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“We’re right at the precipice, staring into the abyss of a severe manpower shortage,” said New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association President Tom Mungeer. “I think it’s a public-safety concern for the entire state.”
One major reason for the shortage is retirement: the Post reports that while over 1,000 officers have retired since 2015, only about 750 have been hired to make up for the deficit.
The latest numbers show that approximately 5,000 troopers are employed with the agency across 11 troops in 62 counties, the Post report said. Mungeer said that the shortage is more noticeable in some areas than others, for example, in the Adirondacks and other western regions, where the State Police is one of, if not the only, law enforcement agency.
“If we hire 500 troopers next year, I think we should be all right,” Mungeer said. “If we don’t, I think we’re headed to a place that’s gonna take us years to dig out.”
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