How does NYPD compare to other major US cities and international peers? Are we improving or declining over time?
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We operate in an information vacuum. Without comparative data, we cannot determine if NYPD is performing well or poorly.
What We Know: NYPD costs increased 120% over 10 years (FY2014-2025 overtime). Manhattan costs $74,216 per clearance vs Bronx $11,830 (6.3x difference).
What We Do Not Know: How these numbers compare to LA, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, or international peers. Whether we are improving or declining over time. What best practices exist that we should adopt.
Without comparative and historical data, we are flying blind on a $6 billion annual investment.
NYC vs LA, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia
If comparable cities solve more crimes with fewer resources, we should learn from them. If we perform better, we should celebrate and share best practices. Context is essential for accountability.
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) clearance data for major cities + budget data
FBI UCR database query: "Clearance rates by crime type for cities with 1M+ population (2020-2025)" + FOIL requests to LA, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia police departments for budget data
Are we over-staffed or under-staffed?
NYC might be dramatically over-staffed or under-staffed relative to comparable cities. Understanding this drives budget allocation and staffing decisions. Critical for determining if we need more officers or better deployment.
NYPD headcount + comparable city police department sizes + population data
FBI UCR database: "Full-time law enforcement employees by city (2020-2025)" + Census Bureau population estimates
Budget per resident comparison
If NYC spends twice as much per capita but achieves similar results, that is wasteful. If we spend less but achieve worse results, we may be under-investing. Cost per capita reveals efficiency relative to population served.
Total NYPD budget + population data + comparable city police budgets
Compile from city budget documents: NYC, LA, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia police department total budgets (FY2020-2025)
Cost efficiency comparison
The ultimate efficiency metric. If LA solves murders for $10k each while NYC spends $50k, we need to understand why. This reveals management effectiveness and operational efficiency.
Cost per clearance calculations for comparable cities (budget ÷ clearances)
Combination of FBI UCR clearance data + city budget data to calculate cost per clearance by crime type
Precinct count, management layers, technology
If LA has 21 precincts and we have 77, and they are more efficient, structure matters. Understanding what high-performing departments do differently drives actionable reforms.
Organizational structure data from comparable police departments
FOIL-equivalent requests to peer cities: "Organizational charts, precinct/division count, command structure, technology investments"
Best practices to learn from
If Philadelphia cut costs 30% while improving clearance rates, we need to study how. Learning from cities that have successfully reformed is the fastest path to improvement.
Multi-year trend data for clearance rates and budgets across major cities
FBI UCR historical data (2015-2025) + historical budget data from city budget documents
Similar size city, different policing model
London has comparable population and complexity but different policing philosophy. Understanding their clearance rates, costs, and outcomes provides valuable international perspective.
London Met Police performance data + budget data
London Met Police publishes annual reports with clearance rates and budget data. Requires compilation and conversion to comparable metrics.
World's safest megacity
Tokyo has dramatically lower crime rates and higher clearance rates than NYC. While cultural differences exist, their operational practices (koban neighborhood policing, technology use) may offer lessons.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police performance and structural data
Tokyo Metropolitan Police annual reports (available in English) + academic studies on Japanese policing effectiveness
Similar North American context
Toronto is comparable in North American context (diverse, large, similar legal system). Their performance and costs provide a useful benchmark for what is achievable in similar conditions.
Toronto Police Service performance and budget data
Toronto Police Service annual reports + Toronto city budget documents (publicly available)
Historical cost and clearance trends
We have 12 years of overtime data showing dramatically WORSENING efficiency. FY2014 overtime: $614M. FY2025 projected: $1.35B (120% increase). However, we only have Q1 2025 clearance data, so we cannot determine if clearance rates improved proportionally to justify the cost increase. Based on cost trends alone, efficiency is clearly declining.
Long-term performance trends
Without historical clearance data, we cannot determine if NYPD performance is improving or declining. This is fundamental accountability. Every business tracks performance over time. Why does NYPD hide this?
Historical NYPD clearance rates by crime type and borough
FOIL request: "Annual clearance rates by crime type and borough for 2005-2025"
Value for money trending
We can calculate worsening cost trends: Detective compensation increased from FY2014 to FY2024 (part of overall budget growth). Overtime exploded 120%. But without historical clearance rates, we cannot calculate historical cost per clearance. The trend is clearly negative based on cost increases alone.
Learning from our own history
If specific policy changes (CompStat, neighborhood policing, technology investments) improved clearance rates, we should double down. If changes worsened performance, we should reverse them. Evidence-based policy requires historical analysis.
Historical clearance data + timeline of major NYPD policy changes
FOIL request: "Documentation of major NYPD policy changes, pilot programs, and organizational restructuring (2005-2025)" + historical clearance data
The Isolation Problem: NYPD operates without meaningful benchmarks. We do not know if our clearance rates are good or bad, if our costs are reasonable or excessive, if our structure is efficient or wasteful.
The Historical Blindness: We have 12 years of cost data showing expenses rising 120%, but NYPD refuses to release historical clearance data. This prevents us from determining if we are getting better value, worse value, or the same value over time.
The Learning Gap: Other cities have reformed successfully. Philadelphia reduced costs while improving clearance rates. LA consolidated precincts and improved efficiency. We cannot learn from them without comparative data.
The International Perspective: London, Tokyo, and Toronto face similar challenges with different approaches. Understanding what works internationally could dramatically improve NYC outcomes.
The Bottom Line: Every question in this section is answerable with publicly available data from other jurisdictions. NYPD chooses not to provide the data needed for meaningful comparison. This is not an accident - it is a strategy to avoid accountability.