Hello everyone and welcome to Police Off the Cuff, Real Crime Stories.

I'm your host, retired NYPD Sergeant Bill Cannon, a 27-year veteran of the NYPD.

You know, folks, we've been hearing and reading and watching on TV all about this

what's sort of been pushed out there as a crime trends happening and the safety or lack thereof

in New York City. And we're going to take a little bit of a look at that tonight. You know,

going back, we must also realize, which many people forget about this,

but New York City's NYPD was defunded by a billion dollars.

People don't realize that.

And they never totally reimbursed the city. It never got back to the level that it was before all these defund the police movement people came in. So the NYPD, I believe, is short, I don't know, 4,000, 5,000 police officers. Plus recruitment and retention is a very difficult subject in New York City.

And police departments, for that matter, across the nation.

Very sad because the noblest of professions has been so hurt by politics that,

to say that they're hampered,

that they're almost fighting crime with one hand tied behind their back is, it's pretty true, you know, and the hits keep coming, you know.

And we're going to go over some of those hits that have been occurring.

And yet the NYPD, there's an expression on the NYPD for the Honor Legion,

Bidelis Ed Mortem, which is Latin, for faithful until death.

And the best of the NYPD really feel that way, you know.

And that's the motto of the NYPD really feel that way, you know. And that's the motto of the NYPD Honor Legion, which less than 10% of the job are members of because you have to be awarded a department recognition in the level of commendation or higher to be accepted to the Arnold Legion.

But cops don't take the job for money.

They take the job out of a sense of service

and out of a sense of trying to do good

and trying to help members of their community.

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