Mamdani’s NYPD Watchdog Runs On Fumes As Oversight Office Shrivels

New York’s independent police watchdog is operating a lot leaner than it used to, and the staffing crunch is making it harder for the city to keep tabs on NYPD policy from the outside. Mayor Zohran Mamdani ran on boosting independent scrutiny of the police, yet months into his administration, the office tasked with that job is still running with a skeleton crew.

As reported by Streetsblog New York City, the Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD now has about 10 staffers, a steep drop from as many as 37 in 2017. The Department of Investigation says it currently has funding to hire only two more people. Even if those slots are filled, the unit would have roughly one investigator for every 2,400 NYPD officers.

The Department of Investigation’s Twelfth Annual Report, released April 15, 2026, details recent OIG‑NYPD work and notes that as of December 31, 2025, the office had five investigations that had been open for between six months and one year, among other metrics, according to the Department of Investigation. The city’s inspectors‑general directory still lists Jeanene Barrett as the NYPD inspector general and gives the OIG‑NYPD office address as 180 Maiden Lane, even though she says she left the job in December, according to the Department of Investigation.

On LinkedIn, Jeanene Barrett wrote that “On December 19, I concluded my service as Inspector General for the NYPD,” describing her departure as the start of a new chapter after leading the office. Her LinkedIn post drew dozens of public reactions and confirms she stepped away late last year.

The city’s comptroller sounded the alarm about the office’s slide last year, noting that OIG‑NYPD launched in 2014 with 43 budgeted positions, hit a high of 37 staffers in 2017, then fell to single‑digit filled positions by 2025. A detailed New York City Comptroller's Office letter from Comptroller Brad Lander laid out the shrinking staffing and budget and urged the city to restore the office’s capacity.

“Only a fully funded inspector general can lead to policy changes by lawmakers and the NYPD itself,” former Civilian Complaint Review Board investigator Mac Muir told Streetsblog New York City, arguing that meaningful systemic reviews require steady, long‑term staffing, not occasional audits. Advocates say the thinner the bench, the wider the gap between policy recommendations and real‑world change.

Hiring, job posts and the clock

The city has at least signaled interest in rebuilding the leadership ranks. A City Jobs posting from April 15, 2025, describes a Co‑Inspector General role that would share leadership of OIG‑NYPD and oversee investigators, analysts and outreach staff. The NYC City Jobs listing notes that appointments are subject to Office of Management & Budget approval and that hiring is tied to budgeted headcount, so the clock on filling those roles is tethered to the city’s broader budget choices.

Politics and promises

Progressives initially applauded Mamdani’s campaign pledge to amplify outside watchdogs on policing, but some allies say that commitment lost momentum after he decided to keep NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch in place. Documented has reported that Tisch defended NYPD tools such as the gang database even as the administration has moved carefully on oversight reforms.

Why staffing gaps matter

OIG‑NYPD’s reports, including a January 2025 review of NYPD social‑media use and an October 2025 update on the department’s criminal group database, are meant to flag systemic problems and recommend fixes. With only about a dozen investigators and limited authority to bring in new hires, watchdogs warn the office may struggle to follow through on its own recommendations, maintain large multi‑year reviews or push for the sustained policy shifts that take months or years of investigation.

Advocates and some elected officials say the real test now is whether City Hall restores funding and quickly names a permanent inspector general who has enough staff to do broad, systemic work. The comptroller has pressed for concrete steps to rebuild the unit and has floated structural protections for its budget so that the office is not quietly hollowed out again in the future.