Andrew Cuomo aims to win the vote of New Yorkers by hiring at least 5,000 new police officers. During a visit to Harlem’s Mount Neboh Baptist Church, the former New York State governor announced that he plans to increase the number of officers by 15 percent if he is elected in November’s local elections.
“Increasing police presence deters crime, improves response rates to 911 calls, and provides the resources the Department needs to solve crimes,” reads a document expected to be released this week by Cuomo’s team first reported by the New York Post.
Cuomo predicts that as staffing increases, shifts will be better distributed. So overtime pay, which hit $1 billion last year, would also decrease. Indeed, Cuomo estimates that such a figure would be enough to cover the cost of hiring the 5,000 new officers. “A larger police force would reduce the level of mandatory overtime, which is one of the main complaints leading to the high level of neglect that the NYPD is currently experiencing. And to officers already hired, with a career step, Cuomo would increase pay based on years of service,” the former governor continued.
At present, the New York Police Department has 34,000 officers, the lowest figure in 30 years. Five years ago, at the height of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement sparked by the murder of George Floyd, the federal government had cut funding so hiring was down, with 36,300 employees in total.
Cuomo emphasizes crime and citizen safety, claiming that right now, New York is “in chaos.” Eric Adams had done the same in 2021 and managed to win the election. The two now find themselves competing against eight other candidates, with the former governor ahead of the current mayor by at least 20 points, leading 31 percent to 11 percent, according to the Quinnipiac University poll released March 5.
