The New York City Police Department is the municipal agency responsible for law enforcement, public safety, and crime prevention across the five boroughs. This page covers CBC’s work on NYPD budget forecasting, uniformed overtime spending, agency performance metrics, headcount management, and labor contract costs.
This page was created with AICBC Insights uses AI to group, analyze and present data and recommendations from CBC's publications. Always reference the cited sources to verify important details..
The City should reduce the number of uniformed police officers by 1,174 over two years through attrition and by adjusting the size of police recruit classes.
Key Data
In October 2024, the CBC reported that the NYPD listed a numerical target for only one of its 88 performance indicators in the Preliminary Mayor's Management Report.
In March 2024, the CBC highlighted that only 37% of New Yorkers rated public safety in their neighborhood as excellent or good in 2023, down from 50% in 2017.
In May 2023, the Fiscal Year 2024 Executive Budget allocated $10.8 billion for the NYPD, which included $5.1 billion for the agency operating budget and $5.8 billion in centrally allocated costs.
Due to a hiring delay, the NYPD's uniformed on-board headcount was projected to be 34,000 in fiscal year 2024, with plans to gradually increase to the authorized level of 35,001 by fiscal year 2027.
The NYPD's fiscal year 2023 overtime budget was about $250 million short, with total overtime spending projected to reach $817 million, which is 80% higher than the adopted budget.
2,500 is the number of uniformed officers NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch moved from behind desks to patrolling NYC streets this summer. The move helped drive down serious crimes, and couldn't have come at a better time. In response to a CBC survey last winter, 42% of New Yorkers reported feeling…
Jessica S. Tisch was appointed the 48th police commissioner of the City of New York by Mayor Eric Adams in November 2024. Immediately prior, she had served as the commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation, a post she held since April 2022. Commissioner Tisch began her career…
The Mayor's Management Report fails to provide actionable performance data for city agencies, including the New York City Police Department, which currently lists a target for only one of its 88 indicators. Improving the report requires incorporating outcome-based metrics, linking performance to spending, and establishing clear targets to better assess agency effectiveness and accountability.
Recommendations related to New York City Police Department (NYPD)
The City should add outcome, quality, and efficiency metrics to the Mayor's Management Report to better demonstrate how well agencies like the NYPD are performing.
The City should link performance metrics to more granular expenditure data to allow for better assessment of the NYPD's cost-effectiveness.
The City should include more performance targets for agencies like the NYPD, as currently, the department lists a target for only one of its 88 indicators.
The City should incorporate a periodic, statistically valid, representative resident feedback survey to gauge public satisfaction with services like those provided by the NYPD.
The City should utilize the DMMR to provide geographic data for select indicators to better understand performance variations across neighborhoods.
Key Data
88
— Total number of performance indicators listed for the New York City Police Department in the Mayor's Management Report.
1
— Number of performance targets listed for the New York City Police Department out of its 88 total indicators.
New Yorkers' perception of public safety has declined significantly since 2017, with only 37 percent of residents rating their neighborhood safety as excellent or good. This downward trend is reflected across various metrics, including sharp decreases in feelings of safety on the subway and in public parks.
Recommendations related to New York City Police Department (NYPD)
The City Council and the Administration should incorporate this type of in-depth, statistically valid feedback into management systems and policy development.
The City should view this data alongside City service performance metrics and CompStat data to get a sharper picture of service quality and results to help drive the needed progress.
Key Data
37%
— New Yorkers rating public safety in their neighborhood as excellent or good, down from 50% in 2017.
28%
— Bronx residents who rate their neighborhood public safety as excellent or good.
71%
— New Yorkers who report feeling safe in parks and playgrounds during the day, representing a 16% decrease from 2017.
40%
— Decrease in the daytime subway safety positive rating since 2017.
52%
— Decrease in the nighttime subway safety positive rating since 2017.
22%
— New Yorkers who report feeling safe on the subway at night.
New York City faces significant fiscal cliffs, including chronic underbudgeting of uniformed agency overtime, which requires the city to either fully fund these obligations or explicitly reduce service levels. To ensure long-term fiscal stability, the administration must implement a Program to Eliminate the Gap (PEG) and prioritize funding for essential programs while eliminating those that are not sustainable.
