Not long ago, there was a clever advertising campaign about New York.  It featured a great song: "I Love New York."  Of course, there was Frank Sinatra singing "New York, New York" about the city that never sleeps.

That was not long ago.  Things are very different now, especially if you are a police officer.  This is an amazing story:

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.

It all started after the George Floyd riots that we saw on TV:

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.

So what's going on?  Criminals in New York operate without consequences, and honest citizens are under siege every time they walk the streets or take the subway.  The political class has tied the policemen's hands, and many of them have had enough.  So they are moving on to other parts where they can do their jobs.

So what is the local government doing about this?  It is worried about climate change or some other distraction.

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Image: Tony Webster.