NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch orders scores of police officers to precincts

The New York City Police Department permanently transferred scores of officers and detectives Monday from specialized units and administrative jobs to regular precinct duties in an effort by NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch to spread police resources back to the communities at a time when the department is facing a serious personnel crunch.

The 120 transfers, which took effect early Monday, were ordered by the department chief of personnel and impacted ranks ranging from detectives and detective specialists to numerous police officers, according to a copy of the orders viewed by Newsday.

"The NYPD’s primary responsibility is to keep New Yorkers safe, and in order to continue this three-month trend of double-digit declines in crime, we must put more officers on the streets," Tisch said in a written statement to Newsday. "We are getting back to the basics of policing, and that starts at the precinct-level and in the neighborhoods we serve."

The officers transferred to the precincts had been working administrative jobs, as well as in special units such as those involved in television production. Also impacted by the shifts according to the order, were certain field intelligence officers who are crucial in developing information about illegal firearms and other crimes.

Monday’s transfers come just weeks before the department is expected to shift other officers — at least temporarily — to help out in precincts in traditionally high crime summer months.

In January, the NYPD temporarily transferred hundreds of officers and detectives to transit duty until March 25 in a subway crime offensive, NYPD records show.

According to the latest NYPD data, the department has about 34,000 uniformed officers, still short of Tisch’s stated goal of hitting a force of 35,000. Police and union officials said the NYPD is losing about 250 officers a month from retirements or resignations.

One police official who requested anonymity because the source is not authorized to speak about the issue publicly said some 5,000 officers will become eligible for retirement in the summer at a time when the department is already struggling to get enough recruits for the next academy class. Recently, the department announced it is lowering the number of required college credits to be able to attract more applicants.

"It could cause a personnel upheaval," the official said, acknowledging that some of the transfers are coming from job categories deemed redundant or no longer needed.

Tisch’s personnel moves are viewed by some policing experts as the responsible thing to do at a time when the ranks of officers are depleted and the department is digging deep into a statistical approach to target high crime areas.

The approach may be paying off. Serious crime has dropped 15% this year, a downward movement which began in late 2024 and accelerated after Tisch took the top job in December 2024, NYPD data shows.

But the transfers are being questioned by the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York — the largest police union — for the disruption they bring to the lives of officers.

"This is the grim reality of the NYPD right now," PBA president Patrick Hendry said in a statement to Newsday. "They are scouring the department for police officers to cover routine patrol because they simply aren’t enough cops to meet the city’s public safety needs."

Hendry said the city should focus on long-term solutions, such as recruiting and retaining officers, instead of transfers he said are disruptive to officers' lives. The transfers, he said, also limit their opportunity for professional advancement and end up driving more talented police officers out the door.

Joseph Giacalone, an adjunct professor at Pennsylvania State University-Lehigh Valley who specializes in criminal justice, said once crucial administrative police ranks are depleted by transfers "there is no way to easily refill those jobs."

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.