Recommendations related to New York City Police Department (NYPD)
The City should fully fund underbudgeted and fiscal cliff programs, including uniformed agency overtime, to the extent resources are available, or explicitly identify which ones will be shrunk or eliminated.
The Administration should continue with its original plan to implement a PEG in the Fiscal Year 2025 Executive Budget to facilitate necessary discussions about prioritizing programs.
The City Council should ensure that its proposals for added or modified spending are affordable based on fully funding or reducing the current set of planned programs.
Key Data
$655 million
— Amount attributed to chronic underbudgeting of uniformed overtime.
$324 million
— Estimated amount by which the overtime budget of the four uniformed agencies is likely below what will be needed.
$55.5 million
— Cost of NYPD Mobility Data Plans listed as an existing City-funds fiscal cliff.
$42.0 million
— Cost of NYPD Domain Awareness listed as an existing City-funds fiscal cliff.
$1.1 billion
— FY2024 overtime budget for uniformed agencies that was fully spent in 7 months.
Commissioner Jessica Tisch is a lifelong New Yorker, appointed in April 2022 to lead the New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY). In this role, Commissioner Tisch is leading a trash revolution, changing the way New Yorkers interact with waste for the first time in generations by making meaningful progress…
New York State Budget Fiscal Year 2024 Major Actions and Fiscal Risks As of First Quarter Update New York City Fiscal Year 2024 Adopted Budget and Outlook
The New York City Police Department's fiscal year 2024 executive budget is significantly understated by approximately $1.6 billion, as it fails to account for the full costs of recent collective bargaining agreements and historically underbudgeted overtime expenses. While the department has implemented savings initiatives, the current budget remains unrealistic and requires more accurate forecasting to reflect actual operational and labor costs.
Recommendations related to New York City Police Department (NYPD)
The City should ensure that budgeted overtime reflects reasonable expectations given management, policy, and historical spending trends.
The City must include the costs of ratified collective bargaining agreements within the NYPD budget rather than relying on central labor reserves.
The City should improve the accuracy of fiscal forecasting to avoid understating the NYPD budget by billions of dollars.
Key Data
$10.8 billion
— Total allocation for the New York Police Department in the fiscal year 2024 executive budget.
$1.6 billion
— Estimated amount the fiscal year 2024 budget is short to fund collective bargaining agreements and overtime.
$817 million
— Projected total overtime spending for the NYPD in fiscal year 2023.
$900 million
— Estimated cost of the PBA collective bargaining agreement in fiscal year 2024.
3.7 percent
— NYPD Program to Eliminate the Gap (PEG) savings as a percentage of City-funded spending.
34,000
— Anticipated uniformed on-board headcount for the NYPD in fiscal year 2024.
The New York City Police Department's fiscal year 2023 budget totals $10.9 billion, with annual increases driven by collective bargaining agreements and new technology initiatives. Despite these budget adjustments, projected overtime spending for fiscal year 2022 is expected to reach $743 million, exceeding the modified budget by $136 million and necessitating improved managerial controls.
Recommendations related to New York City Police Department (NYPD)
Meaningful recurring reductions in NYPD overtime depend on effective managerial controls and changes to NYPD policies and procedures.
Key Data
$10.9 billion
— Total NYPD spending in fiscal year 2023.
$140 million
— Annual increase to the NYPD City-funded budget.
$94 million
— Increase in the NYPD overtime budget in fiscal year 2022.
$743 million
— Estimated total overtime spending by fiscal year end 2022.
$136 million
— Amount by which estimated overtime spending exceeds the modified Executive Budget.
The New York City Police Department's fiscal year 2023 budget is projected to reach $10.8 billion, with significant concerns regarding overtime spending that is expected to exceed the $513 million budget by over $200 million. Additionally, the department maintains an authorized uniformed headcount of 35,030 and retains 5,290 school safety personnel following the reversal of a planned transfer to the Department of Education.
Recommendations related to New York City Police Department (NYPD)
The NYPD must implement significant managerial controls to keep uniformed overtime closer to budgeted levels this year and next.
