran on a campaign promising to solve the crime issue in New York City. When he stepped into office, he adopted an already broken system. Adams has repeatedly called out judges and prosecutors for being lenient and releasing offenders back into communities after arrests.

NYC bail reforms allow for arrested suspects of non-violent offenses to be released early rather than held as legal proceedings continue, even after multiple arrests. Adams has expressed his frustration, citing the criminal justice system of New York City as “a laughingstock of our entire country.”

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Statistics from the NYPD show that, although shootings and murders are down in numbers compared to the same time last year, shootings are at levels nearly double what they were pre-pandemic.  

While efforts are being made to stiffen gun violence in New York City, including Attorney General Letitia James’ recent banning of the sale of ghost gun parts and kits, many believe the NYPD needs a budget increase to ensure the safety of the city’s citizens. Though gun sales will decrease as a result of James’ ban, crimes will still take place in the form of stabbings and assaults. 

On Wednesday, Mayor Eric Adams testified before Congress in regards to gun violence in New York, as well as the gun violence occurring across the nation. “We are facing a crisis that is killing more Americans than war.

A crisis that is now the number one cause of death for our young people” says Adams. For decades, car accidents were the leading cause of child deaths in the United States. After 60 years, the paradigm has shifted with guns, formerly known as firearm-related injuries, becoming the number 1 cause of death for children in the US in 2020. 

New York City mothers have said for years that the violence that takes place in the streets will bleed into schools and this can be seen not just in New York, but across the nation. The poll results show that New Yorkers believe in the NYPD to protect them and the children of the city. Many New Yorkers have decided that the only way to lower the ever-growing surge in crime and death in the city is to re-fund the police.