Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) is trying to solve a New York State Police officer retention problem by raising their mandatory retirement age from 60 to 63.
New York has had problems staffing its top police agency despite a majority of state residents saying they are concerned they will be a victim of a crime.
Hochul’s administration is anticipating that the retirement age raise will buy time for them to recruit more troops.
“It’s keeping people with the skill set on longer as we on-board more troopers,” New York Budget Director Blake Washington told Politico. “They’re a real asset to keep around a little longer. A couple extra years goes a long way.”
However, the top union for state police in New York has mixed feelings about the proposition. While it acknowledged retention is a problem, it believes raising the retirement age for troopers isn’t necessarily the solution.
“There are more effective approaches to accomplish this goal,” said Police Benevolent Association of New York State President Charles Murphy.
“Our union will continue to advocate for policies that provide fairer treatment for well-qualified candidates with out-of-state law enforcement experience and military service, who deserve credit for their hard work toward their pensions,” he added.
The United States is in the middle of a police recruiting crisis that has led some small towns to disband their local police forces and increasingly rely on state police to enforce the law or stretch neighboring police departments further. Frankfort, a central New York village, voted to dissolve its police department after job openings in the agency found few to no applicants. The dissolution of its police department passed on responsibilities to a larger town.
“We put out that we have jobs available, and no one applies,” said Frankfort Mayor Justin Smithson.
New York has about 3,500 uniformed state police officers. These officers are responsible for patrolling highways across the state and responding to 911 calls.
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State police also supplement National Guard troops in New York City’s subways. Hochul announced in March 2024 the deployment of 1,000 state police, National Guard soldiers, and MTA personnel to the city’s subways to ensure security and conduct bag checks.
Subway safety is a primary concern in New York City, with residents worried about incidents such as a man being pushed onto the tracks on New Year’s Eve and a woman being set on fire while inside a train in December.