Key Data
$10.8 billion
— Projected fiscal year 2023 NYPD budget including operating budget and central expenses.
$533 million
— Reduction in the City-funded portion of the NYPD's fiscal year 2022 operating budget.
$500 million
— Federal COVID-related aid used to replace City funds in the fiscal year 2022 operating budget.
$513 million
— Fiscal year 2022 overtime budget.
$742 million
— Projected fiscal year 2022 overtime spending.
The NYPD's preliminary fiscal year 2023 budget is projected at $10.8 billion, with the department relying on redeployed resources rather than new funding to implement initiatives. Additionally, the department faces significant challenges with overtime spending, which is projected to exceed the fiscal year 2022 budget by over $200 million, necessitating stricter managerial controls.
Recommendations related to New York City Police Department (NYPD)
The NYPD must implement significant managerial controls to keep uniformed overtime closer to budgeted levels this year and next.
Key Data
$10.8 Billion
— Total projected NYPD spending for fiscal year 2023.
$500 Million
— Amount of federal American Rescue Plan funds used to replace City funds in the fiscal year 2022 operating budget.
$200 Million
— Amount by which the NYPD is likely to exceed its fiscal year 2022 overtime budget.
$742 Million
— Projected fiscal year 2022 overtime spending if current rates continue.
35,030
— Authorized uniformed headcount for the NYPD.
2.2 percent
— Reduction in the department’s City-funded operating budget for fiscal year 2022 achieved through PEG savings.
The New York City Police Department's fiscal year 2022 budget includes a $465 million spending increase, reversing previous cuts and highlighting ongoing challenges in managing overtime costs. Additionally, the city is planning to shift various units, such as school safety and crossing guards, to other departments, though progress on these transfers has been slow.
Key Data
$322 million
— The actual fiscal year 2021 budget cut to the NYPD's City-funded expenditures.
$474 million
— The amount of overtime expenditures in fiscal year 2021, which was 77 percent over budget.
$465 million
— The spending increase in the adopted fiscal year 2022 budget compared to fiscal year 2021.
$306 million
— The amount of intra-city revenue anticipated to shift from the NYPD to the Department of Education in fiscal year 2023 for school safety.
$42.4 million
— The fiscal year 2021 budget amount for School Crossing Guards, whose transfer to the Department of Transportation is not yet included in the budget.
$4.5 million
— The fiscal year 2021 budget amount for the Homeless Unit, which has been transferred out of the NYPD.
The New York City Police Department's fiscal year 2022 budget is projected to reach $10.5 billion, representing a $728 million increase from the previous year's plan. This spending plan relies on achieving difficult overtime targets and does not yet account for the full costs of pending collective bargaining agreements with uniformed officer unions.
Recommendations related to New York City Police Department (NYPD)
The NYPD must implement diligent management of overtime to achieve the budgeted $434 million level for fiscal year 2022.
The City should ensure that the NYPD budget reflects realistic spending on employee compensation once collective bargaining agreements are settled.
The City must provide additional resources to the NYPD budget if future collective bargaining raises exceed the current limited labor reserves.
Key Data
$9.7 billion
— Projected total fiscal year 2021 NYPD City-funded spending, including the agency budget and centrally allocated costs.
$448 million
— Projected total fiscal year 2021 overtime spending, which is 67 percent or $180 million over budget.
$10.5 billion
— Total City funding allocated to the NYPD for fiscal year 2022 in the Executive Budget.
$728 million
— The increase in City funding for the NYPD for fiscal year 2022 compared to the current fiscal year 2021 budget.
$434 million
— The amount budgeted for fiscal year 2022 overtime, a level that will be difficult to achieve without diligent management.
$450 million
— The estimated cost of 2 percent annual raises for the NYPD by the third year.
The next New York City Comptroller will play a critical role not only in holding the next Administration and agencies accountable, investing and managing five pension funds with $248 billion in assets, and partnering in $13 billion City debt issuance, but also in spotlighting and promoting New York City’s fiscal…
New York City faces a significant fiscal crisis requiring $1 billion in recurring labor savings, which can be achieved by reforming health insurance, work rules, and benefit structures for municipal employees, including uniformed services like the police. These reforms, such as eliminating specific differentials and consolidating welfare funds, would help avoid layoffs while maintaining essential services.
