Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, center, joined other elected officials last week to call on the mayor to increase the number of uniformed police officers on the streets by civilianizing hundreds of administrative positions currently being performed by police.
Photo courtesy Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley’s Office
Elected officials said there is a solution to lessening the burden on the city’s finest – and lawmakers in the City Council called on the mayor to step up this week.
Lawmakers asked Mayor Bill de Blasio to consider transforming hundreds of Police Department duties into civilian jobs, freeing them up to defend the city. City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Maspeth) stood with city Public Advocate Letitia James, Council Public Safety Chair Vanessa L. Gibson (D-Bronx) and Local 1549 of District Council 37 to put pressure on the police department switch.
“Our city needs to put as many uniformed police officers as possible on the streets to maximize law enforcement and keep New Yorkers safe,” said Crowley, who chairs the Council Fire and Criminal Justice Committee. “By introducing more civilians into the NYPD’s administrative work force, we can increase police presence, while also saving the city money.”
A total of 731 uniformed NYPD police officers were performing administrative and civilian functions by the end of last year, Crowley said – not including those assigned to limited, restricted or modified duty. Adding more civilian jobs, lawmakers said, would allow the city to better utilize those in uniform and fight crime.
James stood with the lawmakers at City Hall earlier this week to put pressure on the mayor and push for public safety.
“The most effective and efficient way to utilize our limited number of uniformed police officers is to assign those officers to our neighborhood streets,” the public advocate said. “Increasing the civilianization of our police force saves the city money by reducing overtime costs, and lowering the cost of administrative and clerical positions. But most importantly it allows NYPD to increase its presence throughout the city and continue ensuring the safety of residents.”
Gibson, a Councilmember from the Bronx, used her position on the Public Safety Committee as a position of power to promote the change.
“Putting more police on the streets – especially in communities experiencing persistently high rates of street crime and gun violence – is critical to enhancing the public safety of every community throughout New York,” she said. “By civilianizing the NYPD we will be able to more effectively utilize hundreds of available police officers who are already on the payroll and put their training and skills to use serving all New Yorkers while saving millions of taxpayer dollars over the long term.”
The Council’s unified support for the civilianization of hundreds of positions currently being performed by uniformed police officers drew support from key union officials representing the NYPD’s civilian workforce. If enacted, lawmakers said as many as 500 officers would see their workloads lightened with the help from new civilian positions.
“I applaud the City Council for calling upon the mayor to hire 500 police
administrative aides,” said Eddie Rodriguez, president of Local 1549 of District Council 37. “The residents of New York City deserve better than allowing sworn law enforcement officers to sit behind a desk to perform clerical work. Let civilian workers do clerical administrative work and police officers fight crime.”
By Phil Corso
