New York City’s Precinct Patrol Force Has Shrunk By 3,305 Officers in Two Years of Budget Problems

Since April 1975, total assignments of officers and superiors to the precincts have been cut to 15,943 from 19,248 for a citywide drop of 17.2 percent, according to records obtained by the New York Times.

The largest slashes occurred in the South Bronx, where precinct complements were cut by more than 30 percent. The Bronx also had the largest borough-wide drop at 24 percent. Officials said the Bronx absorbed the sharpest cuts mainly because of a declining population in the South Bronx and a leveling of crime rates in those neighborhoods.

NYT Raab 5/19/77