New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D.), on Monday, unveiled a plan to fight gun violence. The plan did not include any goals for the hiring of new police officers in a department that is losing personnel.

The “Blueprint for Community Safety” released by the city’s gun violence taskforce will pour nearly $500 million into housing and employment programs, as well as mental health programs, without spending a penny on putting more cops in the streets. The mayor stated that boosting social programs would help “stop violence before it occurs on our streets.”

Adams told a City Hall Press Conference on Monday that “our city must intervene earlier and focus on positive youth development before it is too late.”

New York Post reports that the plan is being implemented as the police department of the city is losing officers at a record rate. According to the New York Post, more officers have left in January and Febraury than in any two-month period since 2007, when a contract dispute erupted. In those two months, the mass exodus was up 117 percent from two years ago.

According to a 2016 report by the Obama administration, “it has been consistently shown that expanding resources for police reduces crime. Estimates from economic research suggest a 10% increase in police force sizes decreases crime between 3 and 10 percent.”

Despite a sharp decline in shootings since last year, the number of shootings remains higher than it was before the COVID-19 epidemic.

Last month, the mayor blamed New Yorkers for their fear of crime on media coverage. Adams was responding to Siena College’s poll, which found that 41 percent of New York State citizens have never felt more concerned about their safety than they do today. 87 percent said crime is a serious or very serious problem for the city and state.