NARCS AREN'T BUSTING CHOPS - OR PUSHERS

NYPD narcotics cops, angry at being forced to work weekends, staged a
slowdown last week and made very few arrests, police said.

Although the number of arrests haven't been tallied yet, police
sources said narcotics arrests were down "significantly" citywide
compared to the period a year before.

In some boroughs, cops didn't make a single bust for days, sources
said.

Police Commissioner Howard Safir told the troops last week that since
most drug dealers work more on weekends, narcotics officers should,
too.

Safir explained that a narcotics cop who typically worked a steady
shift of Sunday through Thursday or Tuesday through Saturday must now
work a four-two, meaning they will work four days, then have two days
off.

That way, a narcotics cop could work up to seven weekend days in a
four-week span, as opposed to the four under the current plan.

The shift change immediately set officers grumbling.

"It's a crummy thing to do to us," one narcotics cop told The Post.
"I'm supposed to pick my daughter up from school. How can I do that
now?"

The cop said he was "a little less aggressive" last week in making
arrests.

Police brass said yesterday they understand the officer's concerns and
were working on coming up with a better schedule.