Exclusive | NYPD detectives finding more reasons to retire early including huge OT opportunities
Hundreds of veteran NYPD gumshoes are leaving the force, stoking fears that cases and criminals will fall through the cracks, The Post has learned.The NYPD saw 370 detectives retire in 2023 and 422 so far in 2024, a 14% increase, NYPD data show.The number of detectives has shrunk 30% from about 7,000 in 2001 to 5,500 this year.“You’re losing all the people who have the experience,” said Detective Kim Cenizal, 47, who has been with the crime-scene unit for 11 years and plans to retire in January.
“All our cases are major and have bad guys who should not be on the street for one reason or the other.”Ironically, the exodus has been prompted by a boon in overtime pay.Mayor Adams flooded the subway with cops as crime underground surged.
Overtime pushed an average detective’s pay from a base of about $115,000 to $200,000 or more with OT.Because their lifetime pensions are based on their final year’s pay, many detectives are finding they cannot afford to stay.But many fear less-experienced investigators means more cases falling apart in court. The NYPD’s solve rate hovers just below 50% for new homicides each year.
“That’s a lot of the reason why I don’t want to leave,” said Cenizal.“But the reasons to leave outweigh it.”Bronx Homicide Detective Robert Klein, 45, has found himself working more overtime than ever after 20 years on the job.“There’s literally overtime you can volunteer for every single weekend, and I’ve taken advantage of that,” he said.The dad-of-four has been working five days a week investigating murders and then dons his blue uniform to police the subway one day on the weekends.“If I slow down the overtime right now, my pension number will start to recede,” he said.
“And you know this pension is not just for me.It’s for my family, for my children.
It’s an investment and I’ve spent more than 20 years in the police department.”Subway crime has dropped 7% this year, but subway murders are up 80% with n...