Recommendations related to New York City Police Department (NYPD)
The City should seek State legislation to eliminate the Variable Supplement Funds (VSF) for the New York Police Department, Fire Department, and Department of Correction and have the assets transferred to the main pension funds.
The City could reduce overtime for skilled trades and uniformed employees, including the New York Police Department, through the implementation of overtime caps.
Night shift differentials for uniformed titles should be eliminated where facilities and services are provided around the clock, as higher salaries and benefits already reflect the expectation for working on nights, weekends, and holidays.
Key Data
$1.1 Billion
— Uniformed-agency overtime budget in fiscal year 2019.
$4.9 Billion
— Estimated assets in the Variable Supplement Fund for the police.
82.2%
— Funded ratio of the police pension fund as of fiscal year 2019.
While activists and officials called for a $1 billion reduction to the New York City Police Department budget, the actual adopted budget reflects a $474 million decrease compared to the Executive Budget, largely driven by one-time overtime cuts and headcount reductions. These overtime savings are considered unrealistic without a concrete operational strategy, as they rely on temporary measures rather than structural reforms.
Recommendations related to New York City Police Department (NYPD)
Overtime reforms would need to be far-reaching and potentially negotiated with labor unions to achieve the steep reduction currently budgeted.
The city needs a plan or operational strategy to accompany budgeted overtime reductions, as prior efforts have been more successful in slowing growth rather than decreasing expenses.
The city should avoid relying on unrealistic one-time reductions in overtime expenses to balance the budget, as these savings are budgeted only for one year.
Key Data
$474 million
— Total reduction in the NYPD budget when measured against the Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2021.
$354 million
— Amount of the budget reduction attributed to overtime expenses, representing 75 percent of the total reduction.
$81 million
— Savings achieved by cancelling the July Police Academy Class.
1,404
— Total number of NYPD workforce positions reduced in fiscal year 2021, including 1,171 uniformed and 233 civilian roles.
35,030
— Projected uniformed headcount for the NYPD through fiscal year 2024.
$1 billion is the target reduction in the NYPD budget that became the focal point of recent budget negotiations. Was this cut actually made in the NYC Adopted FY2021 Budget? CBC's Adrian Pietrzak and Ana Champeny discuss the NYPD's budget and how it's going to change in the coming year…
The fiscal year 2021 budget relies on the successful implementation of agency savings programs, including a $350 million reduction in overtime spending for the New York City Police Department. Achieving these savings is critical to maintaining the city's spending levels amidst the economic crisis caused by the pandemic.
Recommendations related to New York City Police Department (NYPD)
The City must ensure that the $350 million reduction in overtime at the New York City Police Department is successfully implemented to maintain the adopted budget levels.
Key Data
$350 million
— The amount of the approved reduction in overtime spending at the New York City Police Department.
The New York City Police Department's total expenses reached $10.9 billion in fiscal year 2020, with 88 percent of the operating budget dedicated to personal services like salaries and wages. Overtime spending alone accounted for $635 million, while the department's total headcount grew to 54,003 employees over the decade.
Key Data
$10.9 billion
— Total expenses for the New York City Police Department in fiscal year 2020, including centrally allocated costs.
$635 million
— Total overtime spending at the NYPD in fiscal year 2020, representing 44 percent of all overtime spending citywide.
$96,072
— Average total pay for a full-time NYPD employee in fiscal year 2019, including base pay, overtime, and supplemental pay.
54,003
— Total NYPD headcount in fiscal year 2020, consisting of 36,178 uniformed employees and 17,825 civilian employees.
To address budget gaps, the City should reduce the number of uniformed police officers by 1,174 over two years through attrition and by adjusting the size of police recruit classes. This reduction would result in a force of 35,287 officers, saving $57 million in fiscal year 2021 and approximately $100 million annually thereafter.
