The city could slash thousands of uniformed cops without damaging the NYPD’s productivity by assigning officers to work longer shifts but fewer days, according to a city study obtained by The Post.
The report by the nonpartisan Independent Budget Office suggests lengthening officers’ workdays from 8 hours, 35 minutes to 10 to 12 hours.
Their total number of hours per month would remain the same.
The study says that if the new scheduling ideas are implemented and officials decide to keep the force at its current level, the department would become more efficient, leading to a safer city.
The NYPD now has 23,000 uniformed officers.
The IBO analysis was commissioned by Councilman Vincent Gentile (D-Brooklyn), who said he had been hoping to find efficiency savings that would actually allow the NYPD to hire more cops.
“Making current NYPD tours more efficient would increase productivity and put more officers on the street during crucial times,” said Justin Brannan a spokesman for Gentile.
“It would also improve the work/life balance for officers, since they would work fewer days each week and have more days off . . . It would save the city money, which could then be used to either hire more officers or make existing NYPD salaries more competitive.”
Police officers on the new shifts would not get overtime unless they worked beyond their 10 to 12 hours.
They would still get a 1-hour, 40-minute break a day. But that would mean fewer hours of break time per week, since they would be working fewer days.
Officers interviewed by The Post were angry about the proposed schedule shift if savings would be used to cut the force by roughly 2,300 cops.
“It’s crazy to talk about lowering the number of uniformed officers, given the number of police shootings we’ve had,’’ said one cop who asked not to be identified. “Any cost savings should be used to make the city safer, not less safe.”
Another officer said longer shifts could lead cops to just phone it in toward the end of their tours.
“No one’s going to want to make arrests at the end of their tour,’’ the officer said. “They’re not going to want to stay to do the paperwork.”
But Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch said he’s all for the new hours but only if staffing levels remain the same.
“This union has long argued that multiple benefits could be realized from the savings generated by converting to a modern tour chart,’’ he said.
“The city could have more officers on patrol during peak crime hours while savings could be used to hire additional officers’’ and increase their pay.
Commissioner Ray Kelly has opposed longer shifts, and even the IBO study raises the specter of tired cops not being able to perform at the highest level.
Longer, fewer workdays would lead to a more efficient police force, a study says.
Current:
Tour length: 8 hours, 35 minutes
Shifts per year: 243
Total uniformed cops: 23,000
If shifts increase to 10 hours:
Shifts per year: 209
Total uniformed cops: 21,850 (if staffing is cut)
If shifts increase to 12 hours:
Shifts per year: 174
Total uniformed cops: 20,700 (if staffing is cut)