#911 response times could increase if NYPD headcount is slashed, sources say

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NYPD cops at 161st Street and Grand Concourse in the Bronx.
J.C. Rice

NYPD 911 response times could jump by 22 percent — an average two minutes, 32 seconds  — if the department’s headcount is cut by the more than 3,000 cops under a rumored proposal by City Council, sources told The Post.

Lawmakers are considering shaving down the uniformed force from around 36,000 to about 33,000 to help eke out $1 billion in savings from the  NYPD’s $6 billion budget, Politico reported, citing a City Council source.

But that could mean crime victims will have to wait an average of 14 minutes for help instead of the current 11 minutes and 28 seconds.

The proportional rise in response times would have an outsize impact on the city’s hardest-scrabble neighborhoods.

In the South Bronx’s 40th Precinct, which has the highest number of shooting incidents of any command in the city so far this year, cops will likely take 14 minutes and 43 seconds to respond to a job if their numbers are cut — up more than two minutes from their current response time of about 12 minutes.

In the nearby 42 Precinct in the Morrisania sections of the Bronx, the response time is expected to kick up more than three minutes to 19:51 from 16:16, according to the sources.

The highest increase is expected in the 44th Precinct, which covers the neighborhood near Yankee Stadium, the sources said. There, officers’ response time to a crime in progress is projected to increase more than four minutes, from 18:18 to 22:20.

In Brooklyn’s 67 Precinct, which covers the East Flatbush neighborhood, the response time is expected to increase by close to three minutes, from 13:12 to 16:06.

The citywide average response time for crimes in progress is 11:28, according to sources.

The response times for calls other than ones reporting a crime in progress are expected to increase even more, with the Bronx’s 46 Precinct in Fordham expecting an increase of more than nine minutes, according to the sources.

City Councilman Joe Borelli, a Republican from Staten Island, said the projections will negatively impact low-income New Yorkers the most.

“The public must know the true cost and unfortunately it’s way more than $1 billion. Crime victims will only have those who shouted ‘defund the police’ to thank,” Borelli said.

“This will clearly impact vulnerable, low-income New Yorkers more than anyone else. It’s just bad policy,” he added.

The moves would not affect EMS response times.

The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.