The NYPD touted a record year for hiring new officers, with more than 4,000 fresh recruits sworn in Wednesday — rebutting police union leaders’ claims that an exodus of cops is still plaguing the department.
The number of New York City cops in uniform now stands at nearly 35,000, the highest level since May 2022, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said as the new batch of recruits were sworn in.
“Today marks a defining moment in your lives and a historic moment for the NYPD,” Tisch told the new officers.
“With the 1,142 of your entering the police academy today, the NYPD has now hired more than 4,000 officers this year, making this the largest hiring year on record,” she said.
“That matters because there are people who would have you believe that policing is a profession in retreat,” Tisch continued. “Let me be clear, that narrative is wrong.”
The 4,056 cops hired this year topped the previous record of 3,902 set in 1984, police data shows.
By comparison, just 2,632 cops were hired last year, and 1,978 in 2019, the stats show.
But cops are still leaving the force in droves, the Police Benevolent Association, the city’s largest union repping NYPD cops, argued.
More than 3,400 of New York’s Finest have quit or retired over the last 12 months, partially offsetting the historic gains, according to the PBA.
“There was a time when recruits entered the academy planning to wear our uniform for their entire career,” PBA President Patrick Hendry said in a statement.
“Today, too many of our recruits are viewing the NYPD as a stepping stone to a better law enforcement job, one with a more manageable work load.”
The NYPD boss refuted Hendry’s claims, saying 3,228 had actually left the force this year, and that — including Wednesday’s new recruits — hiring for 2025 stood at 4,063, for an 800-person net gain.
Prior to the new recruits being sworn in, the PBA said the ranks saw a deficit of about 500 cops over the past 12 months due to retirements and resignations. Hendry said an average of 285 cops have quit the force every month since December 2024.
“In addition to getting recruits in the door, our city leaders need to work with us to keep them on the job,” he said.
The NYPD has been hemorrhaging cops in recent years, losing more than 15,000 rank and file officers since 2020. Just 8,000 prospective recruits applied to join the force in 2025, compared to 18,000 in 2017, officials said.
NYPD brass has pushed to fill the department’s dwindling ranks all year, staring in February when Tisch lowered the college credit requirements even as she reinstated a mandatory 1.5 mile run for recruits.
In October, the department stepped up the efforts with a new “Back the Blue” recruitment drive that included a beefed-up advertising blitz.
Tisch said Wednesday that the recruitment drives are paying off — and that despite the PBA’s worry about the badge drain, expected retirements are factored in.
“The NYPD did not experience an unexpected or extreme wave of departures” in 2025, she said.
“Retirements this year were exactly what we projected based on the 3,700 officers that we hired 20 years ago in 2005,” Tisch added.
“More importantly, despite what critics say, the number of people leaving the department before they are eligible for their full pension is down by more than 40% since 2022,” she added. “In fact, this year we’re outpacing attrition by more than 800 officers.”
— Additional reporting by Tina Moore
