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CCRB tells City Council it needs $65.1 million and 500 staff to speed police-misconduct investigations
Summary
The Civilian Complaint Review Board told the New York City Council it needs $65,094,437 and an authorized headcount of 500 to reduce investigation backlogs, end a resource-allocation policy that closes certain complaints without full probes, and improve timelines aided by body-worn camera evidence.
An agency official for the Civilian Complaint Review Board told the New York City Council that the CCRB's fiscal year 2027 budget request would provide $65,094,437 and an authorized headcount of 500, a roughly $36 million and 233-staff increase over the enacted FY26 budget.
The official said the CCRB received 5,617 complaints and 22,172 allegations in 2025, fully investigated 2,070 complaints and 14,953 allegations, and substantiated 987 complaints and 3,173 allegations affecting 1,357 individual members of service. "That means the CCRB substantiated 21.22% of the allegations we fully investigated," the agency official said, and added that CCRB substantiated at least one allegation in 47.68% of the fully investigated complaints.
The agency official framed the request as necessary to address long investigation timelines and a growing intake. "In 2025, on average, it took 432 days to close a fully investigated case," the official said, calling that the fastest average in five years but still "too long." The CCRB asked the council to fund hiring, upgrade investigator salaries and expand units so cases can be completed more quickly.
Council members pressed the CCRB about how it would hire that many staff quickly and whether salary levels were a primary retention problem. The CCRB said it had identified a dedicated recruiter and planned outreach to CUNY and other local hiring pools; it also said the budget would allow investigator salaries to be set at a level that supports internal promotion and retention. The agency gave current investigator starting salaries: $49,148 for level 1, about $58,000 for level 2, and $80,469 for an incumbent level 3 investigator.
The board official also defended a change the agency implemented called the Strategic Resource Allocation Determination (SRAD), enacted Jan. 1, 2024 when staffing fell short of demand. SRAD closed certain complaints as "unable to investigate" when they appeared in isolation; the CCRB reported roughly 1,390 complaints closed under SRAD in 2025 and said SRAD was unfair to civilians and officers because it left incidents without resolution.
Body-worn-camera evidence figured prominently in the discussion. The CCRB said it requested 3,010 pieces of body-worn-camera footage in 2025, received 2,430 positive responses comprising 25,818 videos, and that unredacted video usually arrived within eight calendar days. The agency official said camera footage had reduced "unable to determine" findings and improved the percentage of cases resolved on the merits.
The official acknowledged other structural bottlenecks: the CCRB reported it currently has 11 of 15 required board members in place, resulting in panel-review delays (the agency said fully investigated cases waited on average 156 days before review), and the Administrative Prosecution Unit has 23 staff and said it needs two more positions to manage administrative trials efficiently.
Council members asked about records and privacy for officers who are cleared. The CCRB replied that its records are governed by New York State's Freedom of Information Law and that the agency is reviewing FOIL disclosures to balance transparency and privacy.
No formal vote was taken during the testimony; the council's questioning session continued after the CCRB finished its presentation.
