Poll Shows NYPD Officers Are Grouchy

A disturbing new survey of New York City Police officers showing deep dissatisfaction with their jobs and increasing concern about their personal safety on the beat, matches up almost exactly with results of a recent citywide survey of New York voters who don’t believe police officers are getting enough support from City Hall, NY1 Together chairman Paul J. Massey, Jr. today said.

The 6,000-police officer survey conducted by the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association (PBA) and reported today shows deep dissatisfaction among city police officers, with an average morale rating of 2.49 in a scale of 1-10. The March 1-2 NY1 Together survey of 517 registered city voters found that a large percentage of New Yorkers don’t believe that City Hall adequately has the backs of police officers.

“These are two totally separately surveys conducted weeks apart, yet they reflect the same perception among civilians and officers alike: New York City police officers aren’t getting the support they need from City Hall,” said 1NY Together Chairman Paul J. Massey, Jr. “For a city that rebounded from the chaos of the early 1990’s with effective policing and high police morale, that’s a problem. This is a major city liability that needs to get fixed.”

The recent 1NY Together poll showed that roughly 40 percent of those surveyed do not think that the NYPD has the support of New York City’s mayor, while at the same time most voters approve of the job that New York’s Finest is doing.

Sixty-six percent (66%) of Republicans, 54 percent of independents and 32 percent of Democrats surveyed think the mayor isn’t adequately supporting the NYPD, while another 30 percent of Democrats aren’t sure. Thirty nine percent (39%) of women and 45 percent of men don’t think the mayor has the department’s back — another 34 percent of women and 14 percent of men aren’t sure.

Conversely, when it came to party breakdown, 76 percent of Republicans, 63 percent of Democrats and 69 percent of independents either approved or somewhat approved the job the NYPD was doing. Roughly 7.5 percent across party lines weren’t sure.

The 1NY Together survey also showed that New Yorkers feel a significant slip in their quality of life, a view shared by Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike.

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of those surveyed said the city became safer under Mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg — less than a quarter (24 percent) said it became less safe — while just 28 percent of New York City voters said the city is getting safer under Mayor Bill de Blasio, with a majority (55 percent) saying it’s getting “less safe.”

Also, voters of all political parties opposed the City Council bill to eliminate 700,000 summonses to people who have committed small crimes like urinating on the street, disorderly conduct, carrying marijuana, or loitering near schools. A 54 percent majority said offenders should be prosecuted, while just 29 percent think they should be let off the hook.

Consistent with other public polling, a majority of voters in all parties and in all five boroughs continue to believe that homelessness is getting worse (59 percent) with only 8 percent of voters describing it as “under control.” (Republicans: 59 percent, Democrats: 57 percent, Independents: 70 percent). Manhattan (66 percent) and Staten Island (66 percent) voters are most likely to say homelessness is worsening, followed by Queens (61 percent), Brooklyn (58 percent) and the Bronx (49 percent).

Of the previous three mayors, voters gave Giuliani the highest marks on quality of life improvement (39 percent), with Bloomberg rating slightly behind him (31 percent) and de Blasio third with 21 percent.

{Matzav.com Newscenter}