NYPD overtime report shows risks, both legal and physical

High overtime demands on NYPD officers increase the risk of “negative policing outcomes” and legal liability for New York City, according to a report released Wednesday by the Department of Investigation.

The study, done under the Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD, a related DOI entity, reviewed data from 2019 to 2021 involving a sample of police officers and negative policing outcomes, known as NPOs. The analysis found that there was “significant” statistical correlation between overtime and cops being named in complaints, lawsuits and other disfavored outcomes like physical injury.

“How those risks weigh against the City’s public safety needs and the nature and extent of liability risk posed by overtime hours are significant issues beyond the scope of this Report and worthy of further study,” the document concluded.

Release of the report comes as NYPD overtime has exploded in recent months, primarily due to a surge of officers in the subways to combat crime in the transit system. Some of the overtime, costing an estimated $100 million, was mandatory and raised concerns among union officials that cops were being pushed to their limits of mental and physical endurance.

According to the DOI report, just an hour of overtime increases the odds of an officer having an NPO. The odds continue to increase as an officer works more overtime hours consecutively.

For example, the report said, if an officer works the average amount of overtime — 4 hours and 12 minutes consecutively — the odds that they will be the subject of a substantiated complaint by the Civilian Complaint Review Board the next day spikes by 36.8%. The odds an officer will be named in a lawsuit for an incident occurring the next day increases by 36.5%, and the chance that an NYPD cop will suffer a workplace injury the next day increases by 18.8%.

During a recent City Council budget hearing, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell acknowledged the pace of overtime couldn’t be sustained over the long term. In response, she recently initiated a special online overtime portal for cops who could volunteer for extra shifts and plan their personal lives accordingly.

Also Wednesday, the NYPD initiated a pilot program of 10- to 12-hour shifts in certain precinct areas of the Bronx — an effort under the recently approved police contract to allow officers to have more time for family matters. Under general procedures, cops work eight-hour shifts and often find themselves suddenly working unplanned overtime to handle late-breaking arrests and court appearances.

In a statement, the NYPD acknowledged that overtime is an important part of policing but said the vast majority of cops don’t get into any trouble during work hours.

“The NYPD thanks the DOI’s Office of the Inspector General for its report, and will evaluate each of its recommendations,” the department said in a statement. “Yet we can never lose sight of the fact that more than 90% of officers never face formal discipline during their career; that police action lawsuits have significantly declined in recent years; and that the vast majority of active uniformed officers do not have a single substantiated CCRB complaint against them. “

Among the recommendations in the OIG report: the need for the NYPD to develop and incorporate policies related to fatigue in its overtime procedures, creating a system to track off-duty employment hours of cops, and train officers in ways to cut down on fatigue.

The OIG report was framed as a starting point for further study since its statistical analysis was limited. The report also recommended that outside experts be commissioned to do a more comprehensive assessment of the costs and benefits of the NYPD’s use of overtime hours and make recommendations for “risk mitigation.”

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.com

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.