Department of Investigation

The average time to close a DOI investigation rose from 214 days in Fiscal 2024 to 251 days in Fiscal 2025, which DOI's own reporting attributes to the mix of cases it handled that year: fewer, more complex investigations, often run jointly with prosecutors and other law enforcement partners, take longer to complete than a larger number of simpler ones. The Fiscal 2026 figure (a year-to-date average of 325 days through the first four months, per DOI's preliminary report) suggests this trend has continued.

Researched July 15, 2026 — DOI, Fiscal 2025 Mayor's Management Report, DOI, Fiscal 2026 Preliminary Mayor's Management Report

Corruption-prevention lectures more than tripled from 72 in Fiscal 2022 to 240 in Fiscal 2023, which DOI credits to a new outreach effort that brought lectures directly to Department of Sanitation garage locations, reaching over 9,300 employees who otherwise had limited access to its usual e-learning platform. The apparent drop to 120 in Fiscal 2026 is a year-to-date figure rather than a final total; DOI's own preliminary report shows it delivered 64 lectures in the first four months of the year and said it remained on track to meet or exceed its full-year target of 100.

Researched July 15, 2026 — DOI, Fiscal 2023 Mayor's Management Report, DOI, Fiscal 2026 Preliminary Mayor's Management Report

The average time to complete a background investigation has climbed since Fiscal 2022 largely because of staffing shortages in DOI's Background Investigation Unit. A December 2025 city Comptroller audit found the unit's staff fell from 25 people in January 2022 to 17 by October 2024 due to attrition and hiring freezes, even as new cases kept arriving; DOI's own Fiscal 2025 and preliminary Fiscal 2026 reports likewise cite staffing levels and increased demand as the reason processing has slowed, though all reported times remain well under the 180-day target.

Researched July 15, 2026 — NYC Comptroller, Audit on DOI's Background Investigations for City Employees, DOI, Fiscal 2025 Mayor's Management Report, DOI, Fiscal 2026 Preliminary Mayor's Management Report

Referrals for criminal prosecution fell 36% in Fiscal 2025, which DOI's own reporting attributes to handling fewer, more complex investigations involving smaller numbers of people rather than a high volume of simpler cases. The Fiscal 2026 total is also lower in part because DOI switched to a new case-management system in February 2025 that counts each case referred for prosecution as one referral, instead of counting every individual named within that case as the old system did; the FY26 figure is also a year-to-date total that will continue to update as the year closes out.

Researched July 15, 2026 — DOI, Fiscal 2025 Mayor's Management Report, DOI, Fiscal 2026 Preliminary Mayor's Management Report

Arrests from DOI investigations dropped 37% in Fiscal 2025. DOI's own reporting says this reflects a shift toward fewer, more resource-intensive investigations of smaller numbers of people, which tends to reduce both referral and arrest counts even when overall casework holds steady. The Fiscal 2026 number is a year-to-date total (47 arrests through the first four months, per DOI's preliminary report) rather than a full year of activity, and is likely to grow before the fiscal year closes.

Researched July 15, 2026 — DOI, Fiscal 2025 Mayor's Management Report, DOI, Fiscal 2026 Preliminary Mayor's Management Report

Referrals for civil and administrative action fell 38% in Fiscal 2025, part of a multi-year decline DOI attributes to handling fewer, larger and more resource-intensive investigations rather than a high volume of smaller cases. As with DOI's other case-outcome indicators, the Fiscal 2026 figure is a year-to-date total (118 referrals through the first four months, per DOI's own preliminary report) and is not yet a full-year count.

Researched July 15, 2026 — DOI, Fiscal 2024 Mayor's Management Report, DOI, Fiscal 2025 Mayor's Management Report, DOI, Fiscal 2026 Preliminary Mayor's Management Report

The number of written policy recommendations DOI issues swings widely because a single large investigation can generate dozens at once: DOI's own reporting says the unusually high Fiscal 2022 total (276) was driven largely by one case that alone produced 133 recommendations, while the Fiscal 2024 rebound to 212 followed several large-scale investigations that surfaced systemic problems at City agencies. The Fiscal 2026 figure is also a year-to-date total (30 issued in the first four months, per DOI's preliminary report), not a final year-end count.

Researched July 15, 2026 — DOI, Fiscal 2023 Mayor's Management Report, DOI, Fiscal 2024 Mayor's Management Report, DOI, Fiscal 2026 Preliminary Mayor's Management Report

Court-ordered financial recoveries are lumpy from year to year because they hinge on the outcome and timing of a small number of large cases rather than a steady flow of settlements. DOI's own reporting says the Fiscal 2023 spike to $10.1 million was driven almost entirely by one wire-fraud case in which two defendants were ordered to repay over $5 million, and that recovery amounts in any given year are largely outside DOI's control. The elevated Fiscal 2026 year-to-date figure reflects the same case-by-case volatility rather than a sustained trend.

Researched July 15, 2026 — DOI, Fiscal 2023 Mayor's Management Report, DOI, Fiscal 2024 Mayor's Management Report, DOI, Fiscal 2026 Preliminary Mayor's Management Report

The amount DOI actually collects for the City varies sharply year to year because collection depends on court-ordered payment schedules and the timing of a handful of case settlements — factors DOI's own reporting describes as largely outside its control, and which don't necessarily track the amount ordered in that same year. DOI's preliminary Fiscal 2026 report shows collections already running well above the same period last year due to a few case resolutions landing early in the year, consistent with this pattern of case-driven swings rather than a steady trend.

Researched July 15, 2026 — DOI, Fiscal 2023 Mayor's Management Report, DOI, Fiscal 2024 Mayor's Management Report, DOI, Fiscal 2026 Preliminary Mayor's Management Report