Police Expertise: The Captain's Retiring

I can help (a little) with one of the questions.

All ranks up to and including Captain require passing a civil service exam that is administered every 2 years. There was an article in the NY Post a couple of years ago noting that a lot of officers don't want to be Captain (and won't take the exam) because under certain circumstances they can make more money including overtime as a Lieutenant. A new Captain would most likely come from a different division. Above Captain they are appointed from the top and discretionary.

There are always internal postings for job openings which anyone eligible can apply for, but there is likely (probably) a political component as to who gets the plum jobs. Who got what promotion would be heard by gossip long before any official circular from HR went around.

Since your questions are NYPD specific, I can only give you generic answers.

Retirement eligibility is a matter of age and time of service (e.g., 50 and 20 years of service). Longer service will enhance the pension annuity amount on a specific escalating scale. Paperwork (retirement forms) are required - after all, it is a bureaucracy; and if it's not on paper, it didn't happen.

The vacancy may be filled by a competitive promotion process or a lateral transfer (a captain from another precinct/division is transferred into the slot). That, of course, may precipitate another promotion process to fill the gap he/she left; it'll depend upon the needs of the department at the time.

Notifications (electronic and hard copy) would be department-wide upon official sanction. However, the internal grapevine would buzz with the news well in advance.

A new squad/division commander has some discretion (assignments, scheduling, etc.), but wholesale restructuring is generally not within that purview.

I hope you find this helpful. Maybe you can get a NYPD veteran to chime in with more specific details. Best of Luck!

The retiring captain would tell his first line supervisors (lieutenants and sergeants) before announcing the news to the entire squad. The truth is that the rumor mill would have likely beaten him to the punch, to be candid. The lieutenants then would plan (or delegate the planning) the retirement party (usually held on or immediately after close of shift on his last day).

Firing or demoting a detective has to be for cause. That's a personnel action that must adhere to established protocols and procedures. It gets very convoluted and protracted; there'd be union involvement as well. Don't go there if you can avoid it.

You'd be better off working out a temporary assignment for this "problem detective" like having him detailed (indefinitely) to an ad hoc task force under some other chain of command.