Mayor Eric Adams said he will add 1,600 officers to the NYPD’s ranks next year, using funds the city will save amid a drop in migrant-related spending.
Police academy classes were cut last year as Adams looked for places to cut costs to address the migrant crisis. Adams is now projecting that migrant-related spending will drop by $495 million over the next two fiscal years because of fewer migrants arriving in New York, stricter limits on how long they are allowed to stay in shelters and federal grants that defray costs, according to City Hall.
This is the third new police academy class Adams has announced this year. The first two added a combined 2,400 new cops to the NYPD.
Police data shows there are currently just under 33,400 uniformed officers on the force. Adams said Wednesday he’s aiming to grow that to 35,000. Adams, a former NYPD captain, has sought to fight crime by deploying additional officers on the subways.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Adams said two new classes of police officers will be on the street by October 2025.
“It’s a lot of officers who alongside all the civilian employees of the NYPD work day in and day out to keep us safe,” Adams said.
The total number of NYPD employees, including civilians, has remained relatively steady over the last year at around 47,000 employees, according to data maintained by the city comptroller’s office. According to a 2022 comptroller audit, the NYPD has fallen behind on its goal of increasing the percentage of civilian positions, which are less costly than those of uniformed officers.
The Police Benevolent Association, the union that represents the NYPD’s rank-and-file officers, said the department is still experiencing a staffing crisis.
“Cops are fed up and burned out,” PBA President Patrick Hendry said. “We’re still losing hundreds every month, and the department is still unable to find enough recruits to make up for attrition.”
The number of uniformed cops peaked in 2000 with more than 40,000 officers, according to data from the city Independent Budget Office. The number has hovered around 35,000 uniformed officers for the last 15 years while the number of civilian employees has grown. In 1980 there were roughly 30,000 employees at the NYPD while there are now nearly 50,000 employees, including civilians, according to the data.
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