NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that the New York City Police Department (NYPD) uniform officer headcount is on the path to reach 35,000 by the fall of 2026, thanks to expanded eligibility requirements recently announced and Mayor Adams’ continued funding commitments to hire more officers. Mayor Adams also swore in more than 670 new recruits to the police force today. The new recruits join the already 2,200 probationary officers that were sworn in between July 2024 and January 2025 — 600 of these recruits have already graduated, 600 are set to graduate in early May 2025, and 1,000 recruits remain in training.
The Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Executive Budget includes $3.4 billion for approximately 34,000 police officers, including four academy classes, and FY 2027 is funded to support a uniform force of 35,000. To bolster recruitment and hiring, the Adams administration announced expanded eligibility to become a police officer earlier this year.
“When we came into office over three years ago, we had a clear mission and a clear mandate: Drive down crime and make sure every New Yorker feels safe,” said Mayor Adams. “Our success depends on whether we have enough officers to do this critical work, which is why, in February, we announced expanded eligibility requirements to become an officer. The results have been astounding – with daily applications up 45 percent, it’s clear New Yorkers are eager to join the NYPD. Combined with continued funding, we’re proud to announce that New York City is on the path to having 35,000 uniform members of the NYPD by fall of 2026. Congratulations to all of the officers sworn in today and on behalf of 8.5 million New Yorkers, thank you for choosing to serve.”
“This new recruit class reflects the surge in interest we’ve seen to join the police force since expanding eligibility,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “We’re not just growing the NYPD — we’re making sure the department has the people it needs to meet this moment. By modernizing our standards and opening more doors, we’re giving thousands of New Yorkers a real opportunity to serve. Under Mayor Adams’ leadership, we’re focused on execution, getting the right people through the door and giving them the tools, training, and support to succeed.”
In February 2025, after Mayor Adams directed her to develop a plan to recruit and retain more officers, NYPD Commissioner Tisch announced a three-part plan to attract more candidates and modernize education requirements to address the hiring crisis the NYPD has faced in recent years. The NYPD was one of the only remaining big-city municipal police forces in the country with a college credit requirement — setting up the NYPD to not only compete for applicants with other local agencies, but also with other major cities nationwide. As a result of the changes announced in February, the department reduced barriers to employment by reforming the required college credit minimum to enter the Police Academy from 60 credits to 24 credits. The new plan also emphasizes physical fitness by reinstating the previous longstanding requirement of completing a timed 1.5-mile run. Additionally, a recent reassessment conducted by the National College Credit Recommendation Service determined that the completion of the six-month NYPD Police Academy recruit training program is equivalent to 45 college credits, an increase from the previous 36 credits. Graduates of the academy will now enter the NYPD with a minimum of 69 college credits.
Over 5,000 previously ineligible candidates on 29 active civil services lists were contacted, and over 4,000 within this candidate pool expressed interest in reopening their cases. Of that group, more than 1,300 have already reported to the NYPD’s Candidate Assessment Unit to take the next steps in their hiring process. Following this expanded eligibility, the NYPD has seen daily applications increase by almost 45 percent, from an average of 56 applications per day to 81 applications per day.
In the past month alone, over 1,172 individuals have already filed to take the next police exam, representing a renewed interest among New Yorkers to serve New York City and become a police officer. Since the announcement of the change of college credits in February 2025, over 9,700 new filers have applied to take the police officer exam. To learn more about how to sign up, interested applicants can visit the NYPD recruitment website. The current filing period ends on May 20, 2025, and the exam will be given beginning on June 17, 2025.
