NEW YORK - Top NYPD brass are admitting there's been a significant drop in arrests since Daniel Pantaleo was fired earlier this month.

Arrests plunged by 27 percent in the week after Pantaleo was fired compared to the same period in 2018.

There was also a 29 percent drop in the number of criminal summonses issued by officers.

NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan acknowledged the declines Wednesday.

But he insists police are still keeping the city safe.

"They are out there each and everyday. They are not going to make the city any less safe. They're upset, I know they're upset, but they're doing their job as well as they've ever done," Monahan said.

Monahan's comments came as the police union approved resolutions of no confidence in Police Commissioner James O'Neill and Mayor Bill de Blasio over the Pantaleo firing.

The mayor's office called the resolutions an attempt to divide the city.

The NYPD was more measured in its response.

It said "As the Police Commissioner has said before, his heart and soul are with the NYPD, and he is honored to lead this department as it continues to drive crime to historically low levels."

Meantime, the NYPD is ramping up security ahead of Monday's J'Ouvert celebration and West Indian Day Parade.

Several thousand uniformed officers will patrol the parade's two mile route.

There will be 13 checkpoints with mandatory screenings for weapons and alcohol, along with 60 extra cameras temporarily installed in the area.

The event has been plagued by violence in the past, including the 2015 shooting death of Carey Gabay, who worked as an aide to Governor Andrew Cuomo.

J'ouvert begins Monday at 6 a.m. at Grand Army Plaza.

The West Indian Parade steps off at noon the same day.