Introduction to NYPD’s New Discipline Policy
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told the City Council on Tuesday that she is taking two measures toward stronger discipline against officers who violate rules — including boosting penalties for misconduct that occurs during street stops.
Background on NYPD’s Discipline Issues
At a hearing on the department’s proposed budget of $6.1 billion for the fiscal year that begins July 1, Tisch said most members of the force who violate department policy in relation to stopping individuals for questioning and frisks — including not turning on body-worn cameras — are disciplined with retraining.
“While I believe that retraining is an important piece of the disciplinary process for things that are unintentional, one-off mistakes, it is certainly not appropriate for repeated conduct or for intentional misconduct,” Tisch said at the hearing. “And what I saw was that too often or virtually all the time, for those types of things, the only discipline that we were giving out was retraining, and that makes our disciplinary system both not fair and not credible.”
New Discipline Policy
While not specifying the new standard for discipline, Tisch said she’s already issued a memo on the policy change and that she has started to track data on compliance on a broader level — largely related to street stops — and to hold precinct commanders accountable for how their officers perform.
“There needs to be accountability in the New York City Police Department for this kind of thing,” she told the Council.
History of NYPD’s Discipline Issues
The NYPD has been under the watch of a federal monitor for over a decade after a federal judge ruled in August 2013 that the department had been unconstitutionally implementing its practice of stop and frisk.
Despite the years of oversight, the department has struggled to come into compliance, with a court-ordered review that was released in September finding that the NYPD had repeatedly failed to discipline its members who violated the stop and frisk policy.
Comparison to Previous Commissioners
Even a small move toward stricter discipline is a sharp departure from Tisch’s predecessors under Mayor Eric Adams.
His first commissioner, Keechant Sewell, declined to discipline or reduced the punishment for hundreds of officers in her first year who were found to have committed misconduct by the Civilian Complaint Review Board, a government agency that investigates and administratively prosecutes officers for certain misconduct. She also took steps to lessen the presumed penalty for a host of infractions in 2023.
Former NYPD commissioner Edward Caban unilaterally reduced or nixed discipline for hundreds of officers accused of misconduct at rates much higher than other commissioners.
Changes to Statute of Limitations Policy
The NYPD had argued they weren’t afforded enough time to properly review the cases, but its move effectively reduced the CCRB’s time limit for closing cases from 18 months to 16 months.
According to CCRB records, the NYPD cited the statute of limitations in dismissing 343 cases in 2022, 176 cases in 2023 and 890 cases last year where the board had substantiated misconduct by officers.
Tisch said on Tuesday she is also amending that policy, announcing that the department would no longer automatically dismiss cases brought by the CCRB that are within 60 days of the expiration of the 18-month time limit.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch testifies at a Council budget hearing, March 11, 2025. Credit: Emil Cohen/NYC Council Media Uni
She said the department will do its best to review those cases when they come rather than rejecting them out of hand.
Dr. Mohammad Khalid, interim chair for the CCRB, said he welcomed the change.
“I am encouraged by the NYPD’s change to their short SOL [Statute of Limitations] policy and commitment to process all disciplinary recommendations,” he said in a statement. “The CCRB will continue to work hard to shorten case timelines so that we are able to send these recommendations in a timely fashion.”
Mayor Adams’ Unfulfilled Promises
When Adams ran for mayor in 2021, he highlighted two measures he said he would take to bolster NYPD discipline: Speeding up the disciplinary process and publishing the names of officers on an internal department watch list for concerning behavior.
Adams repeated the pledge to speed discipline last year, promising to cut case processing time in half.
The list has not been published and the administration has not announced any major changes to the discipline process.
Conclusion
The new discipline policy announced by Commissioner Tisch is a step towards increasing accountability within the NYPD. By boosting penalties for misconduct and amending the statute of limitations policy, the department is taking steps to ensure that officers who commit misconduct are held accountable.
FAQs
Q: What changes is the NYPD making to its discipline policy?
A: The NYPD is boosting penalties for misconduct that occurs during street stops and amending its statute of limitations policy to no longer automatically dismiss cases brought by the CCRB that are within 60 days of the expiration of the 18-month time limit.
Q: Why is the NYPD making these changes?
A: The NYPD is making these changes to increase accountability within the department and to ensure that officers who commit misconduct are held accountable.
Q: What has been the history of the NYPD’s discipline issues?
A: The NYPD has been under the watch of a federal monitor for over a decade and has struggled to come into compliance with court-ordered reviews.
Q: How does this new policy differ from previous commissioners?
A: The new policy is a sharp departure from Tisch’s predecessors under Mayor Eric Adams, who declined to discipline or reduced the punishment for hundreds of officers found to have committed misconduct.
