But the department will bring back a requirement that officers pass a timed-run test of 1.5 miles, Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
But the department will bring back a requirement that officers pass a timed-run test of 1.5 miles, Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
But the department will bring back a requirement that officers pass a timed-run test of 1.5 miles, Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
The New York Police Department is reeling from an exodus of officers that shows little sign of slowing.
One solution? Scale back education requirements.
The department is reducing the number of college credits that applicants need to become cadets from 60 to 24, Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said on Wednesday.
At the same time, the department will bring back a physical test for candidates, who will have to complete a 1.5-mile run in 14 minutes and 21 seconds, she said.
“It’s no secret that the N.Y.P.D. is facing a hiring crisis,” Commissioner Tisch said at a breakfast hosted by the Association for a Better New York, a coalition of corporations and nonprofit organizations. “These changes will allow the N.Y.P.D. to recruit more quality candidates to serve as police officers, while increasing the physical standards and maintaining academic rigor that continues to surpass what most other police departments require.”
New York’s police force, the nation’s largest, has about 34,100 officers, down from a peak of 40,000 in 2000, according to department figures and the city’s Independent Budget Office.
Commissioner Tisch said she and Mayor Eric Adams are trying to get the head count to 35,000.
Officers have fled, often before retirement age, lured by jobs that offer higher pay and less stress. The attrition, which has plagued the department since 2020, has forced overtime shifts that many officers say leave them burned out.