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Staffing at New York City courts has plummeted to \u201cbleak\u201d levels \u2014 potentially endangering judges, jurors and the public in what the union president called a \u201cpowder keg\u201d situation.<\/p>\n
The New York State Supreme Court Officers Association says that up to 35% of posts are unfilled in the city and that applications have plummeted from over 110,000 a decade ago to only 28,000 in the most recent exam \u2014 a drop of over 70%.<\/p>\n
That translates to more violence, more officers out on injuries and less justice, as low officer staffing numbers means fewer courtrooms can operate at a time, the union and a longtime court officer said.<\/p>\n
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Staffing levels are so low at the city\u2019s courthouses that the union president is calling the situation a \u201cpowder keg.\u201d Paul Martinka<\/p>\n
Shawn Hobson, a recently retired officer, told The Post that unless something changes, the future of the city\u2019s courthouses looks \u201cbleak and very dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
So many officers have left for other departments, Hobson said, that nobody takes a lunch break, and judges have to rush through their daily slates of cases since low staffing enables fewer courtrooms to operate at a time.<\/p>\n
The pressures from low staffing also means increased risk of errors in security screening, Hobson said, where they frequently confiscate weapons like knives, guns and, once, a hand grenade.<\/p>\n
New York State Supreme Court Officers Association president Pat Cullen, a sergeant with 25 years under his belt at Bronx Supreme Criminal Court, said the decimated staffing levels are especially dangerous in criminal courts because of frequent fights between people looking to settle scores or rough up officers.<\/p>\n
That violence can include slashings, stabbings and even shootings, putting judges, jurors, attorneys and others at risk.<\/p>\n
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A gang-related stabbing inside Manhattan criminal court earlier this year was nearly fatal. Steven Hirsch<\/p>\n
In January alone, court officers responded to a nearly fatal stabbing<\/a> inside a Manhattan Criminal Court hallway.<\/p>\n \u201cImagine if there were 10 or 15 fewer officers on that day \u2014 would he have died?\u201d Cullen said. \u201cIf we don\u2019t feel safe at work, how is the public supposed to feel safe?\u201d<\/p>\n Both the union head and the recently-retired longtime court officer blamed controversial \u201cTier 6\u201d pension reforms instituted by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo for decimating the ranks.<\/p>\n Shawn Hobson recently retired as a city court officer after 27 years, and called the future of the city\u2019s courts \u201cbleak\u201d and \u201cdangerous.\u201d Courtesy of Shawn Hobson<\/p>\n \u201cCuomo has been nothing but an enemy to the working people, though he would like to imagine otherwise,\u201d said Cullen.<\/p>\n Hobson said Tier 6 destroyed interest in what was once a competitive and desirable job.<\/p>\n \u201cMorale is horrible, it used to be a really good job,\u201d said Hobson, who retired last summer after 27 years \u2014 and two years after a violent Brooklyn Courthouse incident resulted in seven surgeries, including a full knee replacement.<\/p>\n An FN Five-seveN handgun discovered by NY State Supreme Court Officers outside Bronx Criminal Court just weeks ago. New York State Court Officers Association<\/p>\n \u201cPeople just are not happy anymore,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople are retiring, and a lot of people are out hurt, which leaves the numbers very low in some buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n When implemented in 2012, Tier 6 slashed pension benefits<\/a> and raised the retirement age by nearly a decade \u2014 regardless of how many years served on the job.<\/p>\n That means a 21-year-old court officer starting out who could have retired after 30 years of public service now had to work 42 years.<\/p>\n \u201cThe job is not attractive any more,\u201d Cullen said, who added that salaries also haven\u2019t increased to reverse the decline of applicants.<\/p>\n The decimated staffing levels are especially dangerous in criminal courts because of frequent fights between people looking to settle scores, the union president said. Christopher Sadowski<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, it\u2019s Tier 6,\u201d he said. \u201cThe chickens have come home to roost.\u201d<\/p>\n Cullen said the union has been trying to stanch the bleeding by moving two dozen officers who volunteered to transfer to Brooklyn Criminal Court \u2014 a \u201cpowder keg\u201d with a \u201cmassive gang problem\u201d \u2014 but claimed that the state Office of Court Administration is blocking the effort.<\/p>\n \u201cWe went through the proper channels to make a severely dangerous situation better,\u201d Cullen said, adding that the situation is so bad, the union made a website <\/a>to advocate for the transfers.<\/p>\n President of the officer\u2019s union, Pat Cullen, claims that the office of court administrators are currently blocking one effort by the union to stanch the bleeding by refusing to allow two dozen officers who volunteered to transfer to Brooklyn criminal court. Paul Martinka<\/p>\n Over the last 18 months, over 620 officers have joined the court system, according to OCA spokesperson Al Baker, with another class of 250 recruits scheduled to begin at the end of June.<\/p>\n \u201cThese new recruit numbers are extraordinarily high and without precedent,\u201d Baker said. \u201cUniformed supervisors are constantly reviewing staffing levels in all of our courthouses and, where appropriate and permissible under civil service laws and rules, adjusting staffing levels.\u201d<\/p>\n A longtime Cuomo aide said Tier 6 was created 15 years ago \u201cwhen there was a real fear of municipal bankruptcy.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Shawn](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/f6cc6c872803cf5af6fc14c6366a9b36.jpeg\"\/)
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