Comptroller Stringer to Mayor de Blasio: Cut $1.1 Billion in NYPD Spending Over Four Years and Reinvest in Vulnerable Communities and Vital Services

(New York, NY) — Today, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer sent a letter to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio calling on the City to cut $1.1 billion from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) over the next four fiscal years, shifting both responsibilities and dollars away from the NYPD and toward vulnerable communities most impacted by police violence and structural racism. Building on his prior calls for all agencies to identify savings of at least 4 percent, Comptroller Stringer unveiled a specific proposal to implement a 5 percent cut to the NYPD’s Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21) Executive Budget by reducing uniformed headcount through attrition, cutting overtime, and trimming Other Than Personnel Services (OTPS) — saving approximately $265 million annually. By doing so, the City could free up that funding to support critical frontline services, rebuild communities ravaged by COVID-19 and systemic community disinvestment, and dramatically reduce police interactions that too often end in unnecessary criminal legal system involvement. Comptroller Stringer’s call comes at a time when the mayor is proposing a mere 0.31 percent cut to the NYPD’s $5.9 billion budget, despite deep cuts already implemented by City Hall to vital services — including a total elimination of the City’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP).

Comptroller Stringer’s letter outlines strategies  to shift responsibilities away from the Police Department — and its armed officers — and toward social workers, counselors, community-based violence interrupters, and other trained professionals better equipped to handle calls related to individuals in mental health crisis, homelessness, and other non-criminal activities, as many other cities across the nation already do.

“The brutal, senseless murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery are the most recent reminders of the longstanding need for racial justice and reform in policing. We must call out racism in all its ugly forms to break this painful cycle. But it is not enough to condemn racism in words: our fight for justice must be backed up with accountability and concrete action,” said New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. “Breaking down structural racism in New York City will require long-term, lasting change — and that must include reducing the NYPD’s budget. If our budget is a reflection of our values, it is unconscionable that services for Black and Brown New Yorkers are on the chopping block while the NYPD’s budget remains almost entirely untouched.  This is a bold and achievable roadmap to immediately cut millions and instead invest those critical dollars in underserved communities and the programs that will uplift those New Yorkers who need it most.”

A Plan to Reduce NYPD Spending by $1.1 Billion
Comptroller Stringer proposed achieving this more than $1 billion budget reduction in the following ways:

• Reduce uniformed headcount through attrition:  The City should suspend hiring of new police classes in FY 2021.  Assuming a 3 percent attrition rate, that would bring expected uniformed headcount down to approximately 35,000 by end of FY 2021, or roughly the same average headcount that prevailed between 2011 and 2016, when crime continued its steady decline to historically low levels.  Savings would also accrue from associated fringe benefits savings.
• Cut uniformed overtime by 5 percent:  Overtime spending for FY 2021 is budgeted at $519.6 million.  A 5 percent reduction in budgeted overtime for uniformed officers would yield a $26 million annual savings.
• Trim Other than Personnel Services by 4 percent:  The City-funded OTPS budget for FY 2021 is $429 million. A 4 percent reduction in OTPS savings would yield $17 million in savings.  This could be achieved through reductions in the NYPD’s spending on computer services and other service contracts, as well as a lengthening of the replacement cycle for NYPD vehicles, among other possible actions.

Comptroller Stringer’s proposed cuts would save roughly $265 million annually, representing a reduction (or PEG) of 5.0 percent in FY 2021.  Over four years, the plan would net the city nearly $1.1 billion in accrued savings that could be redirected to other priorities, including helping the city to stave off cuts to other essential services.

Comptroller Stringer also urged the City to consider additional avenues for savings, including strategies for reducing legal claims filed against the NYPD. An analysis by the Comptroller’s office revealed that in FY 2018, the City paid out as much as $237.4 million in settlements related to allegations made against the NYPD for use of excessive force, civil rights violations, and personal injury and property damage. Since FY 2014, the total cost incurred to address the consequences of alleged police misconduct has amounted to some $1.3 billion dollars. Acting aggressively to identify and hold officers accountable for police misconduct will not only save dollars in future lawsuits, it will spare many New Yorkers the needless pain and suffering stemming from the unnecessary use of force or other violations of civil rights.

A Brief History of the NYPD Budget
The NYPD’s current uniformed headcount of 36,461 is higher than at any time since FY 2002 with the exception of FY 2018, when headcount topped out at 36,643. The Comptroller’s proposal would reduce headcount to 35,000, or roughly the same average level that prevailed between 2011 and 2016, when crime continued its steady decline. The data suggest, therefore, that there is an opportunity to scale back spending and headcount at the NYPD without impacting recent gains in reducing the City’s overall crime rate.

Comptroller Stringer’s letter to the City outlined soaring NYPD spending:

• Between FY14 and FY19, the NYPD’s spending rose by 22 percent over the five year period to $5.977 billion — accounting for more than 6 percent of the City’s total budget.
• The NYPD’s total headcount grew from 50,565 to 53,486 when civilian employees are counted. Of those 2,921 new hires, more than two-thirds (2,021) were uniformed officers.
• Personnel costs account for about 89 percent of the agency’s budget, while other than personnel services (OTPS) make up about 11 percent of agency spending. Within that 11 percent are a range of costs, including police vehicles ($86.9 million in FY 2019) computer equipment and services ($120.6 million).

Transforming Approaches to Policing and Investing in Our Communities
Over the long-term, divesting from policing and limiting the NYPD’s outsized role in the provision of social services, including the City’s approaches to mental health and homelessness, must be the goal.

Comptroller Stringer’s letter outlined a vision of the city’s police force that would limit NYPD responsibilities to certain kinds of interventions that would be better handled by others who are trained in serving specific populations, among them individuals experiencing a mental health crisis and those experiencing homelessness, as well as certain low level calls for which a uniformed police officer is not needed or necessary.

Furthermore, redirecting funds toward trained social workers, counselors, and outreach staff to help them respond to challenges like homelessness and mental health disorders—which are circumstances rooted in poverty, trauma, and structural racism, not crimes in progress—would produce far more positive outcomes. There is strong evidence that alternatives to policing work well when properly funded, not only in mitigating harm but in building public safety and trust. Comptroller Stringer called onto the City to find inspiration in other jurisdictions across the nation that have dared to take new approaches to policing, highlighting existing models and approaches that have proven successful in Eugene and Springfield, Oregon; Tucson, Arizona and Camden, New Jersey.

To read Comptroller Stringer’s letter to the City, click here.

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