Recommendations related to New York City Police Department (NYPD)
The City should reduce the number of uniformed police officers by 1,174 over two years through attrition and by adjusting the size of police recruit classes.
Key Data
1,174
— Number of uniformed police officers to be reduced over two years through attrition and adjusting the size of police recruit classes.
$57 million
— Savings in fiscal year 2021 from reducing the uniformed police force by 1,174 officers.
$100 million
— Annual savings from reducing the uniformed police force by 1,174 officers.
1,400
— Increase in police uniformed ranks between fiscal years 2015 and 2016.
35,287
— Resulting size of the police force after a reduction of 1,174 officers.
35,641
— Peak number of police officers at the beginning of the Great Recession.
Uniformed overtime spending remains a significant fiscal challenge for New York City, with high rates of absenteeism and existing work rules driving costs despite increased staffing levels. Addressing these expenses requires comprehensive labor negotiations to reform sick leave policies and modify work rules, rather than simply hiring more personnel.
Recommendations related to New York City Police Department (NYPD)
Labor and management must come to the table to develop better strategies to control uniformed overtime costs.
The City should implement a comprehensive strategy and changes to the sick leave policy, which currently grants unlimited sick time to uniformed employees.
Work rule changes will need to be negotiated in the next round of labor contracts to address the root causes of excessive overtime.
Key Data
$1.2 billion
— Total overtime earned by uniformed employees in fiscal year 2016.
$19,400
— Average overtime earned by each uniformed employee in fiscal year 2016.
53 percent
— Portion of the uniformed workforce earning overtime pay in excess of 20 percent of base salary in fiscal year 2016.
$506 million
— The 2018 cap on City-funded uniformed overtime for the Police Department (NYPD).
The fiscal year 2018 budget includes a partial hiring freeze affecting major agencies like the police department, though overall city headcount continues to grow. To manage rising compensation and health insurance costs, the city must prioritize operational efficiencies and ensure that future labor contract raises are supported by productivity gains.
The New York City Preliminary Budget for FY2018 raises critical questions regarding fiscal sustainability, including the potential for overtime spending in the New York City Police Department to exceed established caps. It also examines broader budgetary concerns such as headcount growth, homeless shelter funding, and the financial health of public health and housing authorities.
The 2016 Mayor’s Management Report indicates that New York City’s long-term decline in major felony crimes experienced a reversal, with 1,742 more crimes committed in fiscal year 2016 compared to the previous year. This 1.7% increase in major felony crimes highlights a concerning trend in public safety outcomes for the city.
Key Data
1,742
— more major felony crimes committed in fiscal year 2016 than in fiscal year 2015
1.7%
— increase in major felony crimes in fiscal year 2016
The de Blasio administration increased New York City Police Department funding by 7 percent and uniformed headcount by 3 percent in fiscal year 2016 to sustain declines in major felony crime. While major felony crimes initially exceeded previous counts in the first four months of fiscal year 2016, more recent data from the first half of calendar year 2016 showed fewer murders, shootings, robberies, and burglaries compared to the same period in 2015.
Key Data
7 percent
— Increase in funding for the New York City Police Department in fiscal year 2016.
3 percent
— Increase in uniformed headcount for the New York City Police Department over 2015.
The New York City Police Department's financial profile includes significant expenditures on personnel and overtime costs. Total expenses and headcount figures provide insight into the department's budgetary requirements.
The New York City Police Department has seen its settlement and judgment costs rise significantly, reaching $137.2 million in fiscal year 2013, a 60 percent increase from 2003. Unlike the Health and Hospitals Corporation, which successfully reduced its liability costs by taking financial responsibility for them, the NYPD continues to have these expenses paid from a central account outside its own budget.
Recommendations related to New York City Police Department (NYPD)
The City should include the cost of settlements and judgments in agency budgets to incentivize cost reduction.
Settlement and judgment costs should become a more explicit part of each City Commissioner’s responsibility.
The NYPD should increase accountability at the precinct level to reduce legal liability.
The NYPD should examine claims filed to identify practices, shifts, precincts, units, or officers that open the department to legal liability.
The NYPD should act quickly to address any issues that are identified through ClaimStat analyses.
