Mayoral hopeful Scott Stringer is spelling out his plan to recruit and retain cops among the depleted ranks of the NYPD — by proposing reduced hours and on-site daycare for working parents.
“Improving public safety requires ensuring our city has enough officers on the beat, and the truth is, it’s not just budgetary restrictions preventing us from having the amount of officers we need; it’s a recruitment and retention crisis,” Stringer said.
“I am the only candidate with the patience and skills to implement a recruitment and retention plan to ensure we have a truly world-class force to keep New York City safe.”
Over the last six years, the NYPD has lost roughly 3,000 officers, with its headcount dwindling down to just under 33,500 cops — as officers battle plunging morale, an overwhelming amount of forced overtime, and lousy pay compared to surrounding counties.
However, the former comptroller, whose campaign is still looking to cut through the crowded field of challengers, says his “comprehensive, multifaceted approach” will crack the case.
The plan hinges upon a massive recruitment campaign — which Stringer says will be a combination of grassroots outreach and advertising — pitching potential hires on the NYPD being the top place to police.
To improve morale and help with the challenges of raising a family as a cop, Stringer wants to create on-site daycare programs to retain the female members of the force, who make up just over a fifth of the workforce.
He is also proposing cutting mandatory overtime, staggering work schedules, making assignments months ahead of time and expanding the four-day workweek across the department, which was piloted under Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.
Nearly all the candidates in the Democratic primary to unseat incumbent Mayor Adams have vowed to add cops and address crime — a change in tune for nearly all the mayoral hopefuls, including Stringer, who pushed to reduce NYPD headcount.
Current frontrunner and former governor Andrew Cuomo — who nabbed 38% of support in the latest poll where Stringer garnered just 5% — has also proposed adding thousands of cops.
