New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. today released a follow-up audit that recommends the New York City Police Department shift 831 uniformed officers out of administrative jobs and fill those positions with civilians - saving the City $15.2 million annually. The Comptroller also asked the NYPD to review all of its administrative and enforcement units to locate additional positions that can be civilianized so that officers can be moved into enforcement roles.

"Civilianization provides an opportunity to save costs and increase patrol strength," Thompson said. "The Department should adopt a policy that recognizes that civilianization is a good way to achieve both of these goals."

The new report is a follow-up to the Comptroller's "Audit Report on the Opportunities for Savings through Civilianization in the New York City Police Department," released in February 1999. That audit recommended the NYPD civilianize 1,257 positions, for annual savings of $36.2 million.

The NYPD announced earlier this year that it would civilianize 800 positions, but that these would all be located in precincts and other enforcement units. The Comptroller subsequently performed a follow-up audit that focused upon administrative units, and found that civilianization still should take place in 26 of the 34 administrative units that were reviewed as of Feb. 14, 2002, which could yield yearly savings of $15.2 million by employing 831 civilians.

"What needs to be recognized is that no matter what the baseline uniformed officer headcount might be, and no matter what portion of the headcount is used for enforcement, additional savings are generally available as long as there are uniformed officer positions that are civilianizable," said Thompson.

The follow-up audit additionally discovered that 20 of the 34 administrative units had displayed a 521-person staffing increase since the original report. Thompson recommends the NYPD review these administrative units in light of the City's present budget crisis to determine if reassignment of some of the staff would be appropriate.

"The Department should reduce enforcement strength only as a last resort," he said. "If budget cuts are necessary in the Police Department, enforcement cuts should be the last, not the first, cuts made."

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