revamp in department discipline

THE NYPD’s process for handling misbehaving cops is being revamped to shift disciplinary power to precinct commanders for lower-level offenses, the Daily News has learned.

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton wants the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau to mainly tackle major corruption cases. Currently, all department charges against cops are investigated by the bureau.

That has stretched resources thin at the investigatory unit and bogged down some disciplinary cases for years.

“It’s definitely a good move to try to streamline and outsource it to the precinct commanders,” said Joseph Pollini, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Ex-Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly had Internal Affairs handle low-level offenses, like hunting down cops accused of using bogus parking placards, the retired police captain added.

Precinct bosses have a range of so-called “command discipline” punishments they can mete out to officers slacking off. That includes a public admonishment and docking up to 10 vacation days.

As for more serious offenses, Bratton and department brass have the power to suspend officers without pay for 30 days. Civil Service laws kick in afterward and require the department to put the officers back to work with full pay.

But those cops are typically placed on modified duty without their badges and guns until their cases are resolved.

As part of the disciplinary system facelift, Bratton has already reduced the number of cops on modified duty. There were 342 in 2009 and 240 by the end of last year, records obtained via a Freedom of Information Law request show.

There are now approximately 260 modified cops without guns or badges, records show.

The number of so-called “rubber-gun squad” officers has dropped in part due to the NYPD’s suspension review board clearing cases faster, NYPD insiders said.

The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association hailed the disciplinary changes, saying they would “go a long way to improving the morale of police officers.”