We have way too many cops in this country and most cities just can’t afford to pay the high salaries and corresponding retirement benefits. That’s the way it is and it’s getting worse by the day.
Not to mention the fact that those laid-off cops, as well as the ones still employed, contribute a lot to those crime statistics. They still will I guess, but at least the out-of-work ones won't be able to hide behind their badges while doing so.
I think we have may too many cops in this state; most Americans don’t see the same number of policemen that residents of bloated urban (and surrounding suburban) bureaucracies do every day. The number of municipal employees in NJ of all kinds is bizarre, from the education industry to law enforcement, fire protection, etc.; they are nice ideas, but completely unsustainable. What we are seeing now is the result of ignoring what we were seeing twenty years ago.