NYPD detectives are being buried in a blizzard of paperwork that tracks their every move – in triplicate – even as the number of murders they solve hits a five-year low.

Nothing is too small to document on the new forms, dubbed “Pulaskigrams” after Chief of Detectives Phil Pulaski, who ordered them.

For rank-and-file detectives, there are daily activity logs, movement logs and logs for the use of NYPD cars.

Bosses say they are hounded by brass to fill out checklists to ensure the detectives fill out their paperwork properly.

“They read like Ikea instructions, and are about as useful,” one Manhattan supervisor griped.

Pulaski’s supporters say he’s trying to keep tabs on an unruly crew of detectives, account for overtime costs and create standards for how crime should be investigated.

“The chief simply wants documentation that investigative steps have been taken,” said Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne.

“That and increased quality control are good things, and they are not voluminous.”

Detectives disagree.

They complain they have to account for every minute of the day and list every location they visit or plan to visit. Anyone interviewed is recorded in a personal “activity log,” the squad’s log, and vehicle logs and the case file.

Nothing is too trivial to document.

An electronic form called “Management Control Inspection-Activity Logs” wants bosses to record whether a detective’s name was printed under the column designated “printed name,” and whether detectives’ signatures appear under “signature caption.”

The investigators say the red tape, along with staff losses and an overtime crackdown, is making it more difficult to solve crimes.

The NYPD’s so-called homicide clearance rate – the percentage of slayings solved in the same calendar year – was 47% as of Aug. 12.

That’s down from 52.7% in 2005 – and is the lowest figure in five years.

Even when solved murders from prior years are included, the NYPD is lagging behind this year with a 61.9% clearance rate, down from 67.2% in 2005.

“However you calculate it, the bottom line is solving homicides is labor-intensive. It’s not solved just with computers and memos. You need real people going out and doing the work for long hours at odd times,” said a veteran homicide detective.

Yet the number of detectives doing the legwork has dwindled over the last decade.

The Manhattan South homicide squad has 12 detectives, down from 26 in 2001. Manhattan North has 12, down from 35.

The Bronx homicide squad has 16 detectives, down from 25. Brooklyn North has 14, down from 32, while Brooklyn South has 16, down from 18, according to the Detectives’ Endowment Association.

Queens’ homicide squad has been cut in half since 2001 to just nine detectives.

Detectives in Queens South got called on the carpet recently because they had lowest clearance rates in the city, solving only 40% of the 42 murders by early August.

“The more the staffing dwindles, the greater the negative impact on clearance rates. City Hall needs to approve a budget to restore manpower,” said union President Michael Palladino.

Precinct-based detective squads have suffered similar cuts, and the smaller staff means bringing in detectives on overtime – a risky proposition, supervisors said.

“When a case is hot, you get the approval to bring in necessary staff on overtime, then a month later that is forgotten and everyone gets hammered for running high overtime. It’s a Catch-22,” said one squad commander.

Top brass predict the clearance rate will pick up and beat the numbers from 2009, when 49% of the year’s homicides were solved.

(Source: NY Daily News)