Skyrocketing police overtime costs were in the spotlight of the NYPD’s budget hearing at City Hall Wednesday morning, with officials saying they are hard pressed to keep expenses down.
While the current budget allocated $682 million in overtime expenses last year, officials testified on March 20 that the NYPD has already spent $715 million in overtime to officers responding to everything from daily street protests over the Israel-Hamas war, to surges in the subway system following reported crime spikes.
Even so, NYPD officials say they are doing “what they can” to control overtime that has exceeded budgets year after year. Officials sought $43.5 million in 2023 for higher than expected overtime costs incurred over the previous year and expect that trend to continue.
