The New York Police Department is facing a serious overtime problem—and it’s getting worse. Halfway through the fiscal year, the department has already spent more than its entire overtime budget, shelling out over $1 billion. Meanwhile, officers are leaving at an alarming rate, and recruitment efforts are falling flat.

Take Angeliesse and Mike Nesterwitz, for example. The couple, both former N.Y.P.D. officers, decided to leave their high-paying jobs in New York for a quieter life in Florida. Despite earning over $100,000 each annually, they found themselves constantly stuck in mandatory overtime shifts, leaving little time for a personal life—or even to see each other.

“We were going to get a house, but we thought, ‘Are we even going to enjoy it?’” Mike said. “I want to work to live, not live to work.”

Their story is just one of many. The department has been leaning heavily on overtime to fill staffing gaps, but it’s come at a steep cost. In the 2024 fiscal year, overtime spending doubled the budgeted amount, hitting a staggering $1 billion. This reliance on overtime has also raised concerns about corruption, including a high-profile scandal involving a top officer accused of coercing a subordinate in exchange for overtime pay.

To tackle the issue, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch has started cracking down on overtime hours. But this move could backfire, as thousands of officers might retire early to protect their pensions. Recruitment isn’t any easier—the number of people signing up for the entrance exam has plummeted by more than half since 2017.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it,” Commissioner Tisch said recently. “We’re facing real recruitment challenges. We used to have people waiting years to join the academy. Now, we’re practically begging them to take the exam.”

With officers leaving faster than they can be replaced and budgets spiraling out of control, the N.Y.P.D. has its hands full trying to keep New York safe while managing this growing crisis.