Key Data
$674 million
— Total settlements and claims expense in the fiscal year 2015 budget.
54 percent
— Combined share of total settlements and judgments in fiscal year 2013 for which HHC and the NYPD were responsible.
$137.2 million
— Total NYPD settlements and judgments in fiscal year 2013.
$86 million
— Total NYPD settlements and judgments in fiscal year 2003.
60 percent
— Increase in NYPD settlement and judgment payments between fiscal years 2003 and 2013.
The proposal to hire 1,000 new police officers at an annual cost of nearly $100 million is questionable given that the department already has one of the highest staffing ratios in the nation. Instead of new hiring, the city should focus on controlling overtime expenditures and reassigning the 730 officers currently performing administrative roles to patrol duty.
Recommendations related to New York City Police Department (NYPD)
The City should implement a revision of overtime protocols to ensure that new hiring actually reduces overtime expenditures.
Negotiations should be focused on ways to control overtime rather than simply hiring more officers.
The department should prioritize moving officers performing civilian roles to patrol to increase patrol presence more cost-effectively.
The City should pursue administrative restructuring within the department to improve efficiency.
The City should consider hiring police administrative aids to free up 500 officers for patrol duty at half the cost of hiring new officers.
Key Data
$100 million
— Estimated annual cost of hiring 1,000 new police officers.
41.7
— Number of police officers per 10,000 New Yorkers in the NYPD.
13.6 percent
— Portion of the $4.6 billion NYPD budget accounted for by overtime in fiscal year 2013.
$580 million
— Projected cost of overtime in fiscal year 2014, which is one-third higher than the amount budgeted.
730
— Number of police officers currently performing civilian functions.
$26.3 million
— Annual cost to hire police administrative aids to free up 500 officers for patrol duty.
Proposed legislation A9594/S7326 would reverse 2012 pension reforms, potentially increasing City costs by $35 million in fiscal year 2015 and significantly raising future actuarial contributions. These changes threaten to undermine the fiscal stability achieved by previous reforms, which are projected to save the City $31 billion over 30 years.
Recommendations related to New York City Police Department (NYPD)
The Mayor should oppose the supporting home rule message under consideration in the City Council.
The Mayor should oppose the bill A9594/S7326 itself.
The Mayor should affirm his commitment to fiscal responsibility by opposing this bill.
Key Data
$8.2 billion
— Total pension costs in fiscal year 2013.
235 percent
— Increase in pension costs from fiscal year 2004 to fiscal year 2013.
$31 billion
— Estimated savings to the City over 30 years from the 2012 pension reforms.
$35 million
— Increase in City costs in fiscal year 2015 due to the proposed changes.
$266.4 million
— Actuarial value of contributions required by the City to fund the new benefit in fiscal year 2015.
$617.9 million
— Actuarial value of contributions required by the City to fund the new benefit in fiscal year 2019.
NY1 The 2013 mayor's race is just starting to take shape. While the burgeoning field is busy staking out positions on the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy and Mayor Bloomberg's push to ban the sale of large sugary drinks, it is possible that a debate over a decidedly more wonky issue -…
The New York City Police Department's Compstat model serves as a successful example of outcome-based performance management, shifting the focus from measuring arrests to tracking actual crime rates. While the department has demonstrated effective management, the city's broader budget structure remains disconnected from program performance, hindering accountability across various agencies.
Recommendations related to New York City Police Department (NYPD)
New York City should make good on its Charter requirements and restructure agency units of appropriation so that they reflect a programmatic structure, such as the Police Department's operations.
City leaders should renew their focus on achieving high-quality measurement and reporting in every agency, including the New York City Police Department.
The City Council should hold oversight hearings on the PMMR and MMR and press for a better link to the budget, particularly for large agencies like the New York City Police Department.
Key Data
$2.4 billion
— The amount of spending covered by the 'Operations' unit of appropriation in the Police Department, representing two-thirds of the agency's budget.
6.2
— The number of police workforce personnel per 1,000 population in New York City.
43.4
— The number of total arrests per 1,000 population in New York City.
2.8
— The number of total arson incidents per 1,000 population in New York City.
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