The majority of 911 calls routed to the NYPD last year were described by dispatchers as unrelated to criminal activity, according to a new study released Wednesday by a criminal justice reform group.
The nonprofit Vera Institute analyzed more than 3.6 million calls that resulted in a police response in 2025 and found only 42% were labeled by 911 dispatchers as “crime related.”
More often than not, cops were sent to handle non-crime related complaints, ranging from personal disputes to utility problems to traffic conditions to vehicle accidents, the study contends.
Only 28% of 911 calls were reporting a crime in progress, mostly assault, larceny and harassment, and only 9% of calls involved reporting violent crimes, the analysis found. Most of the calls (53%) were for “possible crimes” such as suspicious persons or suspected drug activity, while another 19% were reporting “past crimes.”
The Vera Institute’s researchers found most of the calls steered to police (58%) were in response to what they deemed to be “non-crime related” activity — a finding that triggered their recommendation that the NYPD and City Hall look for ways to create a civilian non-police response to many of these calls.
Researchers included in this “non-crime” category 911 mental health crisis calls, the vast majority of which are steered to police because dispatchers deemed there was a potential for violence, as THE CITY has reported.
Some of these police responses have resulted in tragedy, including the shooting in January of Jabez Chakraborty, a 22-year-old man diagnosed with schizophrenia who was experiencing a psychotic break inside his family’s home in Queens.
“If there isn’t a perceived public safety risk, it’s conceivable that someone without a badge and gun could respond,” Daniela Gilbert, director of Vera’s Redefining Public Safety initiative told THE CITY. “If more than half of the calls are not crime related and the NYPD is uniquely suited to address crime, then we clearly need an alternative to these responses.”
Groups such as Correct Crisis Intervention Today (CCIT) have long advocated for a non-police response to mental health crisis calls, pushing instead for trained clinicians with experience interacting with people in crisis to show up instead of cops carrying guns.
There have been 24 police interactions over the last 10 years where the subjects of the call have wound up fatally shot or tasered.
Vera’s report comes as Mayor Zohran Mamdani has proposed a Department of Community Safety that would seek to reduce the number of police responses to these calls. Mamdani has yet to release details on the new agency or say who will run it but he promised to speed up a forthcoming announcement after the shooting of Chakraborty, who survived and now faces attempted assault charges.
Sam Raskin, a spokesperson for the mayor, said in response to THE CITY’s inquiry about the study, “As the mayor has said, we ask too much of our police officers. They are dispatched to respond to mental health crises and nearly every failure of our social safety net. Their core role should be the one they signed up for — tackling violent crime.”
“That’s why the Mamdani administration is developing the Department of Community Safety so that when New Yorkers call for help in a mental health crisis, the City sends mental health specialists,” he added. “By doing so, we allow police officers to focus on the responsibilities that are central to their mission, while building a safer city for everyone.”
In response to THE CITY’s inquiry, an NYPD spokesperson disputed the institute’s characterization of “non-crime” 911 calls, stating that many of these calls have the potential to involve criminal activity, particularly those about personal disputes and disorderly groups.
The NYPD spokesperson noted that the Vera study counted some disputes with weapons and domestic violence calls as “non-violent,” including a handful of bomb threats.
“This report fundamentally mischaracterizes when and why police officers are dispatched to emergencies,” NYPD spokesperson Erika Tannor said. “The authors lead New Yorkers to believe that calls involving anything from a possible bomb, to a suspicious package or dispute with a firearm, are characterized as ‘non-crime call types.’ This is obviously inaccurate and does not reflect the work our officers do to keep New Yorkers safe.”
A spokesperson for Vera noted that the analysis included a limited number of nonviolent domestic dispute calls in the conflict resolution category because in at least three other cities, alternative response programs respond to domestic dispute calls.
Another issue is that Vera put into the “non-crime” category “quality of life” 911 calls. Last spring, at the direction of Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, the department began zeroing in on these types of calls, and starting July 1 dispatchers began labeling calls in that category. Through the end of last year, there were 155,000 such calls, the 911 data examined by Vera show.
While the data don’t specify the nature of these calls, the NYPD has said they commonly involve noise complaints, illegal vending, issues with e-bikes and abandoned vehicles.
“Those circumstances are pretty similar to interpersonal disputes” that could be handled by “someone aware of community based resources” who can “develop a mutually agreeable solution,” Gilbert said.
“Everyone has a right to be safe and feel safe,” she said, “[but] if there are environmental conditions that are affecting quality of life, it’s not clear that a law enforcement response genuinely addresses these issues.”
Gilbert, who was a member of Mamdani’s transition team on criminal justice issues, says the institute recommends that the city “engage call-takers, dispatchers, alternative responders and New Yorkers with lived experience of the 911 system in the development and oversight of the city’s crisis response strategy.” That includes training to better analyze the needs of the caller seeking help before automatically dispatching police.
“Research shows that the vast majority of these (non-crime) calls would be better served by alternative responders trained in mental and behavioral health, de-escalation and mediation,” the report stated.
