New York City – The number of people interested in taking the NYPD exam is cratering, likely hitting a new low as the city struggles to fill the positions left vacant by senior officers leaving in droves, The New York Post has reported.
In 2023, the NYPD has given the Police Officer Exam just twice — once in March and again last week.
The NYPD expected about 3,000 test takers for the winter exam – but only about 1,300 signed up.
The number of potential cops who took the Thursday test wasn’t immediately available, but insiders said it was low again — despite extending the registration period by a month and waiving the $40 fee.
“The NYPD’s best recruiting tool has always been word of mouth,” Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry told The Post. “But right now the word is, ‘Stay away.’”
In 2017, 18,463 people took two exams. In 2019, 14,127 cops sat for just one exam and in 2022, the NYPD had only 6,489 test takers for three exams — a stunning 65 percent drop from 2017, police sources said.
In stark contrast, no exam was given between 2015 and 2016 because the NYPD had “too many applicants,” a police source said, adding that the department had a list of 40,000 certified candidates.
The low recruitment numbers come as experienced members of the NYPD have been retiring in record numbers.
Even some cops who have been on the job for years don’t want their loved ones to join.
“Patrol treats people like s—,” said a police officer with more than two decades on the job. “I told my son to do something else.”
A cop with nearly 30 years with the NYPD said: “The job is never happy.”
