Thousands of New York City police officers have ditched the country's biggest police force and fled to other states for higher salaries.
Police department recruiters from other states, including Florida and Colorado have rushed to the Big Apple to persuade some of the city's 34,000 officers into relocating in exchange for higher pay and better work environments.
The retention rate among NYPD officers is rocky, especially since 1,225 officers have resigned through November before reaching five years at the police force, according to the New York Times. About 3,200 total have left this year, including retirees.
NYPD is experiencing its largest exodus since 2002 as salaries and increased hours appear not to be enough.
About 3,200 cops have left the NYPD this year through November
Some officers have flocked to the sunny state of Florida to receive a guaranteed sign-on bonus of $5,000 and funds to further their education at a state police academy.
Spero Georgedakis, a former Miami officer who now works to assist in cop relocation, recently posted a television ad for $20,000 per month to persuade NYPD cops to relocate to Florida, according to the news outlet.
The number of states advertising to New York officers is unclear, but generally, recruiters lead with higher pay and more benefits.
'We don't want to deplete New York City of their officers,' Georgedakis told the news outlet. 'But police are needed everywhere, and we want them to choose Florida.'
Amid the 'defund the police' and George Floyd protests, about 9,400 have left the NYPD since 2020, according to the news outlet.
Full-year statistics released to DailyMail.com in June showed that 3,152 officers left the force in 2020, meaning that the pace of retirements this year is only slightly higher. There were far fewer departures in 2021, with 2,689 officers exiting.
Despite nearly 6,900 joining since 2020, it hasn't been enough.
