NEW YORK, NY - The New York Police Department (NYPD), amidst a massive “hiring crisis,” has launched a three-pronged strategy to bring in more candidates by modernizing the NYPD’s education requirements according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
In a press release published on Wednesday, Commissioner Tisch said that the plan will reduce the current requirement of college credits to enter the police academy from sixty to twenty-four while increasing the number of credits earned through academy training and restoring a timed 1.5-mile run requirement for graduation. Graduating cadets must complete the run in less than 14 minutes and 21 seconds.
As reported by Spectrum News NY1, per the NYPD this plan will make over 5,000 previously ineligible students eligible for academy admission across almost all of the 30 active civil service lists.
In a statement, Tisch said, “Keeping the greatest city in the world safe requires recruiting and retaining the best people for the job. Our officers work tirelessly to keep crime down and protect our communities, but it’s no secret that the NYPD is facing a hiring crisis. These changes will bring the department more in line with peer agencies across the country, strengthen our officer training, and ensure that the NYPD remains the best, and most rewarding way for someone to serve their community.”
At a breakfast sponsored by the Association for a Better New York Tisch told the audience, “The NYPD is in a hiring crisis and it's not a budget problem." She added that although the NYPD is seeing full support from City Hall and former NYPD Captain Mayor Eric Adams “the applicants just aren’t there.” She quipped, “Now we’re practically begging people to take the exam.”
Tisch told attendees that the new strategy “will bring the department more in line with peer agencies across the country, strengthen our officer training, and ensure that the NYPD remains the best and most rewarding way for someone to serve their community.”
The outlet noted that law enforcement agencies across the nation including Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, and Boston, do not have college credit requirements. Closer to home: neither Nassau County, Suffolk County, Westchester, Yonkers, nor Mount Vernon Police departments do either.
Per the NYPD release in 2023, the academy rejected 29% of all NYPD applicants, a total of 2,275 potential officers solely due to the college credit requirement.
“Public safety and justice are the prerequisites to prosperity, and as we continue to see record declines in crime across our city, we know we must take bold, decisive action to ensure we are doing everything in our power to put more officers on the streets and keep New York City the safest big city in America,” Adams said in a statement.
“I applaud NYPD Commissioner Tisch for embracing this vision and ensuring we reach every qualified individual who is committed to serving our city and protecting its people. We need not only more officers but also enhanced training, and this new initiative delivers on both fronts, setting us on a path to an even safer, more secure city.”
In a press release published on Wednesday, Commissioner Tisch said that the plan will reduce the current requirement of college credits to enter the police academy from sixty to twenty-four while increasing the number of credits earned through academy training and restoring a timed 1.5-mile run requirement for graduation. Graduating cadets must complete the run in less than 14 minutes and 21 seconds.
As reported by Spectrum News NY1, per the NYPD this plan will make over 5,000 previously ineligible students eligible for academy admission across almost all of the 30 active civil service lists.
In a statement, Tisch said, “Keeping the greatest city in the world safe requires recruiting and retaining the best people for the job. Our officers work tirelessly to keep crime down and protect our communities, but it’s no secret that the NYPD is facing a hiring crisis. These changes will bring the department more in line with peer agencies across the country, strengthen our officer training, and ensure that the NYPD remains the best, and most rewarding way for someone to serve their community.”
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At a breakfast sponsored by the Association for a Better New York Tisch told the audience, “The NYPD is in a hiring crisis and it's not a budget problem." She added that although the NYPD is seeing full support from City Hall and former NYPD Captain Mayor Eric Adams “the applicants just aren’t there.” She quipped, “Now we’re practically begging people to take the exam.”
Tisch told attendees that the new strategy “will bring the department more in line with peer agencies across the country, strengthen our officer training, and ensure that the NYPD remains the best and most rewarding way for someone to serve their community.”
The outlet noted that law enforcement agencies across the nation including Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, and Boston, do not have college credit requirements. Closer to home: neither Nassau County, Suffolk County, Westchester, Yonkers, nor Mount Vernon Police departments do either.
Per the NYPD release in 2023, the academy rejected 29% of all NYPD applicants, a total of 2,275 potential officers solely due to the college credit requirement.
“Public safety and justice are the prerequisites to prosperity, and as we continue to see record declines in crime across our city, we know we must take bold, decisive action to ensure we are doing everything in our power to put more officers on the streets and keep New York City the safest big city in America,” Adams said in a statement.
“I applaud NYPD Commissioner Tisch for embracing this vision and ensuring we reach every qualified individual who is committed to serving our city and protecting its people. We need not only more officers but also enhanced training, and this new initiative delivers on both fronts, setting us on a path to an even safer, more secure city.”
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Comments
2025-03-02T18:21-0500 | Comment by: Larry
Having a four year degree and corrections and academy trsining I have found better officers with an education and with better judgement ,I understand how hard it is to hire new cadets but they must be prepared for all circumstances
2025-03-03T10:05-0500 | Comment by: Laurence
Good plan. Police work demands physical stamina and strength, which many Affirmative Action recruits do not possess. And a cop certainly does not need a college degree to read the instruction books.