A new report from the Office of the D.C. Auditor found the District’s public safety agencies spent nearly $220 million on overtime during the last fiscal year, driven by staffing shortages high rates of employee leave.
“Overtime has been and continues to be a costly and chronic phenomenon among the District’s public safety agencies,” the report said.
The auditor found some agencies are operating well below authorized staffing levels, while others continue to post significant overtime costs despite having most positions filled.
In the D.C. police department, some sworn officers took between eight and 10 weeks of leave in 2025, . At the Office of Unified Communications, dispatchers were absent without leave for an average of one full week.
The Department of Corrections spent roughly $30 million on overtime last year, largely because of staffing shortages. The agency has 704 employees, far below its authorized staffing level of 1,762.
D.C. Fire and EMS faces a different challenge. The department is about 95% staffed but still spent roughly $50 million on overtime in 2025. According to the auditor, firefighters took an average of eight to 11 weeks of leave, increasing the need for overtime coverage.
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