NYPD officers suffer from low morale, belief they are unsafe: Survey

A new survey indicated that New York’s police department is suffering from low morale and a belief that officers were safer before Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton took office.

The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, the union that conducted the new survey, reported that the 6,000 officers it polled gave the department an average morale rating of 2.49 on a scale of 1 to 10, the New York Post reported.

“Morale is terrible. It’s always been bad, but this is the worst [it has been],” a Manhattan-based officer was quoted by the Post. “Even though Bratton stands up there and tells you, ‘We’re not about numbers, we’re not about summonses,’ that’s a lot of BS.”

The survey uncovered other statistics among the officers polled, including that 96 percent believe the relationship between the NYPD and the public has deteriorated in the past few years, and 89 percent of officers would be willing to leave the NYPD for another job with better pay, ABC reported.

“The results of this survey prove what we’ve been hearing time and time again from members over the past two years — the job is more difficult than ever, the dangers are greater, and morale is extremely low,” PBA president Patrick J. Lynch said in a statement quoted by ABC.

“The department has not received the survey. When and if we receive it, we will review it,” NYPD spokesman Peter Donald said to the Post.

“We want our leaders to work with us to change this situation, not only for the good of police officers but for the good of each and every New Yorker we serve,” Lynch was quoted by ABC.