Mayor Adams Doubles Down on Efforts to Reduce Shootings, Homicides by Adding 1,200 new Police Recruits This Year

April 20, 2024

Two New Police Classes Will Add 1,200 Additional Recruits in July and October Classes, Puts New York City on Path to Have 35,000 Uniformed Officers in Coming Years

1,200 New Recruits to Join 1,200 Recruits That Have Already Started Training in 2024

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced investments he is making to double down on the decreases in shootings and homicides seen across the five boroughs over the last two years by adding two additional New York City Police Department (NYPD) police academy classes, in July and October, to the upcoming Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Executive Budget. Each of the two new classes will add 600 new recruits to the rolls this calendar year, bringing the total number of new NYPD recruits in 2024 to 2,400. The 1,200 new officers in the July and October police classes will hit New York City streets in January 2025 and April 2025, respectively. With today’s announcement, Mayor Adams is taking another step to put New York City on the path to increase the number of uniformed officers in the NYPD to 35,000 in the coming years.

Mayor Adams has made public safety his top priority and because of the NYPD’s efforts overall crime is down more than 3 percent in 2024, year to date, while shootings and homicides are both down by double digits — 20 percent and 23.5 percent, respectively. Shootings and homicides saw double-digit decreases in 2023 and 2024 as well, being down 25 percent and 12 percent, respectively, last year, and being down 17 percent and 11 percent, respectively, in 2022.

“I always say that public safety is the prerequisite to prosperity. By driving down crime, we have saved lives and laid the foundation for economic recovery, but we want to keep that going and we won’t do anything to risk all our progress,” said Mayor Adams. “Today, I am proud to announce that, thanks to our strong fiscal management that has stabilized the city budget and our fiscal outlook, we are funding two additional police classes this year in the upcoming Executive Budget. These 1,200 additional officers will be hitting the streets to keep us safe in the coming year, while we continue to drive down shootings and homicides citywide at a near historic pace. This puts New York City on the path to have a total of 35,000 uniformed officers in the coming years. Our administration is committed to making sure New York City continues to be the safest big city in America while making the right fiscal decisions for our city.”

“This funding for the NYPD's July and October 2024 recruit classes is a major win for public safety in New York City,” said NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban. “While the NYPD will always be at the forefront of new technology and precision policing, the police officer is the ultimate crime reduction tool. I am grateful to Mayor Adams for his generous and continual support of New York's Finest.”

New York City is the safest big city in the country, but when Mayor Adams entered office, crime was on an upward trajectory with both shootings and homicides rising. But under Mayor Adams and NYPD Commissioner Caban’s leadership, overall crime is down in New York City in 2024. In 2023, the city saw a drop in five of the seven major crime categories. Additionally, the NYPD has taken more than 15,500 illegal guns off of New York City streets since the start of the Adams administration. Crime has fallen as a result of precision policing by the NYPD, strong support for law enforcement, and investments in both prevention and intervention programs. When the administration first came into office, Mayor Adams launched his “Blueprint to End Gun Violence.” Shortly thereafter, the NYPD created a new anti-gun unit, and within two months, the NYPD started seeing month after month of decreases in shootings and homicides across the city.

Additionally, over the course of the administration Mayor Adams has launched a $500 million blueprint to keep communities safe from gun violence, surged police officers into the subways to help reduce crime in the transit system, released plans to crack down on auto thefts and combat retail thefts, hired additional mental health clinicians to support people with untreated severe mental illness and announced plans to pilot new technology, expanded the Saturday Night Lights youth program to keep young people safe and engaged, supported a record 100,000 summer job opportunities annually for young people, and